Over the past year, organizations saw sweeping changes to major employment issues such as minimum wage and overtime exemptions, pregnancy accommodations, OSHA inspections, non-compete agreements and more. With a presidential election still looming, there is large uncertainty about what the future of the workplace will look like. 

To help navigate these changes, Littler's Workplace Policy Institute recently shared a report examining the top 10 economic, labor and employment issues facing organizations this year. 

Firstly, while labor force participation is steadily increasing, especially for "prime age" workers (25-54), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that there are still approximately 1.7 million workers missing from the post-pandemic workforce. As many older workers chose to retire during the pandemic, a number of open positions now require a higher level of education/skills that are in short supply.