External Factors Cause HR Revolution: At What Cost?

-

©AR_HRComatrix_AdLee_HRevolution


We needed an interlude because it seems that when it rains, it pours. What is happening in the world of businesses and HR these days and times?!. Between minimum wage issue and ACA to exempt and independent contractor redefinition, employers scramble and employees foresee disaster.  The DOL has spoken, HR is on the grill, businesses are concerned, workers are at loss, this is a time of confusion and transformation. Who is the winner?

Several propositions have been coming from the DOL lately, with the redefinition of exemption being the major one. No less than uneasiness could be expected from this change.

Added to that is the "economic realities"-based interpretation of independent contractors by the DOL.

Changes are Ahead

So, for the HR world, what is there to do and understand? SHRM and related groups have been vocal and explicit on the subject of OT exemption. Check on the current deadline if you want to speak out.

And with the notion of "not mandated" benefits disappearing, companies are getting creative in their attempts to remain competitive. Netflix announces a revolutionary concept in the world of US business and HR Management: Full Year PAID parental leave at the employee's choice! Du jamais vu! Big shout out to Netlfix which leads on many fronts. Microsoft is following suite with its 20 weeks of PTO: eight weeks for disability/pregnancy and 12 weeks for parental leave. The tech world is setting the tone, ranging from 16 weeks for Reddit to 18 for Google and 20 for Twitter, thru 17 for Facebook. The law firm DLA Piper is an innovative exception outside the tech world with its 16 weeks offer. Have a peak.

Remaining on the list of employers of choice is hard work, calls for creativity and open mind, and opens up to global thinking. In all fairness, this is new territory in the US and the transition is certainly easier on global businesses because of exposure to different notions of benefits. Indeed, we are in full transition mode in the USA.

Now the issue of leave and vacation takes political dimensions.

More changes ahead? HR Revolution is here, the stakes are high and so will be the cost. Your cost will match the way you "seize the moment", however you make it. Need help in turning this hurdle into opportunity? Contact me.

People in HR and small businesses, an advice: take a proactive approach. You do not want to have to play a game of catch-up.
At the very least, brace yourself and stay posted on what's next to do and to happen eventually...

En Synthèse...


Je ne sais si nous devons parler de mutation ou de transformation...Toujours-est-il que les changements fleurissent dans le domaine de la législation du travail aux USA. Un vrai déluge de règlementations provenant du Department of Labor (DOL). L'on parle d’éventuelle suppression de la catégorie cadres avec une quasi- généralisation des heures supplémentaires (aie aie!), et ceci après l'ajustement du taux minimum horaire (justifié); et l'on regarde de plus près le statut des contractuels. Est-ce pour le meilleur ou le pire?  




En Synthèse...

Aux Etats-Unis le fossé se creuse de plus en plus entre l'Administration et les businessses, et entre les businesses et les employés. Pourquoi? Parce que les réglementations supposées protéger les employés tombent à tout vent. Mais en fin de compte, ça a un effet boomerang.

En amont, il y a les changements sur la politique d'assurance médicale ou ACA. En aval, les employeurs doivent faire face a l’élimination éventuelle du statut "cadre" ou "exemption from overtime". Et maintenant, l'on parle de la redéfinition des contractants qui pourraient devenir salariés versus indépendants. C'est le déluge. Une véritable révolution dans le monde du business, du travail, de la gestion des RH.

 Qu'en dit-on? Les avis sont partagés, bien entendu, mais d'ores et déjà certains employés ont réalisé aux moins deux choses: 1) la réduction de leurs horaires de travail, et comprenons par cela la réduction de "salaire" ou de leur paie plus précisément car quand on est payé à l'heure, moins l'on travaille, moins on gagne n'est-ce-pas? et 2) la réduction substantielle de la qualité de l'assurance médicale offerte par leurs employeurs. Pour simplifier: si certains employés vont adopter l'assurance offerte par l'Etat sous ACA, cela suppose pénalisation fiscale des employeurs. Par ailleurs, un minimum de semaine de 32 heures suppose une obligation d'assurance-santé . Cela, c'est nouveau dans ce système économique où la libéralisation économique était primordiale. Par conséquent, les employeurs essaient de survivre ces diverses pénalisations; et noblesse oblige, offrent une assurance médicale à la majorité au prix d'un paquet fantôme: ce qui s'appelle "consumer-directed health care" (CDHC) qui repose plus sur la participation de l’employé que de l'employeur.

 Quant aux employeurs? Disparition du petit entrepreunariat? Peut-être pas car c'est ce qui définit les USA. Mais certainement redéfinition de son profil, et par conséquent perte d'emplois à l'horizon; et, au pire des cas, l’émergence d'une nouvelle catégorie d’employés "exploités" qui ne feront pas surface dans le domaine de la taxation sociale. 

 Quant aux grandes entreprises, elles ont jusqu’à la fin de l’année pour redéfinir les postes et la politique salariale. Travail monumental. Un grand brouhaha dans le monde RH.

