The Top 5 Biggest Developments in HR and Compliance in 2023
Posted on 10-27-2023, Read Time: 5 Min
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Highlights:
- Elevating the 15-20% neurodivergent population enriches diversity and innovation in DEI initiatives.
- Leveraging AI ensures fair candidate evaluation and compliance with OFCCP standards.
- The shift towards unbiased pay, assessing skill and performance, and staying informed on employment laws is paramount.
The workplace has fundamentally changed in recent years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, changing expectations in the employee experience, new government regulations, hybrid and remote challenges and opportunities, and artificial intelligence. Human resources (HR) has become the primary focus of an organization’s growth and success, and with this great responsibility comes new challenges that impact human resource management, technology, and compliance.
Our team at Circa sat down with Craig Leen, partner at K&L Gates, to discuss the top five biggest developments in HR and compliance in 2023, how to manage them and help organizations thrive in an ever-changing employer and employee workforce.
1. Neurodiversity in the Workplace
Approximately 15-20% of the U.S. population is neurodivergent, which describes the natural way that people think, learn, perceive the world, interact, and process information differently. Currently, only 4% of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs within organizations include disability, meaning they are significantly underrepresented in the workforce, face low labor force participation rates, and see higher unemployment rates and a material pay gap.
A workforce that includes people with a variety of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences can improve creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. Neurodivergent groups include autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health conditions and learning disabilities. When establishing a DEI program, it is extremely important that organizations also consider the “A” within the acronym, standing for “accessibility”. Creating an inclusive workplace means ensuring that your hiring, onboarding, training, and ongoing employee experience is accessible and designed for all types of employees, including those with mental or physical disabilities.
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A workforce that includes people with a variety of perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences can improve creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. Neurodivergent groups include autistic people, people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and other mental health conditions and learning disabilities. When establishing a DEI program, it is extremely important that organizations also consider the “A” within the acronym, standing for “accessibility”. Creating an inclusive workplace means ensuring that your hiring, onboarding, training, and ongoing employee experience is accessible and designed for all types of employees, including those with mental or physical disabilities.
2. Artificial Intelligence in Human Resources
Ultimately, when artificial intelligence (AI) is done right, and you have tested for bias and eliminated adverse impact, in the end, AI is neutral. Humans, on the other hand, have implicit, unconscious biases that can impact employment decisions. The best approach, in the long run, is to have AI provide a neutral assessment of potential employees, then have humans double-check it and ensure compliance.
Additionally, AI can neutrally assess job-related skills based on the applicant’s resume to match the job description, which is particularly helpful when looking at a large group of candidates. This helps ensure that underrepresented groups are not falling through the cracks when applications are reviewed manually by a human.
HR teams can also use generative AI, which is a type of artificial intelligence that “learns” instead of working off pre-determined parameters. However, generative AI does not ensure bias elimination based on what it has been trained in, which becomes an issue for regulatory agencies like the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). You need to be able to show them why some candidates are getting higher scores than others. For this reason, it is important to have policies in place regarding the use of AI in employment.
Additionally, AI can neutrally assess job-related skills based on the applicant’s resume to match the job description, which is particularly helpful when looking at a large group of candidates. This helps ensure that underrepresented groups are not falling through the cracks when applications are reviewed manually by a human.
HR teams can also use generative AI, which is a type of artificial intelligence that “learns” instead of working off pre-determined parameters. However, generative AI does not ensure bias elimination based on what it has been trained in, which becomes an issue for regulatory agencies like the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). You need to be able to show them why some candidates are getting higher scores than others. For this reason, it is important to have policies in place regarding the use of AI in employment.
3. Remote and Hybrid Workforce
Half of the U.S. is working from home, which has changed so much in three or four years. There are a lot of challenges that relate to that, and there are unintended consequences, including:
- The challenges of managing a hybrid team. Organizations need to ensure that the employees who come in four or five days a week are not being favored over those coming in one to two, or not at all, in the sense that they are getting more or better opportunities to advance or attend events.
- Focus on becoming more outcome-oriented. As we move to a more remote workforce, OFCCP are looking at how you are evaluating your employees. Are remote workers disadvantaged in any way because they are remote? Are they more likely to be caregivers or someone with a disability? Being outcome-oriented gives employees a goal and you evaluate them on the achievement of the outcome.
- The impact of remote work on mental and employee wellbeing. There is a lot of evidence showing that more remote work opportunities have increased employee morale significantly. Having more flexibility is one of the big components of mental wellbeing, and being open to providing those opportunities for employees can significantly increase their success.
4. Pay Transparency and Pay Equity
It is extremely important to ensure that all employees, no matter their race, gender, or other identifying factors, are being paid equitably and there are no disparities. It continues to be OFCCP’s top priority, also moving from individual pay equity to systemic pay equity. Federal and state requirements newly added for 2023, include showing the median and mean hourly rate broken out by job category, race, ethnicity, and gender. States like California and Illinois are requiring pay equity self-audits, which is an important course of action for any organization to make sure pay differences are only based on performance/skill set and not gender, race, etc.
Abiding by the state pay equity and pay transparency laws means understanding how they affect your business when posting job openings, hiring employees, and reporting data. It is the biggest area of growing liability for companies.
Abiding by the state pay equity and pay transparency laws means understanding how they affect your business when posting job openings, hiring employees, and reporting data. It is the biggest area of growing liability for companies.
5. Employment Law Changes
There have been many employment law changes in recent years for organizations to be aware of, including:
- Paid sick and family leave requirements
- Income-related equality
- Pregnancy non-discrimination (enforced by the EOC)
- Caregiver non-discrimination — highly correlated with members of other protected classes
- Data privacy regulations
- Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) considerations
- Union protections and NLRB rulings (the ability to have collective action and talk with employees about pay and working conditions)
- Classification of independent contractors
Many of these categories, such as paid sick and family leave, pregnancy non-discrimination, and caregiver non-discrimination, often tend to correlate with gender discrimination and gender disparity. It is important to not adhere to gender-based stereotypes in order to prevent liability in a systematic way, as well as ensure an authentic and inclusive work environment.
Using the Right Tool
At Circa, our HR software is built to help you manage these five developments, as well as ensure OFCCP compliance and practice diverse recruiting. We help you remove bias from your recruitment process, match and rank candidates faster with access to an expansive talent pool of underrepresented groups, list your jobs with the employment service delivery system (ESDS) (state job banks), and prepare your organization for OFCCP audits. To learn more, head to our website to request a demo today.
Authors’ Bios
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Craig Leen is a Partner at K&L Gates in the Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety practice group, practicing out of its DC office. He served formerly as Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the U.S. Department of Labor and previously as City Attorney of the City of Coral Gables. Craig is a Professor of Government Lawyering and Professorial Lecturer in Law at George Washington Law School and serves on various boards and committees, including in the disability inclusion area, and as Chair of the Civil and Human Rights Committee of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia. |
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Angel Fischer is a Senior Product Marketing Manager of Circa, who is an innovative, passionate marketing strategist with 20+ years in brand building, go-to-market strategies, campaign development, market research, and insights. She is a purpose-driven marketer who anticipates business needs and effectively leads targeted cross-platform campaigns from concept to completion. Currently, she is the marketing lead for the OFCCP Compliance and Diversity Outreach Solutions at Circa. |
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