Many changes to the employment legal landscape could be taking place that likely would impact businesses.

Some of the changes may come at the federal level, where newly inaugurated President Joe Biden has outlined several proposals that would directly impact employers. The proposals are included in his $1.9 trillion rescue plan.

The president’s proposals are summarized at buildbackbetter.org in a 19-page relief package fact sheet.

Employers will need to keep abreast of the many changes to the legal landscape at both the federal and state level.

The major highlights for employers from the president’s plan include:

• Having the Occupational Safety and Health Administration conduct investigations: The plan calls on Congress to authorize the OSHA to issue a COVID-19 protection standard covering “a broad set of workers, so that workers not typically covered by OSHA, like many public workers on the frontlines, also receive protection from unsafe working conditions and retaliation.”

The plan seeks additional funding for OSHA enforcement and grant funding to keep vulnerable workers safe and healthy.

• Expanding mandatory paid leave: Biden plans to reinstate the expanded paid leave benefit under the Family Medical Leave Act known as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which expired Dec. 31.

The measure requiring employers to provide paid sick leave would be reinstated and extended through Sept. 30.

Biden also seeks to expand the act to eliminate exemptions, meaning all employers would be covered under the law, including those companies with more than 500 workers and less than 50. In addition, health care workers and first responders, who were exempt from the original law, would be included. The expanded leave also would include federal workers.

These changes would expand paid leave for up to 106 million additional workers, according to the fact sheet provided by the Biden transition team.

The expanded paid sick and family and medical leave would provide “over 14 weeks of paid sick and family and medical leave to help parents with additional caregiving responsibilities when a child or loved one’s school or care center is closed; for people who have or are caring for people with COVID-19 symptoms, or who are quarantining due to exposure; and for people needing to take time to get the vaccine.”

Eligible workers would receive a maximum of $1,400 per week, which would provide “full wage replacement to workers earning up to $73,000 annually, more than three-quarters of all workers,” according to the fact sheet.

• Expanding unemployment benefits: The plan proposes a $400-per-week unemployment insurance supplement above what the individual states provide through September 2021.

It also proposes to extend financial assistance for workers who have exhausted their regular unemployment compensation benefits.

The plan also proposes to extend financial assistance for unemployed workers who do not typically qualify for unemployment compensation benefits, which would include self-employed workers, like ride-share drivers.

The plan also supports increasing the number of weeks eligible workers can receive the benefit.

• Raising the minimum wage: The proposal calls on Congress to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, and end the tipped minimum wage and sub-minimum wage for people with disabilities.

This would increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15 per hour.

Virginia’s minimum wage is set to increase to $9.50 an hour effective May 1, and set to increase again to $11 per hour on Jan. 1, 2022. Virginia employers would default to the federal minimum wage if it is greater than that set by the state.

• Providing back hazard pay: The proposal seeks to provide frontline essential workers back hazard pay of an unspecified amount.

The proposal also provides for grant funding for select small businesses and a large grant to states for frontline workers.