Of the many HR challenges, human resource managers have their work cut out for them in 2014 when it comes to employment legal issues. With globalization of the workforce, new health care laws and the continued usage of mobile technology, businesses have a variety of legal categories of which to keep abreast. Many of these employment legal issues have traditionally been handled by HR departments, but recent developments are requiring more decisions from owners and top management. Here are the HR legal updates and trends to watch out for.

HR Legal Updates

The following are some of the major HR legal updates that are important for employers to know:

• Healthcare reform: Healthcare coverage changes began in 2013, and will continue to affect business finances and decision-making in 2014. Business will need to comply with these reforms, including awareness of their status for the reporting for the Employer Shared Responsibility provision (delayed until 2015). Employers that offer a health Flexible Spending Account (FSA) must also offer group health insurance coverage. Small business tax credit for companies that offer health insurance also changes in 2014.

• Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA): The Supreme Court’s decision to expand the federal definition of marriage to include spouses of the same gender will have an effect on federal laws including the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Families are now eligible to pay benefits to same-gender spouses on a pretax basis for federal taxes. Businesses may also be able to collect a refund of federal unemployment tax paid to same-gender spouses who are legally married.

• Privacy: Implementation of measures on the state level to enhance security and privacy laws is continuing in 2014. Businesses need to be protected against cyber fraud and theft.

Employment Legal Issues Up for Debate

These HR issues are currently being debated on Capitol Hill in 2014 and may, or may not, cause changes in legal regulations this year.

• Immigration: Immigration reform is being debated in Washington with possible legislation that will affect businesses such as the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9.

• IRS Employment Legal Issues: Arguments began in January to determine if severance pay is taxable. Also, the IRS is examining taxation of tips and service charges.

• Retirement: Lawmakers are looking at changes that affect retirement plans that businesses offer employees. One of them is an amendment to retirement statements.

• Employment Legal Issues and Regulations: Other regulations are being examined this year including a worker’s right to organize, enforcement of employees that are misclassified as independent contractors, minimum wage and overtime laws provided by the Fair Labor Standards Act and a possible increase to the federal minimum wage.

• Banking: Banks are tightening up their requirements due to new regulations; therefore expect some effects on businesses including payroll card programs. Businesses that offer this option to employees need to make sure that their card providers are well versed in the relevant federal and state regulations.

Disclaimer Statement: All information presented is for information purposes only and is not intended to provide professional or legal advice regarding actions to take in any situation.

Sources:
http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/global/articles/pages/shrm-global-hr-trends-2014.aspx
http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/legal-hr/2013/12/27/regulatory-issues-that-will-affect-small-business-in-2014/

Organizations across diverse industries have only just begun to tap the potential of big data. They are beginning to understand why and how it is a disruptive technology. Big data analytics (or advanced analytics), is empowering these organizations to make more informed business decisions. One area where companies are starting to realize the potential impact of advanced analytics is in human resources (HR).

HR departments are now embracing the era of big data. Most HR managers comprehend that today’s technologies are able to leverage partial volumes of some types of digital data. But, many of them know that the full promise of big data cannot yet be fully achieved due to the current constraints of existing technologies.

Yet, they are also starting to see that there are areas of the HR process for which key data can already be easily accessed, extracted and presented for analysis.

Mashable’s James O’brien recently detailed the important role big data is beginning to have during the recruitment stage. In particular, certain vendors are now able to extract and present social data on job candidates that can be easily interpreted and leveraged by recruiters. Open and accessible information on social media sites, is now being mined and married with data science to help identify candidates that best meet employers’ needs.

While the hype about the promise of big data is justified, most HR managers have begun to realize that they need to temper their enthusiasm about its potential applications in HR.

There are three things HR executives need to bear in mind when evaluating how big data fits into their current and future operations:

1. Current Technological Constraints

Some HR managers have been proactive enough to focus on improving their big data systems. However, they have often come to realize that their current technological infrastructure does not offer the scalability or security to handle huge volumes of data.

Beyond that, even the most advanced computers and large servers on the market are not yet capable of unlocking the full potential of big data. Today’s technologies do not offer the full capabilities to compile, arrange, interpret, convert and report all types of big data that exist in a variety of digital forms.

