The Department of Labor (DOL) has taken a firmer stand on responding to non-compliance and deterrence by modernizing their penalty structure. Agencies across the federal government have been mandated to adjust their penalties for inflation each year using more stringent and streamlined methods. The DOL asserts that the penalties overhaul will lead to substantial benefits for workers and employers that remain accountable. Their goal is to encourage compliance, not penalties.
If compliance wasn’t a critical issue in Human Resources before, it certainly is now and will remain so into the future. Compliance requirements abound for the myriad of laws that pertain to HR and benefits professionals such as: COBRA, FSA, ACA, HIPAA, FLSA, FMLA, and ERISA. Never has it been more critical to keep abreast of compliance issues for organizations than today.
Why Investing in HR Technology Can Help Improve Compliance
Investing in HR technology is an important choice for many employers who choose to reduce their risk and focus on what they do best in their core business. Keeping up internally often requires hiring additional staff that will stay current on legislation, updating policies and procedures, and filing required paperwork. Taking advantage of economies of scale through a third party HR technology provider makes sense for many HR professionals who wish to focus on more strategic initiatives involving their workforce and overarching company goals.
Just one penalty assessment can justify the cost of investing in HR technology and even be a cost savings with daily fines piling up—not to mention the cost of legal counsel and lost time related to fighting a lawsuit. It doesn’t fare well to be the one responsible for costing your company and its shareholders thousands in penalties.
Compliance tasks take time away from Human Resources, hindering them from being strategic contributors that are focused on directly contributing to the goals and success of the organization. Resources exhaust hours pulling data, running reports, and filling out forms that could be better spent working on programs that draw in and nurture top talent.
Compliance in HR is daunting. Many organizations choose not to go down the path alone. Relying on experts and technology to help manage these obligations that are not going away—and getting more complex—not only reduces stress but also helps to identify potential risks and keep them in check. Checks and balances are in place for the long-term as providers must keep up for their entire client base.
How EPAY Can Help
At EPAY Systems, we take the time to understand your needs, so you can offload compliance obligations and focus on your core business.
Schedule a demonstration of our fully integrated human capital management system today.