Keeping up with labor law compliance—especially around time and attendance, shift work, scheduling, and paid time off (PTO)—is more challenging than ever. Companies that fail to comply risk penalties, employee dissatisfaction, and operational disruptions. However, modern Workforce Management (WFM) systems from leading providers like UKG (formerly Kronos), ADP, Workday, Oracle HCM, and SAP SuccessFactors offer a range of features designed to help organizations stay compliant while optimizing workforce efficiency.
Let’s explore how these advanced systems help businesses manage compliance in key areas of workforce management.
1. Time and Attendance Tracking
Accurate time and attendance tracking is essential for compliance with labor laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in the United States, which governs overtime, record-keeping, and wage calculations. Outdated or manual tracking systems can lead to payroll errors, legal disputes, and non-compliance.
Features from top WFM providers:
UKG's real-time time tracking allows employees to clock in and out using biometric or mobile devices, ensuring accurate tracking of hours worked. It also integrates geofencing, so remote workers’ locations can be verified.
ADP’s automated overtime calculations help businesses accurately track hours worked beyond regular shifts, minimizing payroll errors and ensuring compliance with local and federal laws.
Workday’s audit trails provide a secure and detailed record of all time entries, ensuring your organization meets record-keeping requirements in case of an audit or dispute.
2. Shift Work and Work Scheduling
For businesses with shift work, particularly in industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and retail, creating compliant work schedules is critical. Labor laws often require businesses to ensure fair scheduling, mandatory breaks, and adequate rest between shifts. Failure to manage these complexities can lead to hefty fines or employee lawsuits.
Key scheduling features in modern WFM systems:
UKG’s automated scheduling tools help managers create compliant, balanced schedules based on employee availability and local regulations. The system alerts managers to potential conflicts, such as back-to-back shifts that violate rest requirements.
Oracle HCM’s break and meal period tracking ensures that shifts are scheduled with appropriate breaks based on regional laws, reducing the risk of violations.
SAP SuccessFactors offers shift swapping and scheduling flexibility, enabling employees to request shift changes while ensuring that all legal requirements for rest and overtime are met.
3. Managing Paid Time Off (PTO)
Managing PTO—whether it's sick leave, vacation, or personal days—can become complicated as labor laws vary from state to state and country to country. For example, some regions mandate specific accrual rates or limit how much unused PTO can carry over.
Failing to accurately manage these details can lead to non-compliance and disputes with employees.
PTO management features in leading WFM systems:
Workday's automated PTO accruals ensure that employees accrue time off based on company policies and regional regulations, eliminating the risk of human error. Employees can view their real-time PTO balance, and managers can see if requested time off aligns with the employee’s entitlement.
UKG’s configurable PTO policies allow organizations to comply with complex local laws by automatically managing carryover, accrual limits, and mandatory sick leave.
ADP’s compliance tracking for PTO enables managers to monitor usage in real time, ensuring that paid leave adheres to legal requirements such as those in California’s Paid Sick Leave Law or New York's Sick and Safe Leave Act.
4. Ensuring Compliance with Evolving Labor Laws
Labor laws are constantly changing, and businesses must stay up to date to avoid penalties. This is where cloud-based WFM systems like those offered by Oracle HCM, Workday, and SAP SuccessFactors stand out. These platforms often provide automatic updates that reflect the latest legal requirements, ensuring compliance without the need for manual intervention.
Dynamic compliance features in modern WFM systems:
Oracle HCM’s automated compliance updates ensure that your system is always aligned with the latest changes in labor laws, including overtime thresholds, wage requirements, and new PTO regulations.
SAP SuccessFactors’ regulatory templates help organizations manage compliance across multiple regions by offering pre-configured settings based on local labor laws.
ADP’s reporting and analytics allow businesses to generate real-time compliance reports, helping HR teams and executives monitor key metrics like overtime, PTO usage, and adherence to scheduling laws.
Conclusion
Maintaining labor law compliance is no easy task, especially when managing a large and diverse workforce. The good news is that with advanced Workforce Management software from leading providers like UKG, ADP, Workday, Oracle HCM, and SAP SuccessFactors, companies can automate many compliance-related processes and reduce the risk of legal issues. These systems provide robust features for time and attendance tracking, scheduling, PTO management, and compliance updates, ensuring your organization stays on the right side of the law.
Labor laws are ever-changing, so investing in modern WFM software is essential not only for compliance but also for creating a more efficient and transparent workforce. By leveraging these advanced tools, businesses can focus on growth and employee satisfaction while staying fully compliant with the complex web of labor regulations.
Stay ahead of labor law compliance with cutting-edge Workforce Management solutions. Contact us today to learn how we can help you implement the right system to keep your business compliant and efficient!