PBN summit to tackle ’13 employment trends

Rhode Island businesses face major developments in employment issues in 2013, with health care reform and labor regulations at the top of the list. Social media continues to be a challenge, with its expanding potential and its own share of annoyances.
To tackle these issues head-on, a panel of human resources, legal and health care reform experts were set to dive deeply into the pain points, politics and policies of impending concerns at the Providence Business News Summit, “[Are You Ready?] Employment Trends 2013” at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Providence-Warwick in Warwick on Dec. 13.
“We’re coming up on more of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which is going to be an issue for employers, with the re-election of the administration,” said summit panelist Bill O’Gara, a principal with the law firm of Pannone Lopes Devereaux & West.
Many issues in labor regulations are fluid and complex, O’Gara said.
“There’s a lot of activity at the National Labor Relations Board under the Obama administration, so there are a lot of things pending right now that could have implications for employers,” said O’Gara, who has more than 20 years of experience handling diverse matters before federal and state courts and administrative agencies, including the Rhode Island Commission on Human Rights and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
“The National Labor Relations Board has branched out and is essentially trying to educate employees outside of the union context,” O’Gara said. “I think the risk for employers is that they may be dealing with complaints at the NLRB that they didn’t think were relevant to their business if they didn’t have a union.”
O’Gara said the U.S. Department of Labor has stepped up enforcement efforts overall, for example, regarding the classification of employees.
“What I see as a trend is that individual employees are much more cognizant of their rights and they’re much more prepared to bring claims,” O’Gara said. “Many attorneys in this state are comfortable bringing claims on behalf of employees that 10 years ago weren’t so common.”
For example, if employees are terminated, they want to know why they were terminated, and if they think there are issues, they may be more inclined to pursue legal options, O’Gara said.
“The other thing that complicates it, and this may be more unique to this state, is that when employment ends, employees can’t count on going out and securing new employment,” said O’Gara, pointing to Rhode Island’s double-digit unemployment rate.
The litigious atmosphere affects the bottom line, O’Gara said.
“You’ve got the increased cost of responding to complaints that’s kind of become a sea change,” O’Gara said.
Human resources consultant Cindy Butler, president of Butler & Associates and a summit panelist, said many business executives, especially in small firms, have to handle these challenging issues without specialists, such as a human resources director, on staff.
With government agencies examining compliance issues, it’s important for businesses to do self-audits, which can be a valuable annual review, Butler said.
“There’s a heightened awareness on the classification of exempt and nonexempt employees, as well as eligibility to work in the U.S.,” Butler said. “The forms are scrutinized very carefully.”
For small businesses where leaders wear many hats, Butler said information from the seminar can help keep things on track during the year.
Other panelists include Christine Ferguson, director of the Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange. Ferguson is a nationally recognized leader in health care reform and policy development.
Tackling the rapidly changing topic of social media will be Brian Lamoureux, a partner with Pannone Lopes Devereaux & West.
The summit is approved for 1.5 general recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the Human Resources Certification Institute. •

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