This is the ideal moment to reconsider your guidebook. The 2026 year, which is clearly the best moment to introduce a new handbook, is less relevant to the timeliness than the current wave of changes brought about by the administration shift. It is obvious that the workplace, including the employee handbook, will be impacted by the changes anticipated by the next administration.
Recent revisions to employee handbooks proposed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have the potential to render them illegal. Both union and non-union workplaces' employee handbooks are subject to NLRB oversight and revision. According to the NLRB, employee handbook provisions must not prohibit workers from speaking negatively about the business or managers and from discussing workplace concerns with their peers, such as compensation, benefits, and safety. "Concerted Activity from Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)" is the name of this legal protection.
Regulations are in place at the federal, state, and local levels, and regulatory bodies are intensifying their auditing efforts for 2025 and beyond. The laws that take precedence over federal regulations are influenced by several state and multi-state legislation.
Employers' outdated policies may conflict with workers' changing expectations. It can be annoyingly outdated to have laws that prohibit flexibility, specific National Labor Relations Board policies, and coordinated activities.
Nevertheless, a lot of firms take a chance on updating their handbooks. Numerous businesses do not update their employee handbooks as frequently as they ought to, according to research.
Organizations must establish clear expectations on performance and communication as a result of the change to remote and hybrid work. The success of policies inside their teams is mostly dependent on managers and associates, and HR departments have the chance to help by offering resources and instructions.
Who should attend this:
Changes are anticipated beyond federal regulations. We now know that state laws have taken precedence over federal laws since the law that benefits employees the most takes precedence. Employees in state-specific and multi-state locations are impacted by a number of developments in many states. There are numerous adjustments that must be made when adding remote personnel, and compliance is crucial.
Areas covered in the session:
Who should attend this:
Margie Faulk is a senior-level human resources professional with over 15 years of HR management and compliance experience. A current Compliance Advisor for HR Compliance Solutions, LLC, Margie, has worked as an HR Compliance advisor for major corporations and small businesses in the small, large, private, public and Non-profit sectors. Margie has provided small to large businesses with risk management strategies that protect companies and reduce potential workplace fines and penalties from violation of employment regulations. Margie is bilingual (Spanish) fluent and Bi-cultural.
Margie’s area of expertise includes Criminal Background Screening Policies and auditing, I-9 document correction and storage compliance, Immigration compliance, employee handbook development, policy development, sexual harassment investigations/certified training, SOX regulations, payroll compliance, compliance consulting, monitoring US-based federal, state and local regulations, employee relations issues, internal investigations, HR management, compliance consulting, internal/external audits, and performance management.
Margie is a speaker and accomplished trainer and has created and presented compliance seminars/webinars for over 24 US and International compliance institutes. Margie has testified as a compliance subject matter expert (SME) for several regulatory agencies and against regulatory agencies. Margie offers compliance training to HR professionals, business owners, and leadership to ensurecompliance with workplace regulations and to create an effective risk management strategy to avoid violations.
Margie holds professional human resources certification (PHR) from the HR Certification Institution (HRCI) and SHRM-CP certification from the Society for Human Resources Management. Margie is a member of the Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics (SCCE).
