Charlotte, N.C. (February 1, 2024) - The State of North Carolina saw a number of significant developments in the area of labor and employment law in 2023, including the passage of legislation that prohibits compelled speech when an individual seeks state government or community college employment and changes to the state's occupational safety and health rules.
Non-Discrimination and Dignity in State Work – Senate Bill 364
This Act amends North Carolina's State Human Resources Act to prohibit compelled speech when an individual seeks state government or community college employment. Here, the North Carolina General Assembly is demonstrating its intent that state and community college employees recognize the rights of all persons. State government and community college workplaces are prohibited from soliciting or requiring applicants for employment to endorse or opine about beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles regarding matters of contemporary political debate or social action as a condition of employment.
Similarly, state government and community college workplaces
cannot solicit or require an applicant for employment to describe
the applicant's actions in support of, or in opposition to, the
beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles regarding matters of
contemporary political debate or social action as a condition of
employment Senate Bill 364 appears to underscore the General
Assembly's desire to promote the equality and rights of all
persons by wholly separating any connection between state
employment and outside political debate or social actions, thus
keeping sociopolitical speech and activities outside of the state
employment space.
Changes to Occupational Safety and Health
Rules
The time during which the North Carolina Department of Labor must
cite an employer for a violation of the state's Occupational
Safety and Health Act is now six months from the date of the
violation rather than six months from the date that the inspection
began. This modification brings North Carolina's statute of
limitations commensurate with most of the "state plan"
states that administer and enforce their own occupational safety
and health laws, and the statute of limitations in the states where
the federal government is responsible for the administration and
enforcement of occupational safety and health laws. Now, employers
can only be cited for failing to record work-related illnesses and
injuries in their OSHA 300 logs where the failure to record an
illness or injury occurred within six months of when the citation
was issued rather than a broader period dating back to inception of
the inspection. NCDOL cannot issue citations related to accidents
and injuries based on violations of OSHA standards that occurred
more than six months before the citation was issued simply by
reviewing the employer's OSHA 300 logs. Accordingly, an
employer receiving a citation should determine whether the citation
arises from facts occurring within the six months immediately
pre-dating the citation.
Changes to the North Carolina Department of Labor's
Ability to Adopt New OSHA Standards
The North Carolina Department of Labor will have to publish a
notice and go through the state's rulemaking process before
adopting any new standard promulgated by the federal Occupational
Safety and Health Administration. This ostensibly ends the
NCDOL's ability to adopt occupational safety and health
standards identical to the standards adopted by the USDOL without
first subjecting all changes to oversight by the North Carolina
Rules Review Commission, which is the agency responsible for
reviewing and approving rules and regulations adopted by North
Carolina's state agencies. However, the North Carolina Court of
Appeals has previously determined that the NCDOL does not need to
follow the formal rulemaking process prior to adopting
"nonbinding interpretive statements" even if an
interpretation impacts how the agency applies and enforces OSHA
standards. Thus, it appears unclear how this change impacts
NCDOL's ability to adopt policies and interpretations of OSHA
standards just below the level of official occupational safety and
health standards.
Prohibition on Adoption of Wage and Hour Laws By Local
Governments
Local ordinances adopted by counties or municipalities establishing
minimum wage, overtime, or leave laws that are different from the
North Carolina Wage and Hour Act are now unenforceable. Counties,
municipalities, or other local governmental entities cannot adopt
minimum wage, overtime, or paid leave laws that differ from those
contained in state law. Thus, employers do not need to worry about
whether wage and hour laws vary in any of North Carolina's 100
counties or its myriad cities, towns, and other municipal
organizations.
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