Yesterday morning (June 30th, 2015) news hit the wire that the Department of Labor (DOL) has officially released changes to the overtime exemption as it relates to the classification of employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Back in March, here at Helios we blogged about the (at the time proposed) changes to the regulation with a call to action:

Successful business strategy requires the support of an effective and productive workforce. Employers engaged in creating a motivated workforce will make significant efforts to ensure hiring decisions contribute positively to the team atmosphere. Even with the best of efforts, there will be times when personality conflicts arise.

We all want to ensure we hire the best candidate to fill our open positions. In doing so, we try to gather all of the pertinent information on each candidate in order to make an informed, sound decision. With that said, employers need to be proactive in regularly reviewing their background screening process so it is compliant with the latest federal and state regulations. One growing area for conducting background checks is social media. Employers have indicated social networks help find evidence of unprofessional behavior, such as complaints about previous employers or discussions of drug use. Some employers go as far as requiring candidates to disclose their usernames, passwords, and other credentials providing employer access to their social network accounts. There are several existing federal laws, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Stored Communications Act, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, may protect workers against discrimination and privacy violations related to social media.

In 1924, the world saw changes that would make ripples in the pond for a long, long time. The first winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France. Texas elected its first woman governor: Miriam “Ma” Ferguson. Judy Garland made her show business debut at just 2 ½ years old. And something that hits a little closer to home happened: Northern Virginia Family Service was founded.

As an HR Business Partner, I am often working with clients to ensure their benefits and 401(k) administration is both in compliance and following HR best practices. One key aspect of benefits and 401(k) administration is tracking your employee beneficiaries. Ensuring that your employees have designated and up-to-date beneficiary information is both a way to mitigate risk for your organization and help your employees be prepared to protect their plans and help their families in the event of an unexpected tragedy. Below are five common questions that I hear from clients and employees about beneficiaries:

As an senior HR leader, I have had the opportunity to work for organizations that went through Mergers and Acquisitions on multiple occasions. The biggest takeaway I have learned from all of these experiences was the value of communicating with the employees before, during, and after an acquisition to help manage their expectations. Of course if you are a publicly held company, any communication prior to the acquisition cannot be shared with your workforce. However, ensuring you have a communication strategy developed and ready to launch when the news is broadcasted will help pave the way for a smooth transition. Let’s start by constructing a communication plan.