Recapping the Hot Human Resource Trends of 2014

In the beginning of January 2014 Astron Solutions released a white paper entitled, “2014’s Hot Human Resource Trends”.  As we forge on into 2015, in this issue of Astronology we’ll recap those predictions…and how they’ve played out this year.

Trend #5: Decline in Unpaid Internships

            

As we suspected, 2014 saw an explosion in lawsuits. In January 2014, Elite Model Management settled with former unpaid interns. In October of this year NBC Universal closed a $6.4 million settlement with their unpaid interns. Lastly in November, Condé Nast settled with their former unpaid interns to the tune of $5.8 million. This lawsuit also ended with Condé Nast terminating its internship program. As mentioned in the white paper, “The U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, has a fact sheet describing what an FLSA compliant unpaid internship program should include. Make sure your for-profit organization is in compliance with these before offering any unpaid internships in 2014.”

Trend#4: Immigration Reform

            

Immigration reform is continuing to be a concern for policy makers. As of this writing, we are awaiting possible adjustment to current immigrations laws. Human Resource professionals need to stay informed in order to ensure their organizations have the talent necessary to success in the short- and long-terms.

Trend #3: Application of the United States vs. Windsor Ruling

            

In our white paper we mentioned: “Application of this decision will follow into 2014, as many organizations will be faced with interpretation and implementation matters. Make sure you are aware of how the decision impacts compliance and payroll matters, such as those related to FMLA leave administration, payroll taxes, Federal income taxes, tax-qualified retirement plans, group health plans, COBRA, and immigration practices.”  States like Utah found themselves dealing with appeals that halted marriage license issuance in 2014. However, as of October 6, 2014, the Supreme Court refused this appeal. Human Resource professionals should make it a goal to stay informed in the area of state application of same sex marriage laws, as well as the federal application, into 2015.

Trend #2: The Affordable Care Act

            

Many human resource conferences have covered the impact of the Affordable Care Act and associated updates. In 2014, these updates included increasing the small business tax credit, and determining what type of healthcare your organization can provide. These issues will only become more complicated in 2015.  Does your organization have a trusted benefits broker, legal counsel, or other source of information to ensure on-going compliance with the evolving ACA?

Trend #1: Gamification in Human Resources

            

In an upcoming white paper from Astron entitled, “Using Gamification in Total Rewards Design,” Astron Solutions will outline the benefits of using gamification in your total rewards program, as well as possible applications. According to the Forbes.com article, Gamification Gets Down to Business, “It is estimated that by 2016, over 70% of Forbes’ Global 2,000 companies will have some form of gamification in their business.”

Have you seen some of these trends pop up in conversation in your organization? Write Astronology about it and we may feature your input in a future article.