What is HR compliance?

HR compliance, or Human Resources compliance, refers to when a company adheres to all applicable labor laws that govern the industry it is in. The role of an HR specialist in particular deals with compliance. An HR specialist seeks to maintain compliance with federal, state, and local employment regulations and laws, and also encourages best practices.

Human resource departments at large companies tend to have to deal with more forms of compliance as their company might operate in several different geographic regions resulting in more regulations the company must adhere to. Smaller companies normally have fewer HR-related laws and regulations that must adhere to.

There are many laws and regulations that form HR compliance. Here are some examples:

• Civil Rights Act

The Civil Rights Act is a set of laws that protect employees or job seekers from discrimination concerning employment based on their religion, race, gender, and nationality.

• Fair Labor Standard Act

This set of laws applies to the national minimum wage (the least amount a worker must be paid) and also regulates overtime working hours, payroll standards, and the working hours of and working conditions of minors.

• Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act sets forth laws concerning the leave of absence for families for the reason of a medical condition. Mainly these laws apply to sick leave, and maternity leave.

• Employee Disabilities Act

This law protects those with disabilities against any form of workplace discrimination or prevention of employment due to their disability.

• Age Discrimination in Employment Act

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects employees over the age of 40 against any form of discrimination due to their age.

• Occupational Safety and Health Act

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) created the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which is commonly referred to as OSHA, as a protection for the safety and health of all employees and workers. This Act originally only applied to manual labor and construction, but now applies to all working industries.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a law that was put into place to protect newly hired employees from discrimination concerning their credit reports. The law stipulates that an employer must gain written consent from the new employee to access and review their credit report.

Human Resource departments must comply with all of the following laws that apply to the company in which it operates within. Depending on the specific company, there might be other laws, rules, regulations, or guidelines the department must adhere to remain in HR compliance.