​Mike Reilly was quoted in a January 13 Human Resource Executive Online article titled “SOTU Speech Signals More Workplace Changes.” The article discussed President Obama’s final State of the Union (SOTU) Address and topics that may predict upcoming regulations for employers including paid leave, raising the minimum wage and fixing the immigration system.
Under the Obama administration, HR has had to cope with a flurry of 184 new regulations, costing employers and employees roughly $80 billion, says Michael Reilly, director of the labor and employment and employee benefits group at the Lane Powell law firm in Seattle. …
… He recalls the difficulty of keeping pace with the new employment laws that some of his employer clients have experienced in recent years. Some delayed updating their employee handbooks year after year, inadvertently exposing their companies to potential employee lawsuits.
Make no mistake, he says; HR can’t sit back and relax, believing not much will be accomplished during an election year. “There are a lot of new regulations rolling out that are meeting these principles [President Obama] has espoused, which is more voice, not less; more protections, not less.”