HR professionals play a vital role in hiring, training, and managing your staff members. To be effective, they must understand and implement laws that are constantly changing. However, HR professionals aren’t the only people in your organization who need to understand compliance requirements.
Each day, your managers devote their time and energy to training and managing team members. If they aren’t trained on HR compliance and applicable laws, they won’t be able to do their job. Non-compliance also increases your company’s risk of penalties, fines, and lawsuits.
To ensure your managers are properly trained on major compliance laws, read on.
Do You Train Managers About HR Laws, Like Equal Pay, Overtime, or the ADA, Etc.?
During Asure’s 2024 HR Benchmark Report, we asked 1,065 small businesses if they were training managers on important HR laws. Then, we asked them if they had experienced fast-growth or zero-growth during the previous year. We found that fast-growth and zero-growth companies had dramatically different answers.
56% of zero-growth firms said they trained managers on HR laws.
81% of fast-growth firms said they trained managers on HR laws.
Our survey demonstrated that there was a 25-point spread between fast-growth and zero-growth companies. When you looked at only businesses that had less than 25 workers, this remarkable spread jumped to 40%.
The Most Important Compliance Training Laws for Your Managers
It’s essential to train your managers on HR compliance because many managers and organizations are unaware of the implications and requirements of these regulations.
Mary Simmons, Asure’s VP of HR compliance, learning, and development, recently talked about how important these laws are in a Mission to Grow podcast on “HR Compliance.” Simmons said, “There are plenty of businesses who have gone out of business by doing these things wrong and having major lawsuits.”
During the interview, Simmons brought up the example of a manufacturing company she worked with. Like other companies, they were discussing ways to adjust to higher salary requirements in January 2025 and changes to who could be paid a salary.
When Simmons asked about how much it would impact the firm to switch salary workers to hourly and give them overtime, she was surprised to hear that the manufacturing company didn’t give overtime. Ultimately, she found out that the manufacturing company wasn’t giving workers overtime pay, but the employees were still working overtime hours. Instead of getting overtime, the workers were receiving comp time.
Legally, companies can’t just forego overtime laws and give workers comp time. However, managers at the manufacturing company were doing so because they were simply unaware of the law’s requirements.
Teaching compliance laws matters because many of these laws aren’t intuitive. Unless your managers are trained on them, they won’t be able to follow them.
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
The FLSA is one of the most important wage and hour laws. This law sets the national minimum wage and a 40-hour work week. When people work more than 40 hours, the FLSA requires them to be paid for their efforts. Additionally, the FLSA regulates child labor.
Recently, the FLSA was updated with changes to salaries for overtime-exempt employees. Starting in January 2025, there will be a much higher salary standard for salary workers and highly compensated employees (HCEs).
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
Enacted in 1990, the ADA prohibits any kind of disability-based discrimination. As an employer, you have a responsibility to follow the ADA if you have 15 workers or more.
Discrimination is prohibited in hiring, promotions, recruitment, pay, benefits, job assignments, training, leave, firing, termination, and any other employment situation. If you are large enough to be bound by this law, you must make reasonable accommodations for workers who have disabilities.
Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Under the ACA, all companies must provide qualified health insurance to their workers. The main exception to this rule is for workplaces that have fewer than 50 full-time workers or full-time equivalents.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)
The PDA was passed in 1978 as an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This statute forbids discrimination against anyone because of childbirth, pregnancy status, or related medical conditions. Basically, the law clarifies that pregnancy discrimination is a type of sex discrimination.
Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
Passed in 1967, this law protects anyone over the age of 40 from age discrimination in employment. During the time period when it was passed, many companies used age limits when they staffed new positions. This disadvantaged older workers and led to long-term unemployment.
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA)
The goal of the FMLA was to let employees take leave for important matters, like family illnesses and medical issues, without the employee having to worry about getting laid off. Under the FMLA, employees can get up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the following reasons.
- The birth, care, adoption, or foster care of a child
- The care of an immediate family member who is suffering from a major medical problem.
- Medical leave for an employee who can’t work because of a major illness.
If your company has at least 50 workers in a 75-mile radius, you must follow the FMLA. All employees who work at least 1,250 hours in a year are eligible for FMLA leave.
Equal Pay Act of 1963
In 1963, the Equal Pay Act became the first law in the United States to ban paying people differently because of their sex. Thanks to this law, pay must be determined based on seniority, merit, quantity or quality of production, and other qualities that aren’t sex-based.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986
Enacted by President Ronald Reagan, the IRCA is a law that requires every employer and employee to fill out a Form I-9. The goal of the law was to ensure that undocumented workers aren’t knowingly hired in the United States. To be in compliance, you must make sure that each section is filled out completely. The entire I-9 must be finished by the employee’s third day of work.
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
OSHA was passed in 1970 to protect worker’s safety. Employers must create an environment that is free of dangerous hazards, like high noise levels, heat stress, or toxic chemicals. For serious violations, the penalties can be up to $16,131.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
As an employer, Title VII is one of the most important anti-discrimination laws to understand. It prohibits discrimination based on color, sex, religion, national origin, and race. When it comes to hiring, terminating, and promoting workers, you must make sure your company’s practices comply with anti-discrimination statutes.
Many workplaces unintentionally violate this law without realizing it. For example, interviewers might ask about someone’s accent while they’re making small talk. Because an accent could indicate the person’s national origin, this idle question could be considered discriminatory. To avoid intentional and unintentional discrimination, it’s important to train managers on Title VII.
State-Specific Laws
Other than national HR laws, there are also state-specific laws you should pay attention to. For example, California just passed the Workplace Violence Prevention Plan, which was the first law about workplace violence prevention in the country.
Staying on top of state-by-state changes can be difficult. There are 13 states that have paid leave laws. 30 states have higher minimum wages than the federal minimum. If you need help, Asure offers a library of guides and training materials on HR compliance.
The Benefits of Training Your Managers on HR Compliance
Our 2024 HR Benchmark Report clearly showed a connection between being a fast-growth company and training managers on HR compliance laws. By teaching your managers about HR compliance, your workplace can enjoy a range of different benefits.
- Improve productivity
- Avoid lawsuits
- Minimize legal risks
- Decrease turnover rates
- Promote ethics in the workplace
- Build trust
- Create a safe environment for your workers
Learn More About HR Compliance Guidelines for Your Workplace
If you’re interested in discovering more information about HR compliance, we can help. Asure offers HR compliance services, a library of compliance training, and HR support. To learn more about how we can help, reach out to our team of small business HR experts today.