From the May 2009 issue of Ceridian Connection.

Compliance has always been difficult when it comes to employment laws. But employers should brace themselves for an even bumpier ride. The new administration in Washington, D.C. and recent sweeping changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), along with its provision for a COBRA subsidy, make "compliance" a moving target. Lawyers are likely to be among the few benefiting in the recession and beyond.

"Employers are faced with multijurisdictional regulations regarding employment law that are too complicated for the average person to navigate," says Steve Nemerson, Ceridian senior manager, HR Compliance. "Laws affecting employment are increasing both in number and complexity, and employers will need to double their efforts to step up compliance. The stakes of getting it wrong are very high."

International law firm Fulbright & Jaworski's "Fifth Annual Litigation Trends Survey" shows just how high the stakes of noncompliance can go. Findings from the survey show that:

• The greatest increases in multiple-plaintiff cases in the United States are in wage and hour, discrimination and privacy.
• Nearly 40 percent of the largest companies report the greatest increases in wage and hour cases and 25 percent cite the discrimination area.
• Labor/employment represents one of the three most numerous types of litigation pending against the sampled companies.
• Arbitrating employment disputes can have a significant impact on smaller companies: almost 33 percent spend from $50,000 to $100,000 per dispute, and 25 percent spend more than $100,000.
• Approximately 25 percent of the mid-sized companies spend from $50,000 to $100,000, and 12 percent average $100,000 or more per dispute.
• Among the largest companies, 23 percent are in the $50,000 to $100,000 range, and 19 percent spend $100,000 or more per dispute.

With stakes this high, you must comply!
Employers can expect to see serious efforts to pass other laws and regulations that will further the compliance challenge.

"It's very likely that Congress will seriously consider more employee rights laws," adds Nemerson. "We are in a cycle of expanding workplace rights regulation that will continue for an extended period of time."

Several of the proposed new pieces of legislation may potentially impact employers' compliance efforts to a great degree. One such bill, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, seeks to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill is closely modeled on existing civil rights laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Another bill on the table is the Equal Remedies Act, which if passed, will repeal caps on damages under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Statistics continue to show that employers are walking on shaky ground if not properly trained in employment law. For example, discrimination claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) jumped 15 percent in fiscal 2008 to 95,402 -- the highest level since the agency opened in 1965. Claims may swell to more than 100,000 due to mass workforce reductions resulting from the recession.

However, Nemerson commented that employers can't comply with a law that they don't know exists or one they do not understand.

"Employers need a tool, such as Ceridian HR Compliance, to notify them that there has been a change in employment legislation and practices, he explains. "They also need to understand what the change in law requires as it applies to their business or behavior and what actions they have to take or refrain from that they didn't have to take or refrain from before."

Ceridian HR Compliance solutions show you how to cut through the "legalese" of legislation to answer your most troubling HR compliance and employment questions. More than just human resources software, our solutions are a complete suite of HR compliance products and services on topics that are of top concern for today's HR professionals and business owners. HR Compliance helps you easily manage your human resources policies and practices, understand your rights and responsibilities as an employer, and get quick answers to even the most complex compliance questions.

A recent poll conducted on HR.BLR.com and Compensation.BLR.com identified FMLA as the biggest employment law headache for respondents.

Ready to lift the heavy weight associated with recent FMLA changes? Ceridian's Leave Administration solution integrates leaves covered by FMLA, state provisions, and employer-sponsored casual absence and disability programs. Ceridian Leave Administration also helps you reduce controllable absenteeism, minimize risk and relieve administrative burden.

Ceridian continually monitors regulatory changes in employment law to help keep you in compliance and lower your employment-related costs. Find out more about our compliance resources and solutions.