State Ballot Initiatives Get Mixed Results

[This article has been updated.]

The 2024 U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5 overshadowed numerous state ballot initiatives that will affect HR professionals, including proposals on state minimum wage increases, paid sick leave, and marijuana legalization. The proposals were met with mixed results.

While the federal minimum wage has stagnated at $7.25 per hour since 2009, multiple ballot initiatives this year included proposed increases to state minimum wages. 

• California rejected a proposal to raise its minimum wage to $18 per hour.
• Missouri voted to increase its minimum wage to $13.75 per hour by Jan. 1, 2025, and $15 per hour by Jan. 1, 2026, with annual adjustments tied to the consumer price index starting in 2027. 
• Missouri also voted to require employers to provide earned paid sick leave for employees, according to Ballotpedia—at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Employers with 15 or more employees may limit the amount of sick time used to 56 hours per year, and employers with 15 or fewer employees may limit the amount used to 40 hours per year. 
• Nebraska also voted to require employers to provide earned paid sick leave. The initiative provides at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Employers with fewer than 20 employees would be permitted to limit the use of paid sick time to 40 hours per year, with a 56-hour limit for employers with 20 or more employees. Paid sick time starts accruing upon employment on or by Oct. 1, 2025.
• Alaska voters approved raising the state’s minimum wage to $13 per hour by July 1, 2025, $14 per hour by July 1, 2026, and $15 per hour by July 1, 2027, with subsequent annual inflation adjustments. The ballot measure also established paid sick leave, with employees able to accrue up to 56 hours annually if their employer has 15 or more employees, and up to 40 hours if the employer has fewer than 15 employees. 
• Massachusetts voters rejected a ballot measure that would have increased the minimum wage for tipped employees to meet the state’s standard minimum wage. 
• Massachusetts also granted drivers for transportation network companies, such as Uber and Lyft, the right to form unions to collectively bargain with the companies concerning wages, benefits, and working conditions in state-moderated negotiations.
• Arizona rejected a proposition to let tipped workers be paid 25% less per hour than the minimum wage if the worker’s total compensation was not less than the minimum wage plus $2, Ballotpedia noted. The state’s current policy permits employers to pay $11.35, $3 less than the minimum wage, as long as workers’ take-home pay with tips amounts to $14.35.
• Nebraska voted to legalize the medical use of marijuana. As more workers have come to work under the influence of pot, HR has tried to comply with state measures while maintaining safety standards. 
• For now, recreational marijuana use remains illegal in Florida, which rejected a marijuana legalization proposal.
• North Dakota and South Dakota declined to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.
• Massachusetts voters rejected letting adults ages 21 and older use natural psychedelic substances.

We’ve gathered articles on the news from SHRM and other outlets.

Many Workers Aren’t Making a Living Wage

Workers are struggling to make ends meet, with new data finding that nearly half are not making a living wage. Only 56% of full-time workers in the U.S. are making a living wage, while 44% are not earning enough to cover their family’s basic needs, according to the inaugural Dayforce Living Wage Index, developed in partnership with the Living Wage Institute, an organization that launched last year.

(SHRM)

Servers Opposed Massachusetts Proposal

Many waiters and bartenders opposed Massachusetts’ proposal to raise the tipped minimum wage from $6.75 an hour to $15—a proposal that Massachusetts voters rejected. The workers said they would have lost wages if people stopped tipping as a result of the wage increase. They also opposed sharing their tips with chefs, dishwashers, and other restaurant workers.

(Axios Boston)

Florida Rejects Recreational Marijuana

A proposal to legalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults in the state failed to get the 60% voter support needed to pass a state constitutional amendment. State law currently allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes. 

(NBC News)

DOJ Issued Proposed Rule to Reschedule Marijuana

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on May 21 published in the Federal Register a proposed rule to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to a less dangerous Schedule III drug, as marijuana usage rises. Other Schedule I substances include heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy). Drugs controlled under Schedule II include cocaine, methamphetamine, methadone, oxycodone, and fentanyl. Drugs controlled under Schedule III include products containing less than 90 milligrams of codeine per dosage unit, ketamine, and anabolic steroids. The biggest impact of rescheduling may concern employers in industries that perform drug testing in accordance with federal requirements, such as transportation.

Assuming that the proposed rescheduling goes through, does that mean cannabis is now federally legal, leaving employees free to consume cannabis like any other legal substances such as alcohol? The short answer is no.

(SHRM and Foley & Lardner)

How Can Employers Respond to State Laws Legalizing Marijuana?

Employers are trying to bolster workplace safety as the use of marijuana rises and more states—but not the federal government—legalize the recreational use of cannabis. Training to help managers recognize the signs of cannabis use and policies barring the use of cannabis during work hours can help prevent accidents.

(SHRM)