Written by Kim Runyen
The legal landscape for employers is constantly shifting and can be very confusing. Below, we touch on seven trending HR topics you need to be aware of in 2016 and direct you to resources to learn more about these trends.
We also encourage all business owners and managers to check out our weekly webinar that will help you manage HR risk in 2016. It is featured at the end of this post. The webinar provides an informative overview on the following topics:
1) Changes to overtime rules
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is in the process of amending overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This amendment would increase the salary threshold for employees considered to be exempt from overtime pay from $23,600/year to $50,440/year. This means employers could face a very large increase in the number of their employees eligible for overtime pay by the end of 2016.
For more detailed information, check out the TriNet blog on changes to the overtime rule.
2) Ban the box
In the quest to eliminate instances of discrimination in hiring, more and more states are requiring employers to remove from their employment applications any questions about an applicant’s criminal history. Criminal history-related questions on employment applications often ask the applicant to check a box asking if he or she has been convicted of a crime. The Office of Personnel Management plans to release a proposed rule, in May 2016, to “ban the box” on federal job applications.
Read up on trends in criminal background checks in this TriNet blog on the “ban the box” movement.
3) Equal pay
Several states and the federal government have equal pay laws on the books. We have already told you about what equal pay laws mean in California. In 2016, these laws could have implications for employers throughout the nation.
Equal pay means eliminating wage gaps between the sexes. Employers should take a hard look at salary gaps for male and female employees performing substantially similar duties, even if they work in different locations or have different titles. The webinar at the end provides more detailed information about what employers should do to protect themselves and their employees by implementing equal pay standards.
4) Paid sick leave
Mandatory sick leave laws are another growing trend among the states. Details of these laws can vary, making compliance even more complicated – especially for companies with employees in different states.
Get updated on employment law by reading the TriNet blog on paid sick leave.
5) Leave laws
As you know by now, there are a host of regulations overseeing various leave laws and, of course, the matter is further complicated by different laws in each state. Just like with paid sick leave, employees missing work for paid time off, vacation, care of a family member, long-term illness or any other reason opens up a whole host of compliance concerns.
Our TriNet blog on PTO compliance can help shed some light on leave laws.
6) Social media
Social media is increasingly becoming a business buzzword, but it can be a double-edged sword when it comes to managing employees. While using social media for your recruitment efforts can be an effective hiring practice, many employers have found they also need to provide employees with a written social media use policy to set parameters on proper social media use when it comes to work.
This year will see some significant changes regarding the social media accounts of your employees and applicants – especially when it comes to privacy. Our webinar on trending HR topics goes further into how to make social media work for you and not against you.
7) Discrimination
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), more than $525 million was paid out to victims of discrimination during the 2015 fiscal year. Many instances of discrimination are as unintentional as they are avoidable.
