The outdated Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), low caregiver pay, and the urgent need for upskilling in light of the rise of artificial intelligence were among the priorities for SHRM’s 2025 HR Policy Boot Camp on Capitol Hill. On April 21, in coordination with Reps. Don Davis, D-N.C., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., SHRM leadership hosted the annual event for congressional staffers at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., to discuss some of the biggest challenges employers currently face. Emily M. Dickens, J.D., SHRM chief of staff and head of government affairs, opened the day by introducing SHRM’s legislative agenda, which has three primary goals this year:
- Closing the workforce participation gap.
- Shaping the future of work.
- Modernizing pivotal workplace policies.
On the FMLA, there is a “need to modernize” because “it is woefully behind the needs of today’s workforce,” Dickens said.
She was forthright about the state of caregiving jobs, which are so desperately needed across the country.
“Those jobs are not paying well,” Dickens said. To meet the needs of working families with caregiving responsibilities, these jobs need to be made more attractive through pay increases or benefits offerings, she added.
The Current Labor Crisis
Dickens also highlighted the current lack of reskilling and upskilling opportunities, predicting that “there will be displacement” due to AI, but also opportunities in the form of new roles.
SHRM CHRO Jim Link, SHRM-SCP, described the workforce participation gap as “a labor crisis.” The state of employee well-being is also getting worse, he said, citing SHRM research, which aims to get to the root of the problem.
“We know how these changes are affecting [HR] practitioners," Link added.
Challenges Facing HR Today
SHRM HR Knowledge Advisors Victoria Neal, SHRM-SCP, and Deniece Maston, SHRM-CP, discussed issues HR must contend with in today’s workplace, based on the results of recent SHRM research.
Leave was a significant problem area they identified, saying the FMLA is too limited to be of practical use for modern employers. As it stands, “the law doesn’t provide a pathway” for employers to track employee leave, only to document its start and end, Neal said.
There is also the challenge of flexibility, an increasingly common concern among employees. “Leave can be a reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which may come as a surprise to some employers, Neal explained. To avoid legal risk, employers need to be collaborative when coming up with flexible solutions like leave, remote work, and alternate schedules.
Finally, the advisors discussed workplace culture. “Engagement isn’t just about being happy,” Maston said. “It’s about being committed and motivated.” Employers can improve engagement by displaying trust, and even small changes based on feedback can make a difference in employee morale.
It’s also “important that employers embrace civility” to create a collaborative and supportive workplace, Neal said.
The Great AI Displacement
The AI revolution has caused considerable worry among workers that their jobs may no longer exist in a couple years, as SHRM research shows. “We expect 19 million American workers to see their jobs displaced by AI,” said SHRM Chief Data & Insights Officer Alex Alonso, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP.
But “we want to separate fact from hype,” added James Atkinson, SHRM’s vice president of thought leadership. The vast majority of U.S. jobs are not at immediate risk of becoming obsolete, according to SHRM research. However, a significant segment, specifically workers in the business/financial operations and production sectors, is at high risk of displacement, and it would therefore be remiss to ignore the problem.
As Dickens mentioned, though displacement will undoubtedly occur, AI also presents opportunity in the form of new or enhanced roles. But employers have been slow to embrace AI tools as part of upskilling their workforce, SHRM research indicates.
“More than half of the workforce is not leveraging AI in their day-to-day jobs,” Atkinson said. “Organizations need to make sure they are investing in the right type of upskilling and reskilling” to be adaptable and competitive.
For the first time, AI ranks as a top concern among HR professionals, Alonso said. The lack of employer action on the subject is clear: 51% of employees expect specific training in AI, but 44% of HR leaders felt their organizations were not being proactive in offering that training.
Alonso said he has observed a concerning number of companies that are reluctant to accept AI as a tool and thereby not upskilling their employees. “Forget the term ‘upskilling,’” he said. “It’s ‘upsk-AI-lling.’”
Alonso was blunt about the consequences of not integrating AI in the workplace: There is “no competitive U.S. economy without [AI].”
Rachel Zheliabovskii is a specialist, B2C content, at SHRM.
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