The Regulatory Environment—Madness or Partnering Opportunity?

Navigating government staffing regulations together

The temporary staffing world is being bombarded with a number of new government regulations that are significantly affecting both firms like BelFlex and companies that utilize temporary workers. Some of these regulations are staffing-specific (e.g. NLRB ruling making it easier for temporary workers to organize into unions; OSHA targeting of staffing companies), whereas some of them have broader application (Affordable Care Act; new FLSA regulation making $47,476 the minimum amount an employees must earn to be “exempt”; increased aggressiveness of EEOC; pressure to increase minimum wage).

Over the next several months, we will be using this blog to discuss these regulatory measures, one by one. Our focus will be on the practical effect these regulations have on us and our clients, and how we are proactively and perceptively addressing them.

We will continue to actively advocate within the political arena to amend these regulations. In the meantime we believe that smart staffing companies and businesses will begin to acknowledge that, to some extent, society is evolving. Right or wrong, some of the underlying factors driving these regulations may not change.

“We are in this together”

Businesses and staffing companies that work in partnership to understand and adjust to these regulations will have a competitive advantage going forward. Similarly, because they are on the front lines of many of these issues, staffing companies are great resources for clients who may be dealing with similar issues with their own direct employees.

Our belief is that increased regulatory complexity makes “contingent labor” an even more indispensable component of your HR strategy. We remain very bullish on the role and future of temporary staffing, especially where businesses establish tight partnerships with their agencies and have open, two-way conversations on the practicalities associated with new regulations. It will be particularly interesting after the November elections, when there may be a bit more certainty on where specific regulations are headed.

As with all new laws and regulations, there are “unintended consequences” and surprises that develop – at BelFlex we are keeping our ear to the ground as these new regulations unfold. We look forward to sharing these experiences with you. In the meantime, I can be reached via email. I’m always happy to answer specific questions and/or share regulatory strategy thoughts.