The US Presidential Election is always a hot topic and the upcoming 2024 election is no different. This year, incumbent President Joe Biden is running against former President Donald Trump in addition to a few notable Independent candidates: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jill Stein, and Cornel West. This upcoming election is particularly divisive with Trump facing felony charges for his alleged “hush-money” scheme and Biden’s ratings reaching the lowest at this point in a presidency. In fact, half of all voters wish they could replace both candidates in this election. Regardless of the outcome of the November election, the results will have wide-reaching implications. Looking at a current poll presidential election 2024 data, Trump is currently leading by 1.1%. So, what impact will each candidate have on HR departments around the country if they win the election?
President Biden is amidst his re-election campaign, looking to “finish the job.” Current poll presidential election 2024 data forecasts Biden to 45.6% of the votes. If re-elected, his goals are to:
- Protect Social Security and Medicare
- Veto a national abortion ban if brought to Congress
- Cap national insulin prices
- Continue funding the war in Ukraine
- Ensure elections remain free and open
- Introduce new tax policies aimed at wealthy Americans and large corporations
If Biden continues his presidency with another four years in office, HR departments should prepare for all possible scenarios. Since Biden supports expansions to Medicare and the Affordable Care Act, it could change how many employees receive employer-sponsored benefits. For example, if the Medicare age is reduced from 65 to 60, some older employees may opt to enroll in Medicare coverage instead.
In terms of employment, Biden is in support of a bill called the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which could limit the number of workers who may be considered independent contractors and enable employees to form unions more easily. This could affect many HR departments as with fewer independent contractors and more employees at a company, HR teams would need to process more payroll and administer more benefits, in addition to expanded administrative HR tasks. If HR departments were already struggling to keep up, these changes could make it even more difficult for them to do their jobs efficiently and accurately.
Former President Donald Trump (Rep.)
Donald Trump has taken a very different stance on many issues from President Biden and intends to repeal many initiatives put in place by the Biden administration. Looking at the current poll presidential election 2024, Trump is leading by 1.1% a significant change from the same point during the 2020 election when Biden was leading by 5.5%. If elected to the presidency again, he intends to:
- Support record investments in the police
- Support states’ rights in passing legislation to govern issues like abortion
- Support Israel’s war against Hamas and continue support to Ukraine
- Introduce tax cuts across the board and implement a 60% tariff on goods imported from China
- Desires to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act
- Repeal Biden’s new gun laws
- Stronger restrictions on immigration
If Trump’s 2024 campaign is successful and he secures the presidency for a second time, it will likely impact employers and HR departments across the country. For example, Trump may implement policies that would make it more difficult for employers to petition for H-1B visas for highly skilled professionals. These tighter restrictions could drive companies to relocate more jobs outside of the United States. This evolution of a company’s workforce could make it more difficult for HR departments to manage foreign employees or require companies to build completely new HR teams in the countries where they plan to hire.
Trump also desired to reform the federal workforce if elected. To achieve this, he wants to remove job projects for tens of thousands of civil servants. According to the Associated Press, job roles such as officer managers and HR specialists could be included in a reclassification that would make these workers easier to dismiss.
Independent Candidates
Since America’s two-party system emerged, no independent candidate has won the Presidential election. And, with each state having different requirements for independent candidates to be included on the ballot, they may not be on the ballot in every state. Still, these candidates play an important role and can force Democratic and Republican candidates to address certain key issues. With narrow margins in the current poll presidential elections 2024, independent candidates could swing election results in key states.
Running as an independent candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been drawing support from dissatisfied voters. Currently, Kennedy has met the requirements to be included on the ballots in eight states. As part of his political platform, Kennedy desires to reduce tech censorship, reduce the level of childhood disease, transform the police, and champion “racial healing.”
Cornel West decided not to run for the Democratic party nomination because he felt that both major parties didn’t speak to the needs of the poor and working class. West’s platform includes raising the national minimum wage, establishing a universal basic income, increasing taxes for the wealthy, implementing a four-day workweek, increasing the amount of paid family leave to a federally mandated six months of paid leave, and making abortion rights federal rights, among many other initiatives.
Jill Stein has criticized the two-party system and believes it is currently broken. For the 2024 election, Stein has obtained the Green party’s nomination for candidate, which she also received in 2012 and 2016. During the 2016 election, supporters of Hillary Clinton blamed Stein for Clinton’s loss, as Clinton lost by fewer votes than Stein received in three key states. If elected, Stein wants to establish an “Economic Bill of Rights,” increase investments in green technologies and jobs, end systemic discrimination against marginalized groups, and create new foreign policies to put an end to violence and occupation.
In looking at these three independent candidates, their platforms are ambitious, and many aspects could seem attractive to Americans, especially regarding issues like pay when the cost of living continues to rise. Still, it is unlikely that any of these candidates will gain enough support and take enough of the votes to win the presidency in the election. However, they could help to shine a light on these issues and spur the Democratic and Republican parties to address them accordingly.
The Election’s Impact
Whether the election will follow the current poll presidential election 2024 or take another turn is yet to be determined. However, it is very likely that regardless of the results, the election will affect employment, healthcare benefits, and diversity and inclusion in the workplace. While the election is still months away, companies should begin to anticipate how the election may affect their HR departments.
If your HR department could use additional HR support this election year, Corban OneSource has seen nearly three decades of elections and how they’ve influenced HR policies across the country. With expert HR, benefits, and payroll administration services, we can help companies with 75 to 6,000 employees keep up with the rapidly changing HR landscape, maintain compliance, control costs, and provide a superior employee experience. We’ll help ensure HR operations continue smoothly as changes take place so you never have to worry about falling behind. And, our experienced, US-based team provides service for all US time zones (except Alaska), so we’re always just a call or email away. To learn more, contact our team today.
