FMLA poster updated:  The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released a newly-updated Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) poster, which is available here.  Per the applicable FMLA regulations, “covered employers” must post and keep posted on their premises, in conspicuous locations where employees are employed and where it can be readily seen by employees and  applicants for employment, a notice of explaining FMLA’s provisions and the procedures for filing a complaint for FMLA violations with the DOL. Employers are covered by the FMLA if they employ 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year. Covered employers must post this notice, even if none of their employees are eligible for FMLA leave. The DOL’s FMLA poster is designed to fulfill such posting requirements.  Fortunately for employers, the DOL notes on its website, www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/posters/fmla, that the prior April 2016 and February 2013 versions of the FMLA poster still fulfill posting requirements, meaning employers are not required to immediately replace the posters that may be captured in a combination posting. However, as a best practice, employers should consider posting the April 2023 poster as soon as practicable.  For ASE members, you can obtain new posters with a 15% discount.  Click here for more information.  Source:  Atkinson Andelson Loya Ruud & Romo 5/5/23

FLSA poster updated for Pump Act changes: The required FLSA poster has been updated to include Pump At Work information for employee awareness. When the Affordable Care Act first mandated pumping breaks, they were limited to workers entitled to the FLSA’s overtime protections — “nonexempt” workers who often are paid on an hourly basis. The PUMP Act expanded those rights to exempt employees, who are not entitled to minimum wage and overtime protections and are often paid on a salary basis.  For ASE members, you can obtain new posters with a 15% discount.  Click here for more information. Source:  HR Dive

AI could replace some HR jobs: IBM’s Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna said the company expects to pause hiring for roles it thinks could be replaced with artificial intelligence (AI) in the coming years.  Hiring in back-office functions — such as human resources — will be suspended or slowed, Krishna said in an interview. These non-customer-facing roles amount to roughly 26,000 workers, Krishna said. “I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period.”  That would mean roughly 7,800 jobs lost. Part of any reduction would include not replacing roles vacated by attrition, an IBM spokesperson said. More mundane tasks such as providing employment verification letters or moving employees between departments will likely be fully automated, Krishna said. Some HR functions, such as evaluating workforce composition and productivity, probably won’t be replaced over the next decade, he added.  Source: Bloomberg 5/1/2023

Are job titles the new worms for hooks? Findings from a Pearl Meyer's survey registered a surge of employers using job titles to retain, attract, and reward employees. In surveying more than 400 organizations, it found that 54% are using job titles to attract prospective employees — up by 35% since 2018.  The number of employees using job titles to determine eligibility for some compensation programs also increased from 30% to 38%, according to the report. "Where we see the most eye-popping numbers is in the significant effort to reward and retain employees through the use of titles," said Rebecca Toman, vice president of the survey business unit at Pearl Meyer, in a media release. According to Toman, 37% of respondents are "actively applying" titles to retain key employees, up from 27% in 2018.  There is also a 74% increase in the number of employers using titles to reward staff, from 19% in 2018 to 33% in 2023, the report revealed.  Source:  HR Director 4/28/23

Should benefits include divorce counseling? When an employee is going through a divorce, emotional, logistical ,and legal matters weigh so heavily on them that work can quickly fall to the bottom of the pile.   As divorce rates continue to creep up, the impact on work will be hard for employers to ignore. An employee will lose 40% of their productivity for the six months before their divorce and up to five years after it, due to factors like absences for court and legal appointments, along with the impact from emotional distress, according to a report by the Nashville Business Journal. For some, the experience is so overwhelming that 10% will actually quit their job due to divorce.  "Employers have said, this is none of my business, but then they start to realize this is way more expensive for the company than it is for the employee going through it," says Vicky Townsend, president of Divorce Right, a coaching and management training platform. "Divorce is typically a 9-to-5 business — all the people that help you through this process don't work on weekends." As employers continue to encourage employees to bring their full selves to work, sometimes that means addressing the messier parts of life, Townsend says. But done right, employees will be able to move forward in both their lives and careers with the support of their workplace.  Source: EBN 4/27/23

Paid parental leave an important yet unequal benefit: While 64% of Americans believe it is necessary for employers to provide at least 12 weeks of paid parental leave to both primary and secondary caregiving workers to promote workplace gender equity, only about 1 in 10 companies has such a policy, according to a report released  by research nonprofit JUST Capital.  JUST Capital looked at the Russell 1000 companies for its analysis. It found that while most (60%) disclosed a paid parental leave policy as of September 2022, only around 40% disclosed the specific number of weeks offered to primary and secondary caregivers. Those making disclosures in each category increased from the year prior, however. The internet and software industries had the highest number of weeks paid parental leave, with the internet industry averaging 18 weeks for primary caregivers and 17 weeks for secondary caregivers, and the software industry averaging 16 and 12 weeks, respectively. Transportation and healthcare rounded out the bottom of the list, offering on average six and four weeks and four and four weeks, respectively.  Source: HR Dive 4/27/23