Sexual harassment prevention is the top regulatory issues that employers should be aware of in 2019, according to Paychex Inc. (NASD: PAYX).

The company listed the current, most impactful laws and regulations and the anticipated changes that employers should consider as they plan for the year ahead.

Here are the top 10 regulatory issues Paychex identified for 2019:

1. Sexual harassment prevention. The #MeToo movement resulted in an increase in workplace sexual harassment prevention enforcement and legislation across the country in 2018 and is expected to continue in 2019.
2. Paid leave. Currently, more than 40 state and local jurisdictions have implemented paid leave laws and several more are scheduled to implement leave policies in early 2019. Although paid sick leave laws are more prevalent, paid family leave laws are generally more onerous for employers. Many family leave laws are funded by employee and/or employer contributions and might also require the periodic reporting of several elements including payroll deductions, employee hours worked and employee wages.
3. Federal support for retirement savings. President Trump in August issued an executive order directing the Departments of Labor and Treasury to propose regulations that ease the burdens small businesses face in offering retirement savings plans. Prospects for successful new legislation, which will include components of prior proposals, are promising, potentially enhanced by Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) as incoming chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, who intends to make retirement legislation a priority.
4. Faster payments and the gig economy. Faster payments, including immediate payments for gig workers, will continue to dominate the payments landscape in 2019. As business owners make decisions on how and when their company will participate in the faster payments arena, fraud prevention should be top of mind to ensure payments are safe and secure in a 24/7/365 environment.
5. Privacy/security. With cyber attacks being so pervasive, it is important to understand that security and privacy is everyone’s responsibility.
6. Form W-4 changes. Due to the 2017 tax reform law, extensive changes are required to the Form W-4. But due to the complexity of these changes, the release has been pushed back another year and the 2019 W-4 is similar to the current 2018 version.
7. State healthcare reform. Recent changes to federal regulations and guidance which may affect health insurance markets and relate to association health plans, short-term limited duration insurance, health reimbursement arrangements, and Section 1332 state innovation waivers might lead to changes affecting employers’ support of health insurance.
8. IRS enforcement of employer shared responsibility. The IRS is continuing its employer shared responsibility enforcement efforts, sending out letters with the preliminary calculations for payments. Applicable large employers should ensure they complete the returns accurately, as the process of responding to letters and follow-up IRS correspondence is time-consuming and onerous.
9. Impactful rulemaking from the Department of Labor. The US Department of Labor’s fall 2018 regulatory agenda indicated the Wage and Hour Division expects to release Notices of Proposed Rulemaking on several regulations impactful to employers of all sizes. The proposal to revise the overtime regulations (projected for March 2019) is the most-anticipated event, but the agency is also expected to release proposals to clarify, update, and define regular rate of pay.
10. National Labor Relations Board to set Joint Employer Standard through rulemaking. Employers using temporary agencies might not have to wait much longer for a final rule from the NLRB to restore its pre-Browning-Ferris Inc. standard for defining joint employer status under the National Labor Relations Act. The agency released its proposed rulemaking in early 2018. The NLRB has changed its official position on the standard for joint employment three times in the past three years.