How I Did On My Employment Law Predictions For 2014

Last year I made predictions for what would happen in 2014. How did I do? Call me Cassandra again, because I did pretty well:

1. Minimum Wage: I predicted that raising the minimum wage would be a hot political issue in 2014. Eleven states enacted minimum wage increases and so did several municipalities. At the beginning of 2015, 23 states saw minimum wage increases. Five states had ballot measures approved by voters. Plus now federal contractors have to pay a minimum wage of $10.10/hour.
2. Legalize It: I predicted that legalized marijuana would spread to more states, and two more states, Oregon and Alaska legalized it. 23 states and DC have legalized medical marijuana, with Maryland, Minnesota and New York legalizing it in 2014. Florida's ballot measure failed (it got a majority but not the super-majority it needed).
3. Health Care: ObamaCare kicked in and I predicted it would cause come confusion and some stupid employers to start dumping insurance and cutting people to part-time to avoid paying insurance, but that most of the stupid employer activity would be at the end of the year and into 2015. While some employers did cut hours and dump insurance, the number of employees involuntarily cut to part time actually dropped this year.
4. Internships Cut: I predicted we'd see unpaid internships cut and see some attempts to put interns under the protection of discrimination and sexual harassment laws, but that Congress would not pass such a law. It's true - unpaid internships are going the way of the dodo bird. New York, Illinois and California passed laws against sexual harassment of interns.
5. Failed Again: Attempts to pass anti-bullying laws and the Civil Rights Tax Fairness Act will fail just like they do every year. States tried and failed, and New Hampshire passed one that was vetoed, but only Tennessee has managed to pass an anti-bullying law. California passed a law requiring that employers train supervisors regarding abusive conduct.
6. NLRB and EEOC Cut Off By Courts: I predicted NLRB and EEOC would continue to try to expand the protections employees have and that courts would continue to stop them, but that they would inch forward with some new progress for employees. NLRB did make progress, saying employees can use employer email to organize unions. EEOC fought for its life against big sanctions, but managed to press for LGBT rights.
7. Lip Service: I predicted lip service to pro-employee laws for the midterms but that little or nothing would pass due to gridlock. Failures included theFAMILY Act, Arbitration Fairness Act, and ENDA. 
8. Background Checks: I predicted that more states would ban or limit use of credit information in hiring but that federal efforts to do so would fail. I also predicted that more states will pass ban-the-box laws barring many inquiries about arrest and conviction records in job applications but that there was zero chance such a law will pass on the federal level this election year. No federal laws passed but Delaware passed a law prohibiting use of credit information in hiring decisions, making it the 11th state to limit or ban the use of credit information. Ban-the-box was a hot issue in 2014, with New Jersey, Illinois and DC adding themselves to the 13 states along with 67 cities and counties having passed these laws nationwide.
9. Pregnancy Discrimination: I predicted the Florida Supreme Court would say that the  Florida Civil Rights Act covered pregnancy discrimination. It did.
10. LGBT Protections: I predicted that states and local governments would continue to pass discrimination laws banning LGBT discrimination. In 2014, Virginia and Maryland passed anti-discrimination laws along with many municipalities and counties.
11. Religious Discrimination: I predicted that right-wing religious groups would push the argument that religious discrimination laws allow them to speak out against gay rights in the workplace. They did, with some states and local government passing or introducing "religious freedom" laws that say it's okay to oppress LGBT citizens in the name of religion.

Next week I'll put in my predictions for 2015.