 Une politique de Ressources Humaines?  A suivre de près.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

COMMUNICATION, SAFETY & WORKPLACE: "Je suis Charlie"

-
Image
©AR_HRComatrix_SCharlie C ommunication is powerful, today more than ever, with social media . Frontiers are erased . Time elapses. Things and situations take a different dimension. Everything is "here and now ". This week, " Je suis Charlie " has been the most recent and poignant picture of the power of communication. All started and ended in the workplace . Chilling for HR and Safety people. P eople all the over the world spend most of their time at work . The typical workday is about six to eight hours in the the US with the new approach to the notion of full time job . In France it is typically eight hours, with often some flexibility, and despite the official 35 hours a week. . How can we protect workers against unexpected violence since they spend most of their time at work? H R is not about damage control ; it is about proactivity . Disturbingly enough, only 31% of workplaces in the US seem to be proactive in emergency preparedness, acco...
Read more

CATCHING FIRE: WORDS of WISDOM ABOUT and FROM MILLENNIALS- LESSONS FROM MILLENNIALS Part II -

-
Image
A lot has been said about Millennials. There are you tube videos , articles , blogs , research and polls... Most of them trying to help us understand this new generation. They appear as aggressive, daring, intimidating,  careless, smart, fast, clueless, in sum "different," regardless on who sees them. They certainly have many faces. Turning a New Leaf With Millennials © 2013 AR_HRCom-Millennials Those of us who have been working side by side with them have most likely experienced mixed feelings. It is basically turning a new leaf. Let's move toward greener fields! These young  partners can be exuberant and very lively and their concerns about professional or personal life can feel overwhelming. Often times you get what you see and hear. Does it make your assessment easier? I doubt. To me the challenge in assessment comes from the necessity to distance oneself from the individual. The ability to intellectualize things in this matter is a real gift. I can dea...
Read more

Holistic HR - Part I: Is Mental Wellness Relevant?

-
Image
Ad_HRComtx_1_620 © A s we are navigating the new ways of work, one aftermath of the pandemic for many of us is the unpleasant discovery of unvisited or neglected matters: our mental wellness. More than ever HR has to embrace its evolving approach to its core responsibility: HR is about "the whole person". T he pandemic has brought to the surface so many elements that neither HR nor the people had thought about, although always existing. To me, the two major concerns about mental wellness are depression and domestic violence. I have to admit that I never seriously thought about it until I lost sleep myself and couldn't understand why I was so inexplicably restless and unfocused. Quite a few people I talked to shared similar occurrences. This can only be exacerbated by the sense of isolation from familiar working environment as we work from home or are still transitioning to go back to work. If any of this happened to you, you are quite normal in highly abnormal ti...
Read more

Holistic HR - Part II: Socially Distant and Staying Relevant

-
Image
Ted_HRComtx_HolisticHR © Carving a Path for 2021 I t is said that silence is death, and that no news is good news. I have to say that I have been like many of us: affected in one way of another by Covid, being socially distant within relevancy. New resolutions? At least, carving a new path... in this icy cold world full of hot topics. It is not easy: it takes daring and willingness.   T he new year - already not feeling so new by now - has to be better in many ways, because it is practically a call to duty. What the pandemic has brought to us is not isolation but the exposure to a global environment that could reveal itself to be highly toxic , as well as the possibility of exacerbation of some situations of at-risk people . As we advance into 2021 we see the emergence of Wellbeing vs. Wellness verbiage because if anything last year has brought to light, it is the awareness of the importance of mental health .  This is more than ever a reason to understand and embrace that...
Read more

WORK LIFE / BALANCE DEBATE- PART II: The Five TOPS by Regions, Countries, Companies and Jobs -

-
Image
The FIVE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES BY REGIONS and COUNTRIES I t is educating to see the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)  map of better life index . The assessment of better life varies by regions and by countries, from life satisfaction to safety through education and environment. OECD better life index responses - 2014 Interesting enough, Health is primary in France, Canada, Australia, the Russian Federation,  and Norway. Life-Work balance is important in Mauritius Island, Mali, Montenegro and Nicaragua. Life Satisfaction prevails in US, Germany, UK, as well as Croatia, Poland and Sweden and Finland. Safety is paramount in Japan, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, and The Bahamas. Education is important in Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina The FIVE TOP COMPANIES According to Glassdoor, there are 25 companies that are rated to be the best in work/life balance policies. Employees do love it. Those organizations include non-profit, as w...
Read more

Christmas ..Holidays...Party Season..Why?

-
Image
You Party because You are Expected To .... By now you have your Holiday party planned or maybe you are already over it. Preparation can be hectic . You have been trying to give another nice end-of-year party and your hopes are that it will be. It is amazing when we break it into pieces how many things something as simple and as common as a end-of-year Holiday party could involve. From very small to very large organizations, the idea behind it is to cultivate good employee relations . Employees look forward to this event. Life partners are involved in "shopping" for the occasion. It is indeed the networking event of the year for many, the one coming after social networking . As a child I remember going to business Christmas parties where the whole family was invited and children given very nice presents by Santa Claus! For HR, it falls into a busy period: time for performance reviews, time for seasonal hiring for some, time for reporting, and this year, time for prepar...
Read more