December 19 Tip of the Week

“New Year, New Laws”

As the calendar year ends and the holiday parties and time off draw to a close, it is time for human resources professionals to think about the New Year.  On a personal level, many people enter the New Year with personal resolutions regarding how they will make changes and improvements in the upcoming year.  Many of us who do make New Year’s resolutions do not always fulfill those resolutions, although credit should be given to those who attempt to make positive changes in their lives simply by identifying areas that could benefit from a New Year’s resolution.  In the professional realm, however, human resources professionals do not have the same luxury of the option to choose which New Year’s resolutions to fulfill and which to ignore.  Most states have passed some new law or regulations that will impact the employment relationship effective January 1, 2023 or at some later date in the upcoming year and compliance with those laws is not optional – at least, not without the risk of a fine or an audit or some other negative consequence. 

How can human resources professionals ensure that they are meeting their obligations under any new labor and employment laws in their state or on the national level?  They can subscribe to myHRcounsel and use our services to update their employee handbooks on an annual basis.  These annual updates will ensure that employee handbooks are legally compliant with state and federal laws.  Human resources professionals should also be aware of the low hanging fruit, such as annual adjustments to minimum wage laws, and ensure that they are up to date on those requirements.  There are a number of informational websites available to human resources professionals that highlight labor and employment issues and note when labor and employment laws are changing.  Human resources professionals should sign up for one or more of the email updates and other notifications available so that they become aware of actual or proposed changes to the law nationally, on a statewide basis, and locally.  Then, when notification of a change is received, human resources professionals can reach out to myHRcounsel so we can update the status of the proposed change and provide additional information about what needs to be done to be compliant.