Survey: Overtime rule, LGBT discrimination, ACA have employers worried most

Dive Brief:

When 844 in-house counsel, HR leaders and C-suite executives from some of America’s largest employers were asked about their top worries as the presidential election approaches, unsurprisingly, compliance-related issues landed at the top of the list.
For example, the vast majority (82%) expect Department of Labor enforcement to impact their workplaces – largely due to the Labor Dept.'s new overtime rules.
Also, 74% – a rise from 31% in the 2015 survey – expect more discrimination claims over the next year related to the rights of LGBT workers, and 61% expect more claims based on equal pay, up from 34% in 2015. This change is driven by LGBT discrimination and equal pay ranking among the EEOC's announced top enforcement priorities.

Dive Insight:

Other top compliance concerns from those surveyed included joint employer issues and the ACA. With the NLRB's recent expansion of the definition of a “joint employer,” 70% expect a rise in claims over the next year based on actions of subcontractors, staffing agencies and franchisees. 53% predicted higher costs and 49% would exercise increased caution in entering into arrangements that might constitute joint employment.

When it comes to the ACA, 85% of those surveyed said the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would have an impact on their workplace in the next 12 months, one way or the other (no matter who wins the White House).

Littler attorneys Tammy McCutchen and Lee Schreter, in a joint statement, said employers are clearly feeling the impact of the Labor Dept.'s increasingly aggressive regulatory agenda, most notably the new overtime regulations. They added that while it is encouraging that the majority of respondents (65%) started to prepare before the rule was finalized, 28% said they had taken no action given delays in the rulemaking process. Experts told HR Dive in an earlier story that they were concerned that some companies weren't aware of the rule at all.

With the reclassification process possibly taking up six months and the rule unlikely to be blocked from going into effect on December 1, 2016, employers should move quickly to ensure compliance, they added.