Human Resources
The Empowered Human Capital Manager - The Role of Conflict in Problem Solving
- September, 24 2024
Call us: +1-855-202-3299
Email: [email protected]
Speaker: Margie Faulk, PHR, SHRM-CP
Speaker Designation: Compliance Advisor/E-Learning Instructor, HR Compliance solutions, LLC
If there’s ever a time to rethink your handbook, it’s now. The timeliness has less to do with the 2024 year — the obvious time to roll out a replacement handbook — and more to do with the wave of changes that recently swept the workplace.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) now has submitted its new Employee Handbook changes that can make Employee Handbooks legally unlawful. The NLRB has the authority to monitor and change employee handbooks for union and non-union workplaces. The NLKRB mandates that employee handbook policies do not prevent employees from discussing with their colleagues issues about workplace issues like pay, benefits, and safety issues, and speaking negatively about the company or supervisors. This legal protection is called “Concerted Activity from Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Federal, State, and Local regulations are in place and regulatory agencies are revving up audit focus for 2023 and beyond. Many state regulations and multi-state regulations are impacting which laws supersede federal regulations.
Workers’ new expectations may clash with employers’ old policies. Policies that ban flexibilities, certain policies as per the National Labor Relations Board, and concerted activity may feel frustratingly out of date. And yet, many organizations punt on handbook refreshes. I think a lot of companies don’t update their employee handbooks as often as they should.
With the shift to hybrid work/Remote work, organizations must set clear expectations around communication, and performance. Managers and associates both play a significant role in making [hybrid work] successful within their teams, and HR teams have an opportunity to provide tools and guidelines to make it even easier.
With 2024 here, now is the time for employers to consider updating their employee handbooks. Handbooks, handed out at orientation and often afterward ignored, are an important compliance tool for employers addressing all employment issues. Handbook policies can be a helpful tool when defending a variety of employment claims, such as wage and hour violations, harassment and discrimination lawsuits, and leave disputes.
An outdated handbook, however, can be a liability, particularly for multistate employers with a widely dispersed workforce. These employers must be attuned to the myriad of different employment laws and must be aware of new developments in any state where any employee is located. These complicated compliance requirements may seem tedious or burdensome, especially in an environment where employers are already struggling with recruiting and hiring, but failure to do so can be costly. However, according to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the National Labor Relations Board’s employee handbook requirements for union and non-union employees, we are more than ever policies that Employers can violate policies that have been changed by the new administration.
As businesses expand their workforce across different jurisdictions or operate in a multi-state environment, the importance of having comprehensive and updated employee handbooks grows significantly. In 2024, several key federal updates will need to be reflected in these handbooks. These updates include changes to workplace safety protocols under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines, modifications to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and new directives focused on equal employment opportunities, particularly in preventing workplace discrimination and harassment.
Margie Faulk is a senior-level human resources professional with over 18 years of workplace compliance experience and HR consulting experience—a current Compliance Advisor for HR Compliance Solutions, LLC. Margie has worked as an HR Compliance advisor for major corporations and small businesses in the small, large, private, public, and Non-profit sectors. Margie’s new focus is to provide Employers and Professionals with risk management strategies to develop risk management strategies to mitigate workplace violations.
Margie has provided small to large businesses with risk management strategies that protect companies and reduce potential workplace fines and penalties for violating employment regulations. Margie is bilingual (Spanish) fluent and Bi-cultural. Margie holds professional human resources certification (PHR) from the HR Certification Institution (HRCI) and SHRM-CP certification from the Society for Human Resources Management. Margie is a Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics (SCCE) member. Margie is also a SHRM Credit Provider offering SHRM-CP and SHRM-SPC credits for her training which major HR individuals need to maintain their certification credits.
HR Compliance Solutions Offers HR Compliance E-Learning Training for Employers and Professionals in the form of E-Learning, Seminars, and Webinars. E-learning training focuses on workplace compliance, federal, state, and local regulations, Compliance Training for Managers and Leadership, employee handbook development, internal audits for I-9 Form Audit and Correction, policies & procedures, and current trending laws that are critical for ensuring an effective risk management strategy to reduce or eliminate fines, penalties and criminal sanction.
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