“Working Knowledge” Digest – October 2020 Part 1
Widely acclaimed, the “Working Knowledge” section on the nextSource website delivers critically informative perspectives for practitioners of contingent workforce management, culled from trusted sources. The Working Knowledge section provides drilled-down information on specific tactics, legal/regulatory updates and other tactical information. Here’s part one of the two-part digest of Working Knowledge gathered throughout September and October addressing market developments and technology advancements.
Market Developments
Joining a growing list of States that prohibit asking about criminal history on an employment application for a position with a state agency, North Carolina “bans the box”. Signed by NC Governor Cooper in August, the Tar Heel State joins a growing list of states in prohibiting employers from asking about criminal history on a job application for positions within state agencies. For more on the new law read more.
Described as “fragile”, CEO perspectives on prospects for economic recovery from COVID19 reflect a cautious optimism. Some 40% of chief execs polled expect business conditions to recover in 2021 and 36% pegged the recovery to materialize in 2022 or later. For the details of the Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook, read CEO Economic Outlook Improves Slightly in Q3 as Covid-19 Pandemic Continues.
The latest from the front lines of labor rights reform, a proposed Worker Flexibility and Small Business Protection Act would require client companies to hire temporary workers after one year, require staffing firms to register with the US Department of Labor and pay a fee among, and establish a national test for independent contractor misclassification. So says the Senate Subcommittee Considering Massive Labor Rights Reform Package.
Ongoing efforts to codify the parameters of what constitutes an Independent Contractor include a proposed new Dept. of Labor rule aimed at clarifying how to determine whether a resource should be classified an employee or an IC under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Labor Department Publishes Proposed Rule for Determining Independent Contractor containing all the critical details of its proposal which the DOL intends to formalize before the end of the year.
Salary history questions are off limits in Maryland as of October 1 as amendments to the state’s Equal Pay for Equal Work law take effect. Prepare hiring managers and other workforce management personnel to observe this and other new rules by reading and sharing the primer titled, “Maryland Salary History Ban Now Extended to Job Applicants”.
Technology Advancements
Coronavirus continues to drive exceptional demand for technologies across most industries and with the dramatic uptick of utilization, its not surprising that the surging COVID-19 has Led to a Surge in Cyberattacks. Research conducted by Willis Towers Watson and KPMG suggest cybersecurity and other tech skills are the most in-demand globally.
Its not just security challenges driving the flight toward tech. COVID-19 Has Accelerated Direct Sourcing Adoption and Technology Changesas well. Many companies – large and small – are seeking to reduce costs and increase agility through the increased use of temporary workers, and they’re leaning hard on workforce management tech tools to meet these burgeoning requirements.
Evidence of this trend can also be found in the growing adoption and reliance upon cloud-based workforce management system applications. 70% of organizations have already deployed at least one cloud-based HR application, 40% continue to use at least one on-premise solution, according to research conducted by Sierra-Cedar. Increasingly, Cloud-Based Workforce Management Systems Have Become the Norm.
Read Part 2 of October’s “Working Knowledge Digest” which will deliver highlights of other newsworthy developments chronicled on the Working Knowledge section of nextSource.com.
