The 5 Most Challenging Areas of Employer Compliance

October 18, 2019

With the unprecedented amount of legislation affecting employers and workers passed within the last decade, many employers are struggling to remain compliant with this influx of new regulations. Small business owners in particular tend to have difficulty when it comes to employer compliance, as keeping up with the numerous federal and state requirements can quickly overwhelm small HR teams. To make it easier for your HR staff, we have created a brief overview of the 5 most challenging areas of employer compliance.

Diversity and Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion are one of the most challenging areas of employer compliance that business owners face nowadays. As more laws and regulations that focus on workplace diversity are put into place, many companies are completely revamping their recruiting and HR policies to keep up with these stringent compliance standards.

Workplace Harassment

Recent scandals in the entertainment industry and the rise of the #MeToo movement have led to increased scrutiny of workplace harassment policies. Some states, such as New York, have passed new anti-sexual harassment laws. Employers need to be aware of these new laws as they are passed, as some require mandatory annual sexual harassment training or the development of an entirely new sexual harassment policy.

Mental Health and Medical Claims

Most business owners should already be aware of the fact that differently-abled workers must be provided with reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). However, as health care professionals continue to work towards reducing the stigmas associated with mental illness, there has been an increase in cases where employees claim emotional or mental health issues for which their employer failed to offer reasonable accommodations for.

Medical Marijuana is another hurdle for employers when it comes to ADA and safety regulations. Although most businesses have strict guidelines that prohibit drug use, there can be some gray areas. For instance, what happens if an employee who holds a valid prescription to use medical marijuana fails a drug test?

Employee Classifications

Wage and hour regulations can be another challenging area of employer compliance. Countless small business owners have gotten into trouble with the law when it comes to properly paying employees overtime and classifying them as exempt or non-exempt. The best way to avoid these issues is by keeping up-to-date and accurate timesheets per the Fair Labor Standards Act rules and any related state laws. Small businesses should also carefully document any safety training and compliances following OSHA regulations.

Fair Labor Standards Act (Minimum Wage)

It is also important for employers to keep an eye on any local laws that could impact their state or municipality minimum wage. Although the current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour under the Fair Labor Standards Act, state and local minimum wage laws will always take precedence over the FLSA. This means that if an employer runs a business located in an area where the local minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum, they will be required to pay their employees a higher salary.

OEM America

Are you feeling overwhelmed when it comes to managing administrative and human resource-related tasks for your small business? OEM America can help. For decades, we have been helping companies across Connecticut and throughout the country transform their businesses into the pinnacle of efficiency.

Through the use of our time-proven model for managing employees, you can cut costs and decrease your turnover rate in no time. Stop worrying about Human Resources, employee administration, and benefits management. Leave all of that to us! With OEM as your human resource management team, you can focus more on the high-payoff activities that help you grow and profit.

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