2. The Need for People Analytics

In recent years, HR executives have understandably exhibited a rapidly growing interest in analytics technology. Their enthusiasm for analytics has naturally coincided with the buzz surrounding big data and its potential applications for HR purposes.

Earlier this year, professional services firm Towers Watson surveyed 1,048 organizations around the globe about their growing interest in HR data and analytics. In its 2014 HR Service Delivery and Technology Survey, the firm found that 28 percent of surveyed organizations “built or further invested in an HR analytics function” during the 18 month-period that preceded the survey.

And according to Information Services Group’s (ISG) Human Resources Technology and Service Delivery Trends in 2014 report, 10 percent of the 199 global companies that it surveyed said that they had already “fully implemented” analytics and dashboards technology solutions.

Most likely, this trend will only continue to grow. 51 percent of the 199 companies ISG surveyed indicated that they plan on adopting “analytics and dashboards” technology solutions “within the next two years.”

Yet, the rapid adoption of advanced analytics solutions creates a new huge problem for HR departments.

Currently, most HR offices are not staffed with enough qualified talent who can handle working in a data and analytics-rich environment. The majority of HR departments do not have the analytical manpower required to leverage the data and intelligence gained through using these solutions.

All too often, it is left up to under-qualified frontline staff to take on the daunting task of processing and interpreting this data. And in certain cases, depending on how effectively the vendor presents the data, these same HR staffers find themselves trying to navigate through the confusing clutter of large and disparate data sets.

Most organizations are severely lacking the competencies and skill-sets needed to optimize HR analytics.

Last year, the American Management Association (AMA) produced findings in its Conquering Big Data study that only further validated this assessment. The AMA surveyed 789 businesspeople in more than 50 industries about “analytics needs in the workforce.”

Respondents were asked to rank the analytical ability of the human resources team at their jobs. 50.4 percent of those surveyed said it was “basic”, and 16.7 percent ranked it as “poor.” While six percent of the respondents said that the analytical ability of their human resources team was “nonexistent.”

Moreover, it is estimated that there will be a significant scarcity of analytical talent for organizations to recruit over the next several years. In 2011, the McKinsey Global Institute projected in its Big data: The next frontier for innovation, competition, and productivity study that “demand for deep analytical talent in the United States could be 50 to 60 percent greater than its projected supply by 2018.”

In this new era of big data, it behooves most HR managers to proactively address the dearth of analytical talent in their departments. HR executives need to provide their frontline staff with training and education on how analyze and interpret complex data. Organizations need to invest in enhancing the analytical acumen and critical thinking skills of their HR staff.

Finally, HR departments need to commit resources to hiring specialists like data scientists and analytic modelers, who can pinpoint key data and identify optimal applications for the data.

3. Limits on the Accessibility of Information

Amid all of the excitement that has been building about big data, it is important for HR executives to know what types of digital data are accessible. By understanding what types of data are accessible, HR leaders can shape their advanced analytics program to address areas of need. What is more, they can focus on which stages of the hiring process could benefit from using analytics technology.

Within ISG’s aforementioned study, the respondents stated that “recruitment sourcing and selection” and “workforce analytics” were two areas that added a fairly high value to their enterprises. They also identified them both as areas that were “possible outsourcing candidates.”

As a consequence, many recruitment Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers are now advancing their solutions to both capitalize on the promise of big data, and respond to the aforementioned growing demand for analytics.

The potential of big data holds many exciting possibilities in recruiting phase.

Yet much of the kind of information that is needed on a job candidate, who is in the more advanced stages of the hiring process, is not always accessible to automated advanced analytics solutions. Both federal and state laws have imposed certain limitations on accessibility to certain types of personal information.

While big data and analytics is increasingly being used for identifying and recruiting job candidates, the laws around accessibility of information necessitate that employers seek out other approaches for acquiring the kind of intelligence they typically need about candidates who are further along in the hiring process.

