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Takeaway
Staying compliant isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. In 2025, new laws — even those in the states where you don’t operate — could inspire legislation that affects your company. From expanded civil rights to mandated leave policies, read what you need to know about workplace compliance trends across the country and how to address them.
Every regulatory strategy has an expiration date. As 2025 nears, it’s important to consider the workplace compliance trends on the horizon and how to adapt your approach.
While not every new law will impact your organization, we don’t work in silos. Unique state rules that gain traction can emerge elsewhere. For example, several states recently changed and expanded their rules around family and medical leave. Given how rampant this kind of legislation was in 2024, it wouldn’t be a stretch to see these laws gain momentum elsewhere.
Luckily, you don’t have to wait for a new regulation to impact your business. With a grasp of the upcoming compliance landscape, you’ll know how to navigate it with confidence.
4 top workplace compliance trends of 2025
From cybersecurity to time-off policies, the new year brings rules and updates that can transform the way we operate. Here are four of the most prominent trends.
1. Consistency in policy
As employee rights expand across the country, so does the lens placed on employment laws. In certain states — like those with at-will employment — organizations need to ensure they don’t overstep their rights and veer into noncompliance.
But the greatest way to protect your business could be easier than you think. It may seem small, but ensuring consistency across all policies and procedures can help defend against wrongful termination suits.
Take Jones v. Georgia Ports Authority, for example. In February, a former employee filed a lawsuit after they were fired for an unsigned return-to-work letter. The court ultimately dismissed the case since it determined the termination wasn’t rooted in discrimination, but the Authority’s policy to not accept any return-to-work letters not signed by a health care provider.
In this case, the organization avoided what could’ve been a substantial legal battle because it clearly communicated its policies to all employees. While your company may inevitability terminate employees, you should ensure every reason for doing so is clearly documented and compliant with your own policies.
2. Cybersecurity
When new workplace technology emerges, new laws regulating it aren’t far behind. Often, data protections vary by state, so employers should pay close attention to the rules affecting the tech and practices where they operate.
On Jan.1, these three states will join a growing list of jurisdictions enforcing data protection:
While each of the laws vary, they all cover how employers can collect and use consumer data. And given the ever-growing risk of cybersecurity attacks, it’s vital for organizations to understand what threats look like and how to defend against them.
Ideally, all employees with access to company tech should have regular, engaging and informative cybersecurity training. Your workforce should also understand how to identify and safely report suspected:
- phishing
- vishing
- spear phishing
- social engineering
- and more, depending on your business needs
You should also use formally audited technology that only grants access to consumer and employee data for those who truly need it. If it’s clear a certain department or position doesn’t benefit from this access, consider limiting or prohibiting it to help minimize potential threats.
3. Time off and leave laws
In 2024, legislation related to leave and time-off policies was proposed and took effect across the nation. As you consider reevaluating your employee leave policies, keep these new laws top of mind.
Effective Jan. 1, 2025, privately employed workers in New York will receive an additional 20 hours of paid sick leave to use for doctor’s appointments and any other time off related to the employee’s pregnancy.
On Jan. 1, 2025, contributions for the Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program will start, with benefits going into effect May 1, 2026. (These payroll contributions are made in advance to help pay for the benefits and ongoing maintenance of the PFML program.) This initiative will grant up to 12 weeks of protected paid leave benefits to employees in Maine for reasons related to:
- medical issues
- family matters
- safety
- a family member’s pending military deployment
Effective Feb. 21, 2025, Michigan’s Earned Sick Time Act will replace the state’s Paid Medical Leave Act. As Michigan’s most aggressive time-off mandate, the law allows all nonfederal government employees in the state to accrue time off at a rate of one hour for every 30 worked for up to 72 hours per year.
Contributions for Delaware’s PFML program begin Jan. 1, 2025, with benefits starting Jan. 1, 2026. Under this law, eligible workers will receive 12 weeks of parental leave per year and up to 6 more weeks every two years for:
- medical needs
- family care
- military service
Time-off laws can be among the most complex, so it’s crucial for employers to ensure they understand these policies and readily answer their workforce’s questions. Using a tool to automatically sort — and even answer — employees’ concerns about these laws could help limit your liability.
Automating your time-off processes could also shore up your compliance and ensure consistent approvals. Rather than require your managers to meticulously verify if their decision complies, automated tech provides employees with an immediate response based on criteria you set — including for a local or state-specific law.
4. Onboarding
A wave of increased fines and new federal requirements amplify the need for employers to ensure their workforce understands their rights.
Take informative posters, for example. Effective Jan. 16, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor recently increased the maximum fines associated for not making these posters visible:
- Family Medical Leave Act ($211 per violation, up from $204)
- Job Safety and Health: It’s the Law ($16,131 per violation, up from $15,625)
- Employee Polygraph Protection Act ($25,597 per violation, up from $24,793)
Since remote workers may not have a physical location to view these posters, the Department of Labor authorizes providing these employees with an electronic poster only if they:
- exclusively work remotely
- typically receive information from their employer electronically
- can easily access electronic postings at any time
Plus, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently increased its fines for Form I-9 and E-Verify violations. For issues related to I-9 paperwork, organizations could face fines ranging from $281 to $2,789 per violation. Those required to use E-Verify could face fines of $973 to $1,942 per violation and be subject to an I-9 inspection.
