The Month Ahead - August 2026
Welcome to the August edition of The Month Ahead - your monthly briefing on the workplace, compliance, employment law developments and seasonal issues HR should be watching now.
Here's what HR teams should act on now to be ready for August
- Ramp Up Open Enrollment Planning
- Ensure Form I-9 Compliance
- Address Back-to-School Activities Leave
- Prepare for Weather-Related Disasters
- Address August State Compliance Changes
August brings a practical mix of planning, compliance and seasonal workforce issues for HR teams. This month's priorities include benefits enrollment preparation, Form I-9 review, back-to-school scheduling, weather-related readiness and state-law changes that need attention now.
1. Ramp Up Open Enrollment Planning
For employers with a January 1 plan year, August is crunch time for open enrollment planning. Use this month to lock in strategy, costs, plan design, systems and communications before fall deadlines start stacking up.
Your August Readiness To-Do List
- Set the benefits strategy.
- Review renewal projections with carriers.
- Check compliance and regulatory updates.
- Confirm employer contribution budgets.
- Finalize plan options and rates.
- Draft enrollment materials.
- Configure HRIS and benefits systems.
- Build employee communications and manager talking points.
Why this matters: Open enrollment gets messy fast when decisions, systems or messages lag. A focused August push keeps HR in planning mode instead of scrambling through fall.
2. Ensure Form I-9 Compliance
With US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rapidly escalating the number of Form I-9 audits of private employers, recently expanding its interpretation of what constitutes technical versus substantive violations and shifting its subsequent enforcement patterns, now is a good time for HR to pause and reflect on I-9 compliance strategy.
Your August Readiness To-Do List
- Ensure HR is following the appropriate processes when verifying and reverifying employees' authorization to work in the US.
- Conduct an internal Form I-9 audit to identify and correct existing errors.
- Explore participating in E-Verify to check information entered on Form I-9 by new hires.
- Hold refresher training for personnel tasked with completing Forms I-9 or using E-Verify.
Why this matters: Penalties for substantive errors on a Form I-9 can be significant - ranging from $288 to $2,861 per violation, with the base amount increased or decreased depending on factors like business size, good faith, seriousness and more. Getting ahead of and correcting issues before ICE comes to call can significantly reduce an employer's risk of exposure.
3. Address Back-to-School Activities Leave
August can scramble schedules for employees who take care of school-age children. HR should get ready for back-to-school season by clarifying leave rules, planning for any staffing coverage issues and communicating flexible options before last-minute conflicts arise.
Your August Readiness To-Do List
- Clarify school-activities leave, PTO and personal leave options.
- Understand how different leaves may apply to school activities.
- Post-up-to-date guidance in one easy-to-find place.
- Plan coverage for first-week, transportation and schedule conflicts.
- Offer flexible work options where practical.
- Remind employees about caregiver wellness and related resources.
Why this matters: Back-to-school disruption is predictable. Clear rules, early communication and practical flexibility help HR support caregivers without leaving managers scrambling for coverage.
4. Prepare for Weather-Related Disasters
August can bring hurricanes, extreme heat, wildfires and other fast-moving weather-related disruptions and disasters across the US. HR should use this month to add or review existing natural disaster safety plans, pay practices, leave options, communications and business-continuity steps before bad weather turns into a people, payroll or operations problem.
Your August Readiness To-Do List
- Update your OSHA emergency action plan, if required.
- Review or implement a payroll continuity plan.
- Understand FLSA pay rules for closures, outages and remote work.
- Consider leave-donation options.
- Review laws mandating leaves that are implicated by natural disasters, such as emergency responder leave laws and paid sick leave laws.
- Check worksites for heat, storm, wildfire and evacuation risks.
- Refresh employee contact lists and emergency communication channels.
- Train managers on safety, pay, leave and coverage decisions.
- Run a drill so employees know what to do when conditions change.