For instance, an employer cannot attain data, via an automated advanced analytics solution, to verify a candidate’s employment or educational history. This type of information can be efficiently acquired by partnering with an employment screening solutions company. An employment screening provider can manually research these categories of information that candidates often embellish on their resumes.

Therefore, it is important that HR executives understand that much of the information that will be needed on job candidates is still not accessible through big data collection/advanced analytics solutions.

One of the more laborious responsibilities of any human resources manager, or small business owner, involves overseeing the hiring process of candidates for job openings. By its very nature, the hiring process is a very time-consuming exercise. Moreover, it gets further complicated by the fact that many candidates lie on their resumes. A recent survey conducted by Harris Poll, on behalf of CareerBuilder, found that 58 percent of employers discovered a lie on a resume. As a result, many employers use a pre-employment screening service to help facilitate the process and identify the best candidates.

Organizations can reduce their risks by partnering with a background screening company that is committed to always conducting thorough research, adhering to compliance issues and exceeding the unique needs of their clients. At a minimum, the service should offer accurate and quality-driven data that will help employers avoid the prospect of facing a negligent hiring lawsuit. And more importantly, highlight the candidate that best fits the needs of their organization.

Yet, there are a plethora of pre-employment screening services that exist on the market. How does an employer decide which service is best for their organization?

There are various elements to examine when researching employment screening providers. These five tips serve as a helpful guide to any employer looking to partner with a background screening company:

1. Membership in NAPBS

Before you even begin to extensively research the services of any employment screening provider, you want to confirm that they are a member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). Established in 2003, NAPBS has become the premiere trade association in the industry. The organization promotes “ethical business practices, compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), equal employment opportunity and state consumer protection laws relating to the background screening profession.” The NAPBS develops best practices for the background screening industry. It is important to make sure that when you are researching employment screening providers, that you consider only companies that are a NAPBS member and in good standing with the association.

2. Better Business Bureau Rating & Accreditation

The Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) rating system is great barometer for gauging how a pre-employment screening provider’s operations and services are perceived by its clients. The BBB gives letter grades ranging from A+ (highest) to F (lowest) to each business that it analyzes. In certain cases, businesses can be graded as “NR” or “No Rating” due to a lack of information about the company. Be sure to isolate your search of providers to only those companies that have been given an exemplary grade and continue to get their accreditation renewed by the BBB. If a provider has a high letter grade, it is a good indication that they consistently strive to meet the unique needs of each customer and provide reliable service.

3. Services Portfolio & Customization

When researching employment screening providers, you want to find out about its scale of operations, full scope of services and capabilities to customize its offerings. Each of the pre-employment screening providers that you evaluate should list an outline of their primary services. Some questions to consider are:

• Is the provider set up to partner with large enterprises, or are they best equipped to serve smaller organizations/SMBs?
• Are they offering the type of background screening services that my organization typically requires when recruiting new talent?
• Does the provider seem to be offering only a “canned” solution? Can they modify their services to meet my organization’s expectations?
• Is the provider able to build out a legacy program that will enable my organization to consistently hire superior talent and exceed its productivity goals?
• Can their employment screening reports be customized to speak to the ever-changing positional needs of my organization?

4. Areas of Expertise

You want to be sure that the pre-employment screening provider you are considering offers experience working with organizations that fit your profile and particular needs. Identify the provider’s areas of expertise (both the types of organizations that they specialize in serving and also researching). You should ask the following questions when evaluating each provider:

• Do the bulk of the provider’s clients derive from the public, private or non-profit sector?
• Do they seem to specialize in working exclusively with clients from a specific sector or industry?
• How much does the provider know about my organization and our unique needs?
• How knowledgeable are they about the kind of compliance issues we need to always be conscientious of?
• Does the provider offer expertise in researching the type of company my applicant is coming from?
• Are they familiar with researching companies of similar size and from the same industry?
• Does the provider demonstrate an understanding of the region (and its legal environment) that my applicant is hailing from?

5. Security

Focus on only researching employment screening providers that you know will vigilantly safeguard your job applicants’ information.  It is critical to find out whether the provider you are considering has implemented sophisticated information and network security systems to ensure the protection of applicant data. You want to be confident that the business they conduct both offline and online is secure and confidential. Be sure that the provider prioritizes your security throughout its IT infrastructure on the backend. Confirm that all the data that is transmitted to and from their servers is encrypted. And, verify that the provider takes exhaustive measures to continuously maintain the security and optimal performance of those servers.