Since remote work can complicate I-9 compliance, DHS released a short video to help simplify the review process in 2024. Share it with your HR team so they can better help the business avoid costly penalties for noncompliance.
How to budget for new compliance trends
You can’t account for every potential rule or compliance challenge. But you can be proactive in how you manage your current resources to account for tomorrow’s hurdles. Keep these four tips in mind as you adapt your compliance strategy.
1. Determine your exposure
Conduct a comprehensive compliance risk assessment. It may sound daunting, but doing so will help you identify vulnerable areas and evaluate potential financial impacts. It could be as simple as asking your team questions like:
- If we were required to share salary information in our job postings, how would that impact our recruitment process?
- Would our current time-off policy be significantly affected by a new wage and hour law like what we’re seeing in other states?
- How do the states and cities where we operate differ in terms of compliance, and how are they similar?
- If we employ a lot of app-based workers, are we prepared to accommodate a new time-off requirement or a minimum hourly wage?
2. Create a training budget
Help keep your workforce on top of emerging compliance trends through:
- ongoing training
- flexible budgeting frameworks
- well-funded employee development programs
The right learning management software simplifies this push by making it easy to regularly train your people and help reduce your overall compliance risk.
3. Invest in reliable compliance tech
Don’t underestimate the power of the right tools. Investing in powerful government and compliance software helps you streamline error-prone processes and extensive reporting.
As you narrow your list of tech vendors, a thorough request for proposal (RFP) helps ensure your HR and payroll partner can meet your current needs and adapt to the future. While your RFP should be informed by your company’s specific needs, it also should include:
- budget limitations
- clear expectations
- timelines
- goals
Don’t forget to verify if a provider can automate processes around far-reaching federal laws, either. Paycom’s Government and Compliance tool, for example, updates based on changes to the most relevant employment legislation and authorities, such as:
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
- Fair Labor Standards Act
- Family and Medical Leave Act
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- COBRA
- and more
Our E-Verify® software also reduces the time and stress involved with verifying that a new hire is legally eligible to work.
4. Set aside provisions for legal counsel
Alongside the rest of the year’s financial planning, be sure to include estimates for legal services and — if necessary — the cost of dedicated general counsel. This will help you secure timely access to legal expertise, which helps you pivot in the face of unexpected regulatory issues.
After all, understanding the laws that impact your operations matters, but that knowledge still needs to be backed by a licensed legal professional.
How do employers boost their workplace compliance?
Every area of your business houses opportunities for improvement. Since compliance can shift, the best defense against fines, audits and penalties involves continuously vetting your team members and their resources. Consider these six tips to help you comply with confidence.
1. Specialized compliance management team
Within your HR team, you should have representatives dedicated to monitoring for new changes and updates. This team should be aware of emerging trends, even if they don’t directly affect your company.
Whomever you choose should consider the best way to communicate with the rest of the workforce. This can’t always be a unilateral approach. For example, C-suite executives may prefer a brief, high-end summary, whereas employees could benefit from an engaging presentation with examples, assessments and news coverage.
2. Updated legal library
Keep an updated legal library — ideally in a single HR management software — to give your team quick, direct access to information about the latest laws and regulations. This could include:
- text of federal, state and local laws
- articles and videos about upcoming employment legislation
- summaries and resources from reliable sites
Regardless, your legal library needs to be filled with relevant material. This helps ensure your HR pros have current information to make quick and informed decisions.
3. Continuous compliance audits and monitoring
Preparing for unexpected audits requires you to, well, expect them. Consider auditing and monitoring tools that track your compliance in real time. Your software should work seamlessly with the rest of your HR tech to ensure your data is accurate and:
- send automated alerts to highlight potential noncompliance
- help mitigate your exposure with clear and concise organization
- analyze employee demographic data for annual compliance requirements
- generate reports in government-required formats
While compliance is your organization’s responsibility, the right software helps you manage it with confidence.
4. Streamlined document management
Compliance depends on companywide understanding. Your organization’s HR tech should make it easy to create and distribute compliance-related documents for employees to sign and acknowledge.
Ideally, this document management software should be secure and accessible to create a digital trail for future reference.
5. Automated employment agreement updates
Alongside versatile document management tools, your HR tech should allow you to seamlessly update contracts in the face of legislative updates. With automated distribution, you can quickly ensure employees re-sign updated agreements — or follow up with them if they don’t. This helps you stay ahead of any new legal requirements.
6. Integration of workplace tech
As you’ve probably gathered, strong compliance puts a lot on HR’s plate. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be daunting with tools to simplify tedious compliance-related tasks. Automation should bolster your policy and procedures, but you’ll also benefit from software that helps you monitor and build consistency across:
Ultimately, compliance depends on your ability to be proactive, adaptable and accountable. These traits — along with the right HR software — will prime your organization for what lies ahead.
And remember, compliance isn’t just a box to check. It’s a commitment to the law that helps you build and maintain a fair, equitable workplace.
Want more ways to prepare for next year’s regulatory landscape? Watch our webinar, Workplace Compliance Trends for 2025!