Why this matters: Bad weather can quickly become a pay, leave, safety and staffing issue. A tested plan helps HR protect employees, communicate clearly and keep operations moving.
5. Address August State Compliance Changes
Several state-law updates take effect in August, including changes that may affect payroll, leave, workplace safety and accommodation practices. HR and payroll teams should review the changes now, identify affected locations and move quickly on any needed policy, training or process updates.
Colorado Pay Deduction and Rest Break Changes (Effective August 12, 2026)
Starting August 12, the Colorado law allowing pay deductions for loans, advances, goods, services, equipment or property if there is a written agreement is expanded to include "other items that primarily benefit employees," except for personal protective equipment (PPE).
Also, covered Colorado employers must not unreasonably deny restroom breaks during paid work time to employees who work in livestock slaughter or meatpacking.
Your August Readiness To-Do List
- Review Colorado pay deduction practices and employee-authorization forms.
- Stop any PPE deductions.
- Update forms for the new deduction language and PPE ban.
- Identify covered Colorado slaughterhouse and meatpacking operations.
- Align payroll, safety and operations before August 12.
Why this matters: Colorado's changes make this a payroll, safety and operations issue - not just a forms update. Tighten deduction controls now and make sure covered meatpacking and slaughterhouse employees can take required restroom breaks before the August 12 deadline.
Louisiana Organ Donor and Bone Marrow Leave Protections (Effective August 1, 2026)
All Louisiana employers must provide unpaid leave for organ or bone marrow donation beginning August 1. Leave must match the time requested by the employee or last for 30 consecutive calendar days.
Your August Readiness To-Do List
- Adopt a Louisiana unpaid organ and bone marrow donor leave policy or amend an existing one.
- Coordinate the policy with PTO, benefits and other leave rights.
- Train managers to avoid discouragement of leave or retaliatory actions.
Why this matters: This leave right affects all Louisiana employers. Clear steps will help HR support donors and avoid retaliation or tracking mistakes.
Louisiana Workplace Violence Protections (Effective August 1, 2026)
Starting August 1, Louisiana's Behind the Counter Protection Act protects employees working at checkout stations, service counters, drive-through windows, customer service desks and similar transaction points.
The law covers violence and credible threats including verbal abuse, intimidation, weapon threats and conduct that creates reasonable fear of physical harm.
Covered businesses may also choose to post a Louisiana Works warning sign.
Your August Readiness To-Do List
- Identify covered Louisiana customer-facing roles and locations.
- Review workplace violence, customer conduct and escalation procedures.
- Train managers to respond to threats, abuse and unsafe customer behavior.
- Decide whether to post the Louisiana Works warning sign.
- Tighten incident reporting and customer removal steps before August 1.
Why this matters: Front-line employees need fast support when customer interactions turn unsafe. Tighten response steps now to reduce safety and employee relations risks later.
Minnesota Interactive Process Liability (Effective August 1, 2026)
Minnesota employers may be held liable for unfair discriminatory practices starting August 1, if they don't engage in the interactive process to determine whether a reasonable accommodation would allow a qualified individual with a disability to participate fully at work.
Your August Readiness To-Do List
- Build a clear interactive-process step into Minnesota accommodation procedures.
- Train HR, managers and leave teams to spot accommodation requests.
- Document requests, discussions, information reviewed and outcomes.
- Check forms, scripts and templates for individualized review.
- Audit open Minnesota accommodation matters for follow-up.
Why this matters: The interactive process now carries real risk under this stricter law. Skipping, delaying or poorly documenting accommodation discussions can create liability, even if the final decision seems reasonable.
Looking Ahead
August may be the wind-down of summer, but it is a ramp-up month for HR to turn fall planning into action. Use the next few weeks to confirm ownership of action items, set deadlines, update affected processes and give managers the guidance they need before employees, operations and compliance demands pick up speed.
We'll continue monitoring upcoming developments so you can stay focused on leading through the season with confidence.
Click here to find out what else is on the HR horizon!