Technological advancements and major legislation pose frightening recruitment challenges to employers in 2015. Understanding the nuances and possible consequences of new hiring laws enacted this year is critical for any employer, as a failure to do so could result in lawsuits or penalties.
Chief among the popular new laws are requirements at the state level mandating employers cover employees with paid sick leave, according to an XpertHR report.
The topic, broached in Pres. Barack Obama’s state of the union address, is covered in-depth by the Harvard Business Review.
“The more you earn, the more likely you are to have paid sick leave,” the HBR reports.
New legislation indirectly addresses this issue, but also leaves employers to determine just how this sick leave is accrued and implemented.
The legalization of medical marijuana in 25 states—and outright legalization in Colorado and Washington—is another tenuous matter for employers. Companies that drug test face the conflicting issues of state law vs. federal, the latter of which still classifies marijuana as illegal.
Just as tricky for employers to address, albeit for much different reasons, is the constantly evolving technology employees have at their disposal at any given time.
Employees can find themselves at odds with their jobs for posting inflammatory comments or trade secrets on social media. Certainly, this can hurt an employer’s reputation. But worse yet, the threat of data breaches is real and constant. If it can happen at Sony Studios, it can happen at most places of employment.
The following is XpertHR’s complete list of 15 scariest HR issues for 2015. To read the full report, click here:
1. Off-Duty Use of Medical and Recreational Marijuana
2. Paid Sick Leave
3. Affordable Care Act Employer Mandate
4. Immigration
5. Protecting Company and Employee Privacy in the Digital Age
6. Safe Driving Laws
7. E-Cigarette Use in the Workplace
8. Reasonably Accommodating Pregnant Women
9. Wellness Programs Conflicting with ADA, GINA, and FMLA
10. Growing Acceptance of LGBT Rights and Same-Sex Marriage
11. Workplace Bullying
12. Addressing Domestic Violence
13. Minimum Wage and Wage and Hour Laws
14. Providing Workplace Protections to Interns and Volunteers
15. Ban the Box