If life weren’t complicated enough, finding the right talent for the job (or the right job for your talents), managing staffing levels during economic uncertainty and both employers and employees trying to prepare for the next “new” thing- we have a new set of social challenges.
There’s the mental health parity rule – employee health plans should provide the same level of coverage for mental health conditions as they do for other health problems. Defining “equivalent” is going to be a challenge for all the good intentions in that provision.
Over-the counter genetic test kits have some folks concerned that there will be abuses/discrimination based on test results. I’m not sure if these concerned citizens think that health plans and employers can then screen for chronic health conditions such as diabetes and then deny coverage or not hire??? That seems farfetched but not impossible.
W-2 forms for 2011 will have to report the aggregate cost of employer-sponsored health care coverage. That opens the door to the employee being taxed on that benefit.
The immigration reform measures and individual state efforts to pass laws regarding issues in that arena will keep employers and employees on their toes. There’s a potential for a lot more “documentation” in the hiring process.
Then we have all the other issues that come up when dealing with the human element in the workplace. Abusive employers, employees working while using drugs or alcohol, downsizing rules when there’s no work to be done, safety on the job and many other problem areas make the workplace a complicated place to manage or to work in. Rules are created to handle these problems which create more required training, reporting and reviewing of company policies.
With all this going on it’s hard to get the job done. If there’s a problem, we can make up a rule about it. Sometimes it is easier to work for yourself!
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