New Year, New 2025 HR Compliance Deadlines

Updated: January 23, 2025

Ensuring your business stays compliant with federal and state regulations is essential for all HR professionals. Missing a filing deadline or form submission can be costly in many ways to your company. To meet this challenge, we're giving you the tools you need to stay up-to-date on your 2025 calendar and keep all your to-dos in one place. Resources for updates on pay transparency, OFCCP compliance and much more are here in one place for you. Let's get started to kick off your 2025 on the right foot!

Important HR Compliance Deadlines by Month

The dates listed below are either required deadlines or OutSolve's recommendations for best practices around HR Compliance. Reviewing these deadlines and familiarizing yourself with the requirements (all gathered in one place) will help you minimize your risk of non-compliance. Consult the full calendar for all deadlines and helpful links to forms and submission information. Read on for some highlights below: 

January

• Place your order for the latest Labor Law Posters to be displayed in your workplace.
• Review and finalize strategic HR goals for the year. You want your goals and initiatives to be measurable and relate to things that will boost employee retention and morale, improve processes, and create a positive culture. 
• California: Qualifying employers must provide sexual harassment training to all employees every 2 years. The Civil Rights Department offers free training to meet this requirement.
• Minnesota: Effective January 1, 2025, qualifying employers must adhere to new pay transparency laws in all job postings. Learn more here about some helpful tips on how to start taking proactive steps for your organization.
• Form 940: The Federal Unemployment Tax Act annual payment is due January 31.

February

• Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses: Employers are required to submit once per year to OSHA and post a summary by February through April detailing data from the previous year. 
• Massachusetts: Qualifying employers must submit wage data reports to the state by February 1.
• Affordable Care Act: This act and filing pertain to applicable large employers and paper forms are due by February 28.

March

• Form M-1: This form is a report for Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) and Certain Entities Claiming Exception (ECEs). It must be submitted by March 1.
• OSHA Form 300: This form deadline to OSHA is March 2.
• Employee Appreciation Day is March 7.
• Illinois: Qualifying employers are required to submit an application to obtain an Equal Pay Certificate every two years. Prepare for the next deadline in March 2026.
• Affordable Care Act: Electronic filing deadline is March 31.

April 

• Monthly Employment Utilization Report (CC-257): Beginning March 2025, OFCCP requires qualifying contractors to report certain demographic data. The first report will cover March 2025 and is due April 15.
• Administrative Professionals Day is April 23.

May

• California: Qualifying employers must submit reports to the Civil Rights Department (CRD) by May 14.
• International HR Day is May 20.
• Mid-Year HR Compliance Check: OutSolve recommends you conduct a mid-year check to ensure you are on track with deadlines. *EO 11246 is evolving, impacting affirmative action plan requirements. Requirements related to AAP are changing and OutSolve is tracking updates and will share information as it becomes available.

June

• EEO-1 Component 1 Report: Qualifying employers must report workforce demographic data including job category, sex, and race/ethnicity to the he U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The exact deadline has not been identified as of the publication of this blog, but is expected to be in June or July 2025.
  
  

July

• OFCCP Contractor Portal:  *EO 11246 is evolving, impacting federal contractor regulations. Requirements for federal contractors are changing and OutSolve is tracking updates and will share information as it becomes available.
• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund: The ACA requires issuers of specific health insurance policies to submit a form and pay a fee to PCORI by July 31.

August

• Women's Equality Day is August 28.

September

• HR Appreciation Day is September 26.
• VETS-4212 Federal Contracting Report: Qualifying employers must report on their efforts to hire qualified Veterans as part of their workforce. The report filing deadline is September 30.
• Form 550 Summary Annual Report (SAR): The report on employee benefit plans to satisfy Title 1 and Title IV is due by September 30.

October

• Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (QSEHRA): Written notice must be provided to eligible employees at least  90 days before the beginning of each plan year. If your plan year starts January 1, you should notify employees by October 1.
• Medicare Disclosure Notice deadline is October 15.
• Form 5500: Extended retirement plan filing is due by October 15.

November

• Fair Labor Standards Act: Review employee classifications.
• Encourage employees to submit their Flexible Spending Account receipts before the end of the year.
• Distribute open enrollment announcements to your employees.
• Company holiday schedules should be shared by November 18.

December

• Notify employees of any benefit or compensation changes for the year ahead.
• Distribute 401K, QDIA, and auto enrollment notices to participants.
• Review end of year payroll processing and compensation compliance.
• Conduct end of year compliance activities and nondiscrimination testing.

Annual Deadlines

These are best practice reminders which will vary by organization and implementation date.

• *EO 11246 is evolving, impacting affirmative action plan requirements. Requirements related to AAP are changing and OutSolve is tracking updates and will share information as it becomes available.
• Labor Law Posters: Employers must ensure the latest federal and state labor law posters are displayed in the workplace. Check for updates periodically or subscribe to a service that will automatically ship new posters when mandatory changes happen.
• Minimum wage increases: Annually check for all your establishment locations.
• Verify you have all employee 1-9s on file and accurately completed using E-Verify.
• Pay Equity Audit: Conduct a yearly audit to align with fiscal year-end or when AAPs are updated. Pay equity audits are a good way to spot any pay discrepancies.

Downloadable HR Compliance Calendar for 2025

OutSolve has created a downloadable HR Compliance calendar complete with all the above dates, reminders, and more. If you're an HR compliance professional, you'll want this calendar to ensure you avoid late fees or penalties. Print, download, or bookmark the calendar to use as a reference for key dates in 2025. Just image the peace of mind having a calendar like this will give you. 

After you've downloaded the calendar, please reach out to an OutSolve representative with questions.