On February 14, 2017, the Mayor of The District of Columbia, Muriel Bowser, did not veto The DC Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016 and allowed the bill to pass without her signature. The Washington Business Journal reports, "in a letter to Council Chairman Phil Mendelson on Wednesday, Bowser wrote that she supports paid family leave but still holds concerns the bill approved by the D.C. Council is too expensive and would burden local businesses." So, what does this mean for employers in the District?

As HR consultants, we are all too familiar with the Form I-9 and the requirement of all US employers to complete and maintain a form for each employee hired into their organization. Yet, in many organizations when we conduct an HR compliance audit, we find there to be some level of non-compliance with the Form I-9. Why is that? I believe it’s because of a general lack of understanding of the many nuances involved in completing the form.

Mitigate Risk with an FLSA Audit December 1st has come and gone, and like many others, you may be relieved that businesses did not have to comply with the Department of Labor’s Final Rule on FLSA White Collar Exemptions because of the Injunction issued on November 22nd by a Federal Judge in Texas. However, with this recent injunction, it does not mean your business is in the clear from having to comply with the Final Rule. An appeal has been filed by the Department of Labor (DOL) with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth District, and the court has already decided in favor of an expedited review of the appeal.

DC Labor Law Compliance Review If you’re in a leadership role at a company based in Washington DC, you’re no stranger to the fact that DC has created numerous employment laws that go above and beyond the standards set at the federal level. If your company is headquartered outside of DC and has employees working in DC, you are likely required to comply with many of DC’s unique employment laws as well. Did you know if your company is headquartered outside of DC and has employees working in DC, you are likely still required to comply with many of DC’s unique employment laws?

A Top Recruiting Trend Review A top recruiting trend we're seeing for 2017 at Helios HR is a shift between social media platform used for candidate sourcing. For years, we’ve seen recruiting firms like ours, use LinkedIn as a primary tool to find passive candidates. As this site continues to become more saturated and competitive in the war for talent, we believe recruiters utilize other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat to find passive candidates on a much greater scale.

The Incentive Plan Problem A growing consulting firm with employees across the United States and internationally engaged with Helios HR to enhance their current incentive plan to align with the current and future business strategy. This business had previously designed and implemented a successful incentive program to drive the behaviors of their consultants; and as the business grew, they outgrew the incentive program. They applied the original plan goals and structure to new functional areas of the business and they just simply didn’t marry up anymore.