Last week, the Phoenix office of Fisher & Phillips hosted an all-day human resources workshop dealing with a variety of labor and employment law topics. We were fortunate to get feedback from a number of valley HR professionals, and during our conversations several trends and requests for information were top of mind. Below are descriptions of three of these trends and several suggestions on how to manage them effectively.

1. Litigation issues are on the rise.

During the past ten years, there has been a rising tide of wage and hour litigation in the U.S. Much to the dismay of business owners, plaintiffs and their attorneys have had great success in suing and winning large lawsuits against corporations of all sizes. In 2013, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor requested a budget increase of $6.4 million to support the addition of 57 investigators to enforce a variety of law.

The Labor Department has also been very successful in securing settlements from employers. In fiscal year 2011, the DOL recovered $225 million in back wages for employees, up 28 percent from fiscal year 2010, and the largest amount collected in a single fiscal year in WHD's history. Needless to say, it is imperative that HR managers consistently review their company policies and procedures to keep unwanted litigation at bay.

2. Workers want their time off.

The Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical and Leave Act, and other state and federal leave laws have outlined very specific rules that pertain to employees taking time off for sickness, vacation and other qualifying situations. While the laws are usually easy to abide by, employees still continue to file a record number of claims due to employers not following these laws. It would behoove HR managers to be very mindful about what their PTO polices are, and if they are in line with federal and state law guidelines.

3. The NLRB and the EEOC are keeping watch.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has been stringently enforcing its Strategic Enforcement Plan, which is intended to focus on six areas of priority:

  • Eliminating barriers in recruitment and hiring
  • Protecting immigrant, migrant and other vulnerable workers
  • Addressing emerging and developing issues
  • Enforcing equal pay laws
  • Preserving access to the legal system
  • Preventing harassment in the workplace

In light of recent employee vs. employer rants on social media, the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) is also aggressively cracking down on employers and working to protect employees and their free speech rights. While limiting what your employees post about the company may help your business from a public relations standpoint, it can also create new legal woes.

In order to prevent these trends from wreaking havoc on your organization, review and update your employee handbook regularly and consult with a legal professional to ensure that your company policies always comply with state and federal law.

Originally published by Phoenix Business Journal on June 3, 2014.

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