With the end of the year just days away, employers and their HR leaders need to know they will be facing some potentially scary employment issues as 2016 unfolds.

In fact, the folks at XpertHR, an online resource for legal compliance, have issued their annual report on the scariest HR and employment issues. And, as they say at the ballpark, you can’t tell the players without a program.

According to Beth Zoller, legal editor at XpertHR, when you toss in court cases, legislation and regulatory actions, you have what she considers to be the makings of a very confusing, scary scenario – turning the concepts of who is considered an employee, as well as what rights and benefits employees should be entitled to in the workplace, upside down.

“An employer who is unprepared stands to face increased costs, including civil fines and fees, criminal penalties, administrative complaints, potential litigation and harm to its business reputation,” Zoller says, adding that in 2015 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) secured $525 million for victims of discrimination in private, state and local government, and federal workplaces.

Zoller created a “Top 10 Scariest Challenges” most employers will face this year (she ranks them by the likelihood that an employer will be affected by a specific issue).

1. Same-Sex marriage – The Supreme Court ruled that same-sex married couples have a constitutional right to marry and are therefore entitled to the same rights and benefits as opposite-sex married couples nationwide.

2. Expanding protections for LGBT individuals – Federal, state and local developments continue to expand the workplace rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals. An employer should make sure that its workplace policies and practices are compliant. 

3. Reasonable accommodations for an increasingly diverse workplace – As workplaces become more inclusive, an employer must ensure that its workplace policies and practices are legally compliant and provide workers with reasonable accommodations based on pregnancy, religion, disability, sexual orientation, etc.

4. Paid sick leave – In addition to President Obama’s executive order providing paid sick leave for federal contractors, paid sick leave laws continue to be passed on the state and local level. An employer should determine whether any of the new laws apply and ascertain whether the leave the employer is required to provide is paid or unpaid.

5. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) pursuit of workplace policies – Based on the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) report on employer rule cases, an employer should make sure that its employee handbook policies do not infringe upon the right of employees to engage in protected concerted activity or collective action to improve their wages, hours and working conditions.

Workplace policies with respect to social media, confidentiality, investigations and communications, should be carefully drafted and avoid overly broad and ambiguous language that interferes with employee rights.

6. Workplace wearables – There are risks to wearables, including: employee access to inappropriate information, harassment and invasion of privacy issues, and viruses or malware can be introduced into the employer’s private and secure network. It is advisable to implement a carefully worded wearable technology policy and outline the proper and improper use of wearable technology in the workplace.

7. Redefining and expanding who is entitled to overtime and raising the minimum wage – The Department of Labor’s proposed regulations, if made final, would greatly increase the number of employees eligible for overtime.

See also: The long-awaited overtime rule: What employers need to know right now

8. Providing independent contractors with increased workplace rights - Prudent employers should assess all independent contractor relationships and review the measures in place to reduce the risk of misclassification.

9. Revising the joint employer standard and expanding the pool of employers – An employer should closely evaluate its business relationships and contracts to assess whether they have the right to control, either directly or indirectly, the terms and conditions of a contracted employee or another business’ employee.

10. Telecommuting and flexible work arrangements - Approximately 30-45% of the US workforce now telecommutes on some basis. If an employer chooses to allow employees to telecommute or enter flexible working arrangements, it should be sure to maintain a firm policy that clearly sets forth guidelines. 

"Prudent employers should be proactive and critically evaluate what steps they will need to take to ensure compliance, whether it be amending policies and practices, enhancing employee and supervisor training, or revising contractual agreements," Zoller says.