The American Association of Colleges and Employers says a recent report by the US Government Accountability Office is a major step in the right direction for the American workforce.
But what is the report?
It is an assessment of how well the US has been able to enforce compliance standards in education, healthcare, public safety, and other sectors of the US economy.
It is a reminder that the US government still needs to address a range of issues including the use of social media and the increasing use of smart devices in schools and workplaces.
The report by HRISA says the US had one of the highest compliance rates in the OECD for all the areas it studied in 2014.
However, HRISA noted that “the report does not measure compliance across all of the sectors, which is why we cannot say whether the US is meeting its obligations to other countries in this area.”
The report also makes recommendations that could help improve compliance, such as more training for HR professionals to better understand the industry, and better tools to better track compliance.
The US has also been making some changes in its workplace, with the introduction of a new HR-friendly work culture in response to HRISA’s report.
However HRISA warned that “even though we are pleased with our progress in reducing HR-related costs, we are concerned that progress will not continue without additional investments and reforms”.
In an email to BBC News, the US Department of Education said: “The report is a good start, but we must continue to invest in our workforce to ensure we achieve our goal of making the US a global leader in compliance, to attract and retain talent and to attract, retain, and retain qualified employees.”
The US Department for Education (DEED) said it is “committed to supporting the workforce by investing in training and support, expanding the range of qualified job opportunities and enhancing collaboration between agencies and employers to promote compliance with HR-based compliance standards”.
However, it said: “[HRISA] has not fully reflected the challenges we face in implementing compliance and the need to increase compliance to meet workforce needs”.
It added: “We need to invest more to make sure we can attract and keep the best and brightest from around the world to work in our country.
The Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the Department of Justice are already working on that.”
It said that although compliance is not always a simple matter, “compliance is always about ensuring that people are treated fairly and fairly enforced.”
However, the report also noted that, “while we are improving compliance in our workplaces, we must be vigilant to avoid the same mistakes that were made in the past”.