Furthermore, find out if the provider you are considering relies on “offshoring” the personal information of job applicants. Try to determine whether they work with foreign partners to process personally identifiable information (PII) of job applicants for a low price. Once PII is sent outside the borders of the U.S., it ceases to be shielded by laws like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 and the 2003 amended version of the FCRA; which collectively establish protections around identify theft, information security and privacy. By choosing a provider that “offshores” PII, you leave your organization at risk of being liable for negligently handling an applicant’s data. Avoid any providers that offshore PII as part of their screening practices.

We have added an employment demographics resource page because as human resources professionals know when they receive resumes for a particular job opening they will be touching base with candidates from across the country. In today’s global economy, people are looking far and wide in order to secure the best position for themselves, for their career and for their family. While you likely want to make sure that you choose the most qualified candidate, you also want to make sure that this same person is trustworthy and secure. Investing in employment screening is a wise choice, ensuring that you get a well-rounded idea about the person that you might possibly add to your company’s payroll.

At HRemploymentScreening.com, we recognize that our clients place a high priority on accurate data and useable information. As we are constantly trying to improve the customer experience, we have decided to expand our company website so that it offers additional employment screening resource information to our clients. We have added employment screening resource pages that provide our clients with valuable employment demographics information and accurate data that was compiled from the United States Census Bureau and collected during the 2010 Census.

New Valuable Employment Demographics Information including Population, Median Age, Households, and Median Income!

Our new Population, Median Age, Household Size and Median Income page is a valuable addition to our HRemploymentScreening.com website. This employment demographics resource page provides relevant information about demographics in the United States, including specific data broken down for each state in the country. At a glance, our clients can find the population of a particular state, the median age of that state, the household size and also the median income for that state. Before our clients sift through applications from job seekers across the country, this data can help them make solid decisions for their own companies. To find out more information about relevant employment demographic data in a particular state, be sure to check out this new employment population resource page today.

A study published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) states that human resource (HR) executives are facing three big HR challenges over the next decade. The study surveyed a sample of HR professionals from SHRM’s membership base. The three challenges are rewarding and retaining the best employees, developing and training the next generation of corporate leaders, and creating a corporate culture that draws the best employees to organizations. The study also looked into investment challenges, evolvement of the workforce, talent management tactics and critical HR competencies. With economic recovery still a continuing issue, this study points out ways to better the employee experience in order to allow companies continued growth.

The HR challenges study suggests the following methods to attract, retain and reward optimal talent.

• Allow flex-time. 40 percent of HR managers responded that allowing flexible work hours and providing employees flexibility to work/life balance is the most effective method for attracting, rewarding and retaining top performers.
• Cultivate trust. Of the HR managers that responded, 37 percent say that an organizational culture where open communications, trust and fairness are emphasized by leaders is a high priority.
• Better compensation. 26 percent responded that offering a better compensation and benefits package than competitors will help retain talent.
• Meaningful work. Designing jobs that provide employees with important and meaningful work is critical according to 24 percent of respondents. Work should have a clear purpose in meeting the company’s objectives in order to engage talent.
• Commitment. Demonstrated commitment to developing employees is also necessary according to 24 percent of HR managers.

These requirements for attracting and retaining talent are not new, however they have become increasingly important in the age of the Internet when more options exist to talented recruits. Competing for talent that will help companies move into the next decade of business and HR challenges will require a more employee-centric focus than in previous decades. To see more of SHRM’s research, visit the research section of their website. www.shrm.org/research/Pages/default.aspx

At HRemploymentScreening.com, we are excited to provide new employment screening services to our clients to assist with today’s HR challenges. We are always looking for ways to improve our services and to provide our clients with the best experience possible when performing comprehensive employment background checks. Contact a HRemploymentScreening.com representative today and we will create a human resources employment screening package that meets your needs. You can also visit the following webpage to learn more about creating an employment screening account.