Monthly Compliance – May

If you’re in HR, you’re no stranger to compliance management, forms, and deadlines—though keeping them all in order may be a different story. We want to be sure you’re equipped with the right information to keep everything on track throughout the year, from ADA to FLSA.

That’s why we put together the HR Compliance Calendar, to bring you an important list of dates and deadlines you need to know to keep your workplace on track.

In this month’s compliance calendar, you’ll find the key topics to keep your Company up-to-date including employee awareness and required or recommended training.

*Monthly Compliance Webinars – A monthly webinar with a Compliance Consultant to guide you through HR compliance tasks and topics. Reach out to your dedicated HR Manager to find out how to register for the monthly Compliance Calendar Webinar!

Holidays

Memorial Day – Last Monday in May

Important Dates and Deadlines for this Month

May 1 (Maine and Oregon employers)

Maine Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Begin – Effective May 1, 2026, all Maine employers with eligible employees located in the state must provide up to 12 weeks of leave under Maine's paid family and medical leave (PFML) program. Employees may begin taking leave on May 1, 2026. However, employer and employee contributions to fund the program begin earlier, on January 1, 2025. The law also requires employers to post a notice of benefits and issue a written notice to each employee within 30 days of their hire date.

Oregon Implements Additional Workplace Violence Prevention Requirements for Certain Healthcare Settings – (see: OAR 333-027-0001 through OAR 333-535-0015) Oregon requires home health agencies, hospice programs and special inpatient care facilities (SICFs) to establish, implement and maintain a workplace violence prevention program that contains certain specified elements, including training provisions. Additionally, every home health agency, hospice program, SICF and hospital must implement a flagging system that can communicate potential threats of violence or disruptive behavior to providers and personnel using electronic health record (EHR) and visual flags.

May 6 (Utah employers)

Utah Prohibits Noncompete Agreements for Health Care Workers (see: 2026 Bill Text UT H.B. 270) - a Utah employer may not require a licensed health care worker to enter a noncompete agreement. In addition, any nonsolicitation agreement with a health care worker is void and unenforceable if it prohibits the health care worker from informing a patient of their current or future place of employment. The law defines health care worker broadly to include most health professions regulated under Utah Code Title 58, including nurses, nurse practitioners, mental health therapists, family counselors, social workers, dietitians, dentists and others.

Utah Strengthens Medical Examination Payment Requirements (see: 2026 Bill Text UT H.B. 130)- Utah amends its medical examination payment law to prohibit employers from:
Charging an individual a fee for a medical examination;
Requiring an individual to obtain a medical examination unless the employer pays the costs the health care provider charges the individual;
Requiring an employee to receive a medical exam that the employer requires outside of the employee's shift without pay;
Requiring an employee to use leave to receive a medical exam that the employer requires; or
Requiring an individual to pay for a medical examination even if the employer reimburses the individual.
The prohibitions apply to exams at both the pre-employment and current employment stages.
The amendments also task the Utah Anti-discrimination and Labor (UALD) agency with enforcing the law.

May 13 (California employers)

California Pay Data Reporting Deadline, see https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/paydatareporting/ for filing of 100 or more employees and/or 100 or more workers hired through labor contractors must report pay and hours-worked data by establishment, job category, sex, race, and ethnicity to the Civil Rights Department (CRD) annually. 2025 Pay Data Reports are due 5/13/2026. For clients with access to the Forms Library, see the folder “Pay Data Reporting – SB 973” located in the “California” folder.

May 15 (New York employers)

New York Employers with 15 to 29 Employees Must Register for Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program - Eligible New York employers with 15 to 29 employees must register for the New York Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program by May 15, 2026. (see: New York Secure Choice Program Details).

Topics to Discuss and/or Review

Review equal employment opportunity, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, leave, and accommodation policies.

For clients with access to the Forms Library, references to this section can be found in the folders, “EEOC & Affirmative Action”, “Harassment” and the folder “Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)”, “FMLA”, “Sick Leave” and “Leaves of Absence”.

• Make sure policies address mental health conditions in the same manner as physical health conditions when analyzing disability discrimination, harassment, and accommodation obligations under the ADA.
• Confirm the Company’s reasonable accommodation policy does not unintentionally limit accommodation requests to only physical conditions or obvious disabilities.
• Review attendance, performance, conduct, and leave policies to ensure they allow for individualized assessment and do not create unnecessary risk when an employee’s conduct or attendance issue may be related to a mental health condition.
• Ensure anti-harassment and professionalism policies prohibit inappropriate comments, stereotypes, or stigmatizing treatment related to mental health conditions.

Review ADA obligations for mental health conditions and the interactive process.

