We had dramatic changes in HR in 2013 and that’s going to continue, says attorney Mark Schickman of Freeland Cooper & Forman LLP in San Francisco. However, he points out, quoting Sir Winston Churchill, “To improve is to change. To be perfect is to change often.”
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What Are the Big Changes for the 21st Century?
Schickman’s crystal ball suggests that the issues below will be drivers of 21st century change. (Schickman was the keynoter at the Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, held recently in Las Vegas.)
- Boomer retirement
- Societal entitlements
- Medical insurance
- Nontraditional family units
- Challenges to privacy
- Lack of job security
- Technical changes
A Dangerous ADEA Mix
Older workers are challenging from several perspectives. In some ways, you may want to push them out to make room for the 40-year-olds who are waiting in the wings. And many Boomers don’t have the skills that are needed to survive in the coming decades. But you don’t want to lose the Boomers’ experience and knowledge base.
In addition, you don’t want the age discrimination lawsuits.
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Privacy Challenges
Today, everything is available online. However, employees and employers have different views of “public” social media. Law is not settled in this area, so be cautious, says Schickman.
Old Problems Aren’t Going Away
Unfortunately, the fact that there are new problems doesn’t mean that the old problems have gone away, says Schickman. For example, there’s still the challenge of sexual harassment that just won’t go away.
Expansion Around the Edges
Some developments will be at the edges of existing laws, says Schickman. For example:
- Gender and religious dress accommodation, including protections for cross-dressing.
- Breastfeeding claims as gender discrimination.
- Social media password privacy.
- Expanded wage statement data.
- Written commission agreements.
- Greater garnishment protection.
- More posters, for example, about human trafficking.
- Intellectual disability (intellectual disparity) protection.
- “Should have known” expansion. For example, say your janitorial service is charging you $8.00 an hour for janitorial workers. You should know that that person is not getting paid minimum wage, Schickman says. And that is your responsibility.
- Internship claims and challenges. Unpaid internships are getting a close look, and many are not passing muster.
Expanding Health Entitlements
Family responsibility protections will be expanded, Schickman says. This will be the civil rights issue of 2014, he adds. Reports suggest that there are 66 million caregivers, with one-third caring for two or more dependents, often of different generations. Likely, some or many of them are your employees.
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Inevitable Legal Trends
Get ready for the following trends, says Schickman; they are inevitable.
- Privacy rights
- Family rights
- Disability rights
- Gay rights
- Gender identity rights
- Age claims.
In tomorrow’s Advisor, more of Schickman’s crystal ball, plus announcement of a free webcast on five tech issues that HR managers will face in 2014.