Most US lawmakers have postponed until the new year, but some of their work is about to be felt in a series of new laws and regulations that will take effect on January 1.
These new rules affect many areas of life, from distracted driving to marijuana to paid sick leave – here is a sample of changes that will affect the workplace, business and financial markets in 2021.
Marijuana becomes legal in New Jersey and Montana
Five state marijuana initiatives were approved in November, with recreational marijuana legalized in New Jersey and Montana as of January 1. Marijuana is expected to become totally legal for use in Montana this weekend, but not yet legal for commercial sale until 2022.
However, New Jersey may find itself in a legal gray zone, as state lawmakers are still negotiating legislation designed to accompany the constitutional amendment that legalizes recreational marijuana.
“There are some important, I mean, technical, but important things that we are trying to eliminate,” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy told a local television station this week.
Voters in Arizona, Mississippi and South Dakota also approved the legalization of weed in November. Arizona’s recreational marijuana law went into effect in November. South Dakota voted to simultaneously legalize recreational and medical marijuana, but the state governor filed a lawsuit seeking to block the measure. For their part, Mississippi citizens voted only for the legalization of medical marijuana, leaving illegal recreational use there.
The changes appear aimed at helping the U.S. cannabis sector grow by an additional $ 9 billion in revenue between 2022 and 2025, according to an industry tracker.
Changes to paid vacation arrangements
Paid leave from work is another area that is expected to change – both up and down – in the new year.
During the initial response to the pandemic, the Family Coronavirus Response Act expanded the Family and Medical Leave Act with new payment options for workers in some companies. But these provisions expire at the end of the year and will not be extended by the latest stimulus agreement.
As they are about to expire, some states have announced new paid leave protections. In New York, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced that New Yorkers can begin using new sick leave benefits on January 1, 2021, which give workers one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours of work.
“Now, as we continue to defeat COVID and build a stronger New York, we are expanding this fundamental right for all New Yorkers,” said Cuomo in a statement.
In addition, Colorado approved an electoral initiative in November to create a paid family insurance and sick leave program in the state. The program will create a government-funded program to provide 12 weeks of paid leave, but will not take effect until 2024.
20 states are raising their minimum wage
Minimum wage workers in 20 states will receive increases at the beginning of the new year. Four more states, plus Washington, DC, will raise their minimum wages in late 2021.
Florida workers will receive one of the biggest increases after voters passed a majority vote in November to gradually raise the minimum wage to $ 15 by 2026.
The other states experienced incremental wage increases in construction. Florida joins several other states – California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York – that are in the process of gradually raising their minimum wage to $ 15 over the next few years.
Some groups have also long opposed increases in the minimum wage and argue that they will cost jobs.
Others disagree, arguing that rising wages will help give more people more purchasing power, which ultimately helps everyone. Lakewood Organic Juice CEO Scott Fuhrman, who lives in Florida, joined Yahoo Finance earlier this week and noted, “I can only sell juice to 1%, so let’s try to raise the middle class and a way to do that is by increasing the minimum wage. “
New laws of distracted driving
Several states are enacting distraction driving laws beginning in 2021, including a Virginia measure that takes effect on January 1 and makes it illegal to use a cell phone for any reason while driving.
“Driving distracted is a serious problem and we need everyone to work together,” Governor Ralph Northam said during a news conference highlighting the law earlier this month.
Arizona also has a distracted driving law in place, making it illegal to “hold or support a device with your body” while driving. California has several new traffic laws for 2021, including increased penalties for “using a hand-held cell phone while driving”.
A deadline for the ‘Volcker rule’
In October 2019, five federal financial regulatory agencies announced “finalized reviews to simplify compliance requirements related to the ‘Volcker rule'”.
The rule, named after the late Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, aims to limit how much banking entities can play with their clients’ money and was a centerpiece of the post-crisis Dodd-Frank financial regulatory framework.
January 1 is the deadline for banks to comply with these reviews. Companies that don’t have significant business activities will now have it easy, with simplified compliance requirements.
The opposite is true for companies with significant commercial activity, as they will now have more stringent compliance requirements in place.
Ben Werschkul is a writer and producer at Yahoo Finance in Washington, DC.
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