This post is sponsored by SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management
The beginning of 2023 will be a busy time for labor law updates. Depending on your state, employers must post updates on laws pertaining to Minimum Wage, Family Leave, Earned Income Credit, Sick and Bereavement Leave, Child Labor and other less common shifts, such as Illinois’ One-Day-Rest-in-Seven Act.
Although many policy changes kick in at the beginning of the year, making it an easier lift to plan and prepare for, many law updates occur throughout the year. More than 20 states are expecting changes in January 2023, but there are, on average, 65 mandatory updates each year, coming from the state, federal, local and general industry levels. Compliance in your workplace is vital, yet tracking them isn’t a simple, one-stop task.
Fortunately, companies like SHRM and J. J. Keller have simplified compliance tools to help you stay on the right side of the law.
Why compliance matters
Keeping employees in the know on policies and regulations that affect their day-to-day responsibilities in the workplace and their benefits or protections is not only the right thing to do, but a legal mandate. Employers must monitor these updates and publicly post them by defined deadlines or face financial penalties.
And 2022 was full of updates that needed monitoring, including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in October releasing its ‘Know Your Rights’ poster, which updated the previously posted “EEO is the Law” poster.
Also, this year the US Department of Labor (DOL) increased the maximum fine amounts for noncompliance with certain federal notice and posting requirements to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), “Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law” (Occupational Safety and Health Act), and Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA).
These vital updates require consistent attention from HR professionals and vigilance from business owners to stay in compliance.
Adding a subscription service, such as the one offered by SHRM, that monitors labor law updates on behalf of businesses is one way to streamline required postings, and remain in compliance. Through such a subscription, businesses can ensure that they are receiving the latest in state, federal and local levels, as well as any applicable wage order posters.
Compliance solutions in the digital era
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the shifts in employer-employee relationships were evident, as everyone adapted to new health and wellness needs to stay safe. Adopting distance and remote options for workers to complete their jobs and keep companies running took precedence. Many of these shifts meant digital solutions, which had a silver lining of demonstrating better ways to handle certain aspects of workplace culture.
The long-standing DOL requirement to post summaries of applicable federal labor and employment laws in the workplace by placing posters where they are conspicuous to or “clearly seen” by employees, often in the break room or employee cafeteria, hits a snag in the new reality of today’s workplace. In 2021, the DOL released new requirements for posting laws and regulations in hybrid and remote workplaces to account for the fact that many employees are no longer “in person“ to see physical posters in break rooms.
Modernized options for digitizing the posting process, such as an Electronic Labor Law Poster service, can easily communicate employment rights to all employees, including your off-site, hybrid and remote workers. Services, such those offered by SHRM, communicate employment rights to offsite worker by allowing them to:
- Download PDFs of state and federal notices from an electronic compliance library
- See updates to laws automatically through electronic means
- Read materials in either English or Spanish versions
While these electronic postings do not suffice for paper posting requirements in workplaces that have onsite employees, they are a good supplement, offering information at the fingertips of employees.
For businesses that have in-person posting requirements, adding a physical poster subscription takes the guesswork out of labor law changes. With a physical poster subscription from SHRM, businesses:
- Receive labor law and wage mandate posters by mail that are relevant to their business each time a change is mandated
- Have the option to download the posters and information themselves if a poster is lost or damaged
- Receive English or Spanish versions of physical posters
Tapping digital compliance solutions and subscription-based physical poster services takes the guesswork out of staying current and lets HR professionals focus on what matters most – the company and those who work for it.
SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, creates better workplaces where employers and employees thrive together. As the voice of all things work, workers and the workplace, SHRM is the foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today’s evolving workplaces. With 300,000+ HR and business executive members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 115 million workers and families globally.