It’s a new year, and it’s time for change. But when it comes to Employee Compliance in 2016, we do not expect much change.
Except the laws and regulations for federal contractors, there is a little change in the federal employment laws. Most of the changes in workplace laws and regulations are done at state level.
There were many state laws of 2015, impacting employees as well as employers. Some of the laws of 2015 that affected employers were:
- The obligation of paid sick leaves in various municipalities and states.
- Utter requirement to include employee pregnancy needs
- Social media privacy of the employees should be maintained.
- Increased requirements regarding wage disclosure.
- “Ban the box” legislation, that wants employers to remove the checkbox related to candidate’s criminal records.
So, what can be expected for employee compliance in 2016? We can expect changes in state law regarding the following:
- Paid parental and sick leave
- Expansion of “Ban the box” legislation
- Increase in the minimum wage
While we expect many changes in state laws and regulations, there may be at least one major change in the federal employment law of 2016 and that may involve: increased salary required for maintaining the Fair Labor Standards Act, keeping white collar as an exception.
So how does this affect the employers? Employers should consider the following points to keep up with the laws.
Know your state laws
- Employers should be well aware about the state and local laws. Be attentive to the on-going changes and development on a daily basis.
- If your business operates in more than one state, stay updated with all the changes and make sure you know if there is any conflict between laws of different states.
Be prepared to provide paid sick and paternal leaves
- Majority of state laws are now emphasizing on providing mandatory sick, maternal or paternal, and other such kind of leave.
- Make sure your organization is also providing such paid leaves to the employee.
Try to eliminate checkbox inquiring candidate’s criminal history from your employment application
- “Ban the box” is not yet included in federal laws but Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has made clear that inquiring candidate’s criminal history is discriminatory practice as it impacts the minorities in an unequal manner.
- Recently, even the president suggested Office of Personnel Management to exclude the inquiry regarding criminal history in the hiring process of the federal employees and not discuss it until later in the hiring process.
Plan your budget in advance, to increase minimum wage requirements
- Employers should expect Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division to introduce the final regulations regarding the minimum salary requirement in between June 2016 to July 2016.
- However, this regulation may be implemented by the end of 2016 and the salary is expected to be increased significantly.
These points will help you make the required changes before the laws regarding Employee Compliance in 2016 get implemented.