5.Compliance and Legal Issues in HR

Compliance and Legal Issues in HR

 

Human resources (HR) is an essential function of any organization. It involves managing people, from recruitment and selection to training, development, and performance management. However, HR is also a highly regulated field, with many legal requirements and compliance obligations that organizations must meet to avoid penalties and lawsuits.

This blog post will explore some of the compliance and legal issues that HR professionals face in their day-to-day work.

1. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

The Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws prohibit discrimination against employees or job applicants based on their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. HR professionals must ensure that their organization's policies and practices comply with these laws.

The EEO laws include several statutes, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008. HR professionals must be familiar with these laws and their requirements.

2. Wage and Hour Laws

Wage and hour laws govern how much employers must pay their employees and how many hours they can work. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets federal minimum wage and overtime pay requirements and regulates child labor.

HR professionals must ensure that their organization complies with these laws by maintaining accurate records of hours worked and wages paid, properly classifying employees as exempt or non-exempt from overtime pay, and complying with child labor restrictions.

3. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is responsible for ensuring that workplaces are safe and healthy for employees. HR professionals must ensure that their organization complies with OSHA regulations, such as maintaining safe working conditions, providing personal protective equipment (PPE), and reporting workplace injuries and illnesses.

4. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires covered employers to provide eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for certain family and medical reasons. HR professionals must ensure that their organization complies with FMLA requirements by properly designating FMLA leave, maintaining employee records, and providing proper notice to employees.

5. Immigration Law

Immigration law regulates the employment of foreign workers in the United States. HR professionals must ensure that their organization complies with immigration laws by verifying the eligibility of employees to work in the United States, completing Form I-9, and complying with documentation requirements.

6. Data Privacy and Security

HR professionals must protect the personal information of employees and job applicants. They must ensure that their organization complies with data privacy laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). HR professionals must also ensure that their organization has proper data security measures in place to protect against data breaches and cyberattacks.

Employment Law for HR Professionals – What You Need to Know

There are a number of things a company can do to stay on top of these changes and avoid HR law complacency:

• Be proactive and anticipate changes in the law. Keep up to date with upcoming policies going through the government and be aware of how they could impact internal policies and procedures.
• Regularly conduct audits. Create checklists and review them periodically to ensure HR regulatory compliance in all business areas.
• Assign dedicated policy owners within the HR department to promote ownership and responsibility.
• Attend regular conferences and webinars to stay up to date with upcoming changes to laws affecting human resources management.
• Provide ongoing employment law training for HR professionals. Train employees on the importance of complying with internal policies and procedures. 
• Proactively implement policies that align with changes in employment laws human resources professionals need to be aware of.
• Avoid cost/benefit analyses relating to the costs associated with compliance. Whatever investment is required to ensure compliance will be far lower than the potential expense a company incurs by penalties and lawsuits.

HR compliance issues examples

In organizations of any size, it is essential to know that you must follow labor laws and a variety of regulations. Otherwise, you risk fines, legal issues, and bad publicity. Let’s dive into more details about compliance challenges HR professionals face.

Wage and hour laws	The United States has several laws that protect employees’ rights regarding wages and hours worked. There are laws on federal, state, and local levels. They also set requirements for how many hours someone can work per day, overtime pay, and weekend pay. For example, the U.S. federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, but the minimum wage for the state of Oregon is $13.50 per hour, while the state’s most populous city, Portland, is $14.75 per hour (as of July 2022). Especially if your business operates across multiple cities and states or you have remote workers, you must understand and comply with these laws.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)	As the name suggests, FMLA permits eligible US employees to take job-protected unpaid leave for family and/or medical reasons. Simply put, your employee has the right to take unpaid leave without fear of getting let go for certain family or medical situations. Examples are the birth of a child, caring for a parent, child, or spouse who has a severe health condition, or when the employee is sick themselves and can no longer work.
Workplace safety	Workplace safety is considered regulatory compliance under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) agency. Depending on what your organization does for a business, you’ll have different industry standards to follow. For example, construction workers are constantly exposed to dangerous environments where they can be hit by heavy construction equipment, unguarded machinery, or exposed to silica dust and asbestos. In contrast, healthcare workers have a completely different set of hazards, such as exposure to viruses and bacteria, possible chemical and drug poisoning, radioactive material, and X-ray dangers. You can discover more about your company’s workplace safety requirements by searching in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
Union laws	As mentioned earlier, businesses must be aware of union laws when working with union members. Another example of a strong union is The Association of Flight Attendants – CWA (AFA-CWA). The organization helps its members obtain “fair compensation, job security, seniority protections, and improved quality of life through organizing, bargaining, and political action while serving as the leading voice for a safe, healthy and secure aircraft cabin for passengers and crew alike.” Airline companies must adhere to the union’s rules regarding working hours, pay, and safety, among other things.
Immigration laws	Both business and higher education must adhere to immigration regulations when hiring an employee or accepting a student from abroad. The law handling US immigration policy is the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This law allows the US to provide a certain amount of permanent visas per year in various visa categories. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the primary organization responsible for enforcing the United State’s immigration laws, but many other agencies support it.
Employee classification	In order to deal with the current talent market, many companies opened their roles to a diverse range of workers, such as remote or hybrid employees, part-time staff, and independent contractors. In this case, your company needs to understand which employees are eligible for which benefits and what their wages should be based on hours worked and location. Remember to check which state and local employment laws apply if you’re employing people across multiple locations.
Data security	This type of compliance refers to how companies and government agencies keep data protected, confidential, and safe from breaches. Generally, this relates to consumer data but also covers employee data and financial records. An example is The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) which specifically applies to companies with a revenue of $25 million or higher. Under this law, Californian residents have the legal right to know which data a company has saved about them and what information was shared with third parties.

Conclusion

HR professionals play a critical role in ensuring that their organization complies with legal and regulatory requirements. The compliance and legal issues discussed in this blog post are just a few of the many issues that HR professionals face on a daily basis. To stay up to date with the latest legal developments and compliance requirements, HR professionals should consult with legal counsel and attend training programs and conferences.

References:

1. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). Overview of the EEO laws. Retrieved from https://www.eeoc.gov/overview-eeo-laws
2. U.S. Department of Labor. (n.d.). Wage and hour division (WHD). Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd
3. Web site accessed ,https://factorialhr.com/blog/legal-issues-hr-law/#:~:text=An%20effective%20HR%20manager%20has,confidentiality%2C%20and%20employee%20labor%20rights.(Accessed on 14/4/2023)
4. https://www.aihr.com/blog/hr-compliance/ (Accessed on 14/4/2023)