Between June 2020 and June 2022, the number of job descriptions containing “unlimited PTO” increased exponentially; since that time, some organizations previously offering this benefit abandoned it for traditional accrued PTO systems. It’s unusual for an HR policy to create such a fierce debate where one side uses phrases like “revolutionary,” “employee-first,” and “work-life oriented,” while the opposition uses terms like “oppressive,” “abusive,” and “insidious.” This article considers organizational failures in implementing unlimited PTO, and how a risk-based approach better prepares a company for considering such a program.

With recent moves to deregulate and streamline federal governance over financial institutions, several companies have significantly scaled back compliance departments and initiatives. Often, those reorganizations and layoffs also diminished the effectiveness of their enterprise risk departments. While compliance and legal risks set the boundaries for what a company can do, other risks limit activities to what we should do. To that end, we’ve outlined a few cases where significant risks continue to be present, even though the compliance risk (at least at the federal level) has been reduced.

The FTC identified potential violations of its Consumer Review Rule which prohibits certain review related conduct, such as falsifying, manipulating, or suppressing certain reviews on social media. Rule violations can result in federal lawsuits, legal action, and civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation.

BankersOnline recently discussed challenges and risks financial institutions face when a “First Amendment Auditor” attempts to record video from inside or around a branch location or office. From customer privacy to employee safety, there are many considerations in preparing your staff to address these situations. All businesses should consider this emerging threat and be prepared to respond in a way that avoids confrontation while mitigating the risk to its staff and customers.