For clients with access to the Forms Library, references to this section can be found in the folder, “Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)”

• Discuss with employees the importance of proper business etiquette or conduct, the Company’s values, mission and goals.
• Mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder, OCD, and similar conditions may qualify as disabilities under the ADA if they substantially limit a major life activity.
• Ensure supervisors understand how to handle issues involving drug or alcohol addiction, including that employees in recovery may be protected under the ADA, that on the job impairment and safety violations can still be addressed, and that employees seeking help should be referred to HR and reminded of available resources (such as the EAP) rather than disciplined solely for requesting assistance.
• Train supervisors and HR to recognize when an employee may be requesting an accommodation, even if the employee does not use legal terms such as “ADA” or “reasonable accommodation.”
• Review the Company’s process for engaging in a timely, good-faith interactive process and obtaining medical documentation only when legally appropriate and limited to what is necessary.
• Consider common accommodations that may be appropriate depending on the role, such as schedule adjustments, modified break schedules, changes in supervision methods, remote work, leave, or a quieter workspace.

Review manager training and escalation procedures.

For clients with access to the Forms Library, references to this section can be found in the folder “Safety and OSHA” > “Mental Health”

• Train supervisors on how to respond when an employee raises concerns about stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, panic attacks, therapy appointments, medication side effects, or other mental health issues that may implicate accommodation obligations.
• Make sure managers understand they should not diagnose employees, demand unnecessary medical details, or independently deny accommodation requests without HR involvement.
• Reinforce that supervisors should focus on observed job-related issues, document objective performance concerns, and elevate concerns to HR when there is any potential disability, leave, or retaliation issue.
• Train supervisors to avoid retaliatory or dismissive responses when employees disclose mental health concerns or request support.

Review EAP and mental health resources.

• Confirm whether the Company offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and whether employees understand how to access it.
• Review EAP communications to ensure they emphasize confidentiality, availability to household members if applicable, and the types of support offered, such as counseling, referrals, crisis support, or work-life resources.
• Consider whether employees in different locations, shifts, or language groups can meaningfully access available mental health resources.
• Remind managers that referring an employee to the EAP does not replace the Company’s obligation to analyze accommodation requests under the ADA.

Review confidentiality and documentation practices.

• Medical information relating to mental health conditions, accommodation requests, therapy, medications, or treatment should be kept confidential and stored separately from the personnel file, consistent with ADA rules.
• Documentation should be factual, job-related, and limited to what is needed for the Company to assess leave, performance, safety, or accommodation issues.
• Avoid documenting assumptions, personal opinions, or stigmatizing observations about an employee’s mental health.
• Review who has access to accommodation and medical records and confirm that access is limited to those with a legitimate need to know.

Review leave obligations that may overlap with mental health concerns.

For clients with access to the Forms Library, references to this section can be found in the folders, “Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)”, “FMLA”, “Sick Leave” and “Leaves of Absence”.

• Mental health conditions may implicate not only the ADA, but also FMLA or state/local leave laws, depending on the employer’s size and the employee’s eligibility.
• Review how HR and managers identify when attendance issues, intermittent absences, treatment appointments, or a request for time away from work may trigger protected leave obligations.
• Make sure leave and accommodation processes are coordinated so that an employee is not denied protection simply because the issue first arises as an attendance or performance concern.

Review performance management and conduct issues involving potential mental health concerns.

• Employers may still hold employees accountable for meeting legitimate performance, conduct, and safety standards, but they should do so in a consistent and non-discriminatory manner.
• Before issuing discipline or making termination decisions, consider whether the employee has raised a possible mental health issue, requested an accommodation, recently taken protected leave, or otherwise engaged in protected activity.
• Review whether similarly situated employees have been treated consistently and whether the Company has explored reasonable accommodations where appropriate before moving to discipline or discharge.
• Document objective performance deficiencies and prior coaching rather than characterizing the issue in subjective or medicalized terms.

Tips

More information in reference to the topics discussed in this month’s compliance calendar can be found in our comprehensive online Forms Library, which is available to members 24/7.

Note: This calendar is designed to help our clients review the key human resources-related reporting and notice requirements that may apply to their organizations. Please note that this list is for general reference purposes only and is not all-inclusive. Many of the compliance requirements are complex ERISA or other statutory legal filings and responsibilities may vary depending on your company’s plans. We encourage you to consult with your insurance brokers, plan administrators and/or your ERISA and tax advisors for further guidance.

For the most current information on certain tax-related or benefit-related documents or forms provided by the IRS, or other sources, please check with a tax professional, benefit professional and/or the correlating websites (i.e. irs.gov/LatestForms, etc.).