How to Quickly Find Out When HR and Employment Laws Change

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

(Editor’s Note: Today’s article is brought to you by  our friends at Poster Guard® Compliance Protection Service, a division of HRdirect , and the leading labor law poster service that gets your business up to date with all required federal, state and local labor law postings, and then keeps it that way — for an entire year. Enjoy the article!)

It’s no surprise that the legal landscape is changing. Last year, I published an article about the importance of having a labor law posting strategy and in it, Lillian Chavez, Esq., managing legal research attorney at ComplyRight mentioned that there are on average more than 200 mandatory federal, state, city, and/or county posting changes each year. And with each change, an immediate poster update or replacement could be necessary.

With all the changes happening, I started wondering. I’m sure there are some organizations that might be saying, “Wouldn’t it be great if we had a way to know about labor law changes sooner?”. Because the faster organizations become aware of changes in legislation, the faster they can put a compliance plan in place. And while I referenced labor law posting changes at the beginning of this article, some legal changes might require updates to job applications, policies and procedures, and/or employee handbooks. It’s also possible that the change might require employee handouts. 

As human resources professionals, we’re always looking for ways to take a more proactive approach to compliance so we can potentially reduce any risk or liability (i.e., fines and penalties) for non-compliance. It demonstrates to everyone that the organization places an emphasis on following the law. 

Our friends at Poster Guard have an Employment Law Alert Service that can help organizations stay current with employment related legislation. This is an annual subscription service that will keep your organization informed of employment law changes on a federal, state, county, and city level. Here’s how it works:

HRdirect’s expert legal team will monitor employment-related legislative activity around the U.S. including over 20,000 agencies. The types of employment-related legislation that will be monitored include:

Discrimination and harassment;FMLA, sick pay, bereavement, meal breaks;Immigration;Minimum wage, equal pay, and salary history;OSHA, safety, and smoking in the workplace;Pregnancy / lactation accommodations, rest periods;Plus, many others.

When there’s a change, you’ll receive an attorney reviewed and approved email alert. The email will take you to a summary of the law – in plain language – and provide a link to the full text of the legislation for reference. It will also suggest some action items for implementing the new requirements. 

This alert service positions the organization to quickly understand the change and immediately make compliance related decisions. In addition to the email alerts, subscribers will have access to a database of recent alerts with suggested next steps. There are three things I really like about this service.

As an HR pro, I can feel comfortable that legal professionals are watching out for legislation that impacts my organization. That frees up my time so I can focus on doing other things like recruiting and training. I can use the database to conduct a mini-audit and make sure my company remains in compliance. This is a great project to conduct regularly and ensure that we’re doing all the right things. When there’s a new law or a change, I receive a summary and some talking points that I can share with senior management and the HR team. We can strategize on the best next step for our organization and workforce. 

We all know that compliance is an important part of our role in human resources, but it doesn’t have to be the only thing we do. Finding trusted partners to help us maintain compliance just makes good business sense. 

I hope you’ll check out Poster Guard’s Employment Law Alert Service. It’s a great opportunity to make your work easier, stay compliant, and provide greater value to the organization. 

P.S. Right now, Poster Guard is offering a FREE 2-month trial of the Employment Law Alert Service. No credit card required. It’s a perfect time to try the service out and see firsthand the value it brings. 

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