Compliance is a strategic priority for many convenience retailers, especially those that operate in multiple states. From wage and hour exposure to artificial intelligence (AI), immigration and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) scrutiny, today’s regulatory environment requires awareness, coordination and proactive planning.

Organizations are experiencing compliance fatigue. Laws change quickly, oversight can be fragmented across departments and enforcement priorities can shift. For convenience retailers that operate with lean teams, high turnover and multistate footprints, the risk of falling behind can be costly.

At the 2026 NACS Human Resources Forum, moderator Julie Jackowski, who previously served as the 2019-2020 NACS chair, shared top-level insights on what employers should pay attention to.

“You need to tune into compliance. If it’s something your company doesn’t focus on often, you need to at least have a grasping knowledge of when you need to contact legal counsel for guidance,” she said. 

A Shift in the Regulatory Landscape

Although the current federal environment is more employer-friendly, Jackowski emphasized that regulatory risk has not gone away—it’s shifted. With limited federal action, states and local governments are driving more employment regulation. 

This shift leads to compliance inconsistencies in areas like pay data reporting, immigration, AI use, privacy, wage and hour laws and DEI. “Because the federal government is not rapidly moving forward in these areas, many states and localities are taking legislative or regulatory action instead, which can create more inconsistencies in the legal application, especially for multi-state employers,” she said.

She cautioned that HR leaders don’t need to be legal experts, but they should know when an issue rises to the level of calling legal counsel.

Payroll Compliance Remains a Prime Target

If you haven’t faced a wage and hour claim yet, Jackowski warned the chances are good that you will.

She noted that plaintiffs’ attorneys continue to target payroll compliance because it is often ripe for class actions, especially if technical violations are uncovered. Timekeeping errors, overtime misclassification, break violations and inconsistent pay practices can create exposure—especially as organizations grow.

Regular audits help identify risks. While comprehensive audits are often conducted with legal counsel, even limited internal reviews, such as sampling overtime calculations or exemption classifications, can help prevent costly surprises.

Compliance Can’t Live in Silos

One of the biggest risks organizations face isn’t a lack of policies—it’s a lack of coordination.

Safety, transportation, HR, operations, IT and payroll may all be doing their jobs well, but if compliance oversight is fragmented, it can lead to important changes being missed. “Compliance should be overarching across all of these departments,” she said, adding, “You may not be able to hire a compliance officer, but you do need someone making sure your teams are not operating in silos.”

DEI: Inclusion Without Exclusion

Jackowski explained that poorly designed or improperly worded DEI programs can expose employers to litigation. 

In recent years, enforcement focus has shifted toward private employers, with increased scrutiny of hiring, promotion and training practices that rely on race- or sex-based preferences. Jackowski noted that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has appeared to commence pursuit of reverse discrimination cases, particularly where policies or practices appear to favor or exclude specific groups rather than relying on merit-based decisions.

The message isn’t to abandon DEI, but to ensure programs are truly inclusive. “If your DEI programs and practices exclude specific groups of people, you may want to review the same,” she said, noting it’s important for organizations to audit DEI language, affinity groups, and hiring or promotion practices to ensure they are genuinely inclusive, legally defensible and aligned with skills and qualifications. 

Immigration and Workforce Authorization

Immigration compliance remains a concern for many employers, particularly in regions experiencing labor shortages or increased enforcement activity.

I-9 compliance continues to be an area of focus, and penalties for errors can be significant. Employers should ensure that managers understand completion timelines, proper document handling and storage requirements, especially if paper forms are still in use.

Staff should also know what to do if a government inspector arrives on site. A clear protocol—verifying credentials, contacting HR or legal counsel and responding professionally—can make a meaningful difference during an audit.

For employers using visa programs, increased scrutiny of work authorization and permit renewals makes tracking expiration dates and renewal requirements essential.

Pay Equity and Transparency: Preparing for Change

While federal pay equity initiatives have slowed, many states and local jurisdictions are moving forward with transparency and reporting requirements. Litigation is also increasing in states that have pay equity laws, which makes it even more important to have a compensation strategy.

Job architecture, pay bands and titling consistency all help reduce risk. Employers should understand where employees fall within ranges, why pay differences exist and whether long-tenured employees have drifted outside market norms. Jackowski noted that pay audits aren’t just about compliance; they’re also critical for budgeting and long-term workforce planning.

Workplace Surveillance and Employee Privacy

As technology advances, so do questions around workplace monitoring. Remote work has accelerated the use of tools like geofencing, biometric timekeeping, activity tracking and automated monitoring software. These tools are designed to improve efficiency, but they can raise legal and cultural concerns around privacy and data protection.

Employers should clearly communicate when these tools are being used, what data and information is being monitored, why it is being collected and how data is stored and used. Be aware that  remote employees are generally subject to the laws of the state where they reside and not where the company is headquartered.

Wage and Hour: Still State-Specific

Wage and hour compliance remains one of the most complex areas of employment law. Minimum wage increases, predictive scheduling rules, break requirements and rest-day laws continue to vary by state and sometimes by city, Jackowski explained. 

Multistate employers should consider whether