No industry or company is immune to the dictates of legal compliance. It might take different forms and involve different potential penalties, but every business knows that compliance and risk management is a priority. The repercussions from non-compliance are significant, and the impacts can be far-reaching.
Consider these facts:
• Employment lawsuits have increased by more than 400 percent in the past 14 years.
• The average compensatory award in federal employment cases is approaching $500,000.
• About half of businesses lack confidence that they will be able to keep up with constantly changing human resources laws and regulations.
• More than two-thirds of organizations admit that they have been caught off-guard by an operational issue.
Managing compliance in a dynamic environment of new laws and changing regulations is daunting, especially in highly-regulated industries with complex rules, internal policies and processes. For example, the recently enacted U.S. Affordable Care Act (ACA) has put compliance front and center for U.S. businesses, insurance companies and healthcare institutions. The ACA is a set of regulations that outline requirements for employee health insurance coverage. The law was designed to roll out incrementally over the course of four to five years, beginning in 2010. Some deadlines have been delayed and additional provisions may be added or modified over the course of the rollout. Organizations must be prepared for, adjust to, and implement these changes.
The ACA is just one example of the many complex regulations with which every organization must comply. Simply put, compliance is difficult, even for organizations that work carefully to prepare for and be in alignment with all applicable rules and regulations.