HBR compliance report & 2025 compliance calendar inside!

We’ve put two of our top HR compliance performers into this edition. First, there’s the Harvard Business Review Report, Confronting HR Compliance Challenges Small and Medium-Size Businesses Face, filled with data that can help with strategy and decision-making. Second, there’s our 2025 HR Compliance Calendar, a must-have for any HR administrator trying to stay on top of HR compliance deadlines. Put them together and you’ll have a jump on your HR compliance plans for 2025—and that much less to worry about.

Ensuring your company policies and actions adhere to evolving employment-related rules and regulations takes time, effort, and expertise. Doing so effectively involves everything from keeping on top of the latest HR compliance requirements to creating and documenting enforcement policies to meet ever-changing HR compliance requirements to properly handling complaints when they occur—and more.  

There’s a lot at stake. In fact, the minute you hire your first employee, you introduce HR risk to your business. Each year, discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation, and harassment claims cost U.S. businesses millions of dollars. For example, in 2023 the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission resolved 83,787 charges of workplace discrimination, resulting in $346.2 million in fines and settlements. Being out of HR compliance puts a business at risk for not only hefty fines and penalties but also reputational damage. Ultimately, all of this can be far more costly than investing in the resources to stay compliant.  

The shift to remote work over the past few years has resulted in many organizations having employees working in multiple locations and multiple states. This shift requires a strong understanding of and adherence to federal, state, and local employment rules and requirements.  

To better understand the current concerns and dynamics in the marketplace, TriNet sponsored research by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, which conducted a pulse survey of business leaders, a majority of whom are from organizations that are evolving their operations to incorporate new strategies to keep up with compliance requirements, including the hiring of external HR service providers and the use of analytics tools. The report examines best practices -small and medium-sized businesses can use to navigate HR compliance and stay on top of changes to workplace rules and requirements.  

We hope you find it a valuable resource. 

Michael Mendenhall


Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer/Chief Communications Officer, TriNet 

Priscila Bala
CEO


LifeLabs Learning

Compliance with HR requirements is a multifaceted endeavor, encompassing many different aspects such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), workplace posters, employment agreements, and record retention, to name a few. The ADA and similar state laws mandate reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities and prohibit discrimination based on disability status. Organizations must adhere to numerous posting requirements to inform employees of their rights, often as one compliance aspect of a broader law, such as paid sick and safe leave laws. Employment agreements and non-compete clauses can safeguard organizational interests but must be compliant with local, state, and federal requirements, some of which prohibit certain restrictive covenants, while meticulous record retention helps compliance and transparency throughout the employment lifecycle.

Businesses often need to hire independent contractors (ICs) to perform work for which their regular employees don't have the time or skills. In this article, we'll review the tax forms and other documents companies must prepare for ICs. We'll also highlight two best practices for the use of written contracts and tracking of invoices. 

If it’s your first time hiring contractors, be aware that the Internal Revenue Service is aggressive in pursuing abuses of the tax system. So, you must take pains to determine whether an individual is a  legitimate contractor or employee. The difference is crucial because misclassification and failure to file the right 1099 form for contractors could result in significant fines and penalties.  

Check out two compliance-themed events for some of the best insights and ideas on how to face and handle this tricky area of HR.