Growing Complexity Is Big Win for HR Managers

February 22nd, 2013 by JBWK

What do the ADA, ADAAA, FMLA, Title VII, ADEA, WARN, FLSA, GINA, HIPAA, ERISA, EPA, PPACA, NLRA, and USERRA all have in common (aside from taking up an entire grocery aisle of alphabet soup)?

alphabet soup

They should be keeping your human resources department very, very busy.

In that case, an aptly titled article called Employment Laws Keep Changing; So Should Your Employee Handbook should spell great news for at least one person: the HR manager. Employers are facing rapid-fire changes that should be keeping human resources departments churning out new versions of the employee handbook as fast as they can type. 

Failing to keep pace is not a viable option, especially with the spread of social media and its corporate use. Employers are facing new gray areas every day as the NLRB dispenses guidance on Facebook and companies grapple with the ownership of their employees’ Twitter followers. Then throw in health-care reform, ADA amendments, constant FMLA tweaks, and a shifting non-compete landscape. Things get complicated quickly.

Employers are wise to have at least one employee dedicated to human resources. If you can’t afford to hire a full-time employee, or aren’t big enough to justify it, at least get a working understanding of what can be a problem. Or (or in addition), have a knowledgeable employment lawyer on speed dial. As in many other cases, it’s what you don’t know that you don’t know–the “unknown unknowns”–that’ll hurt you in the end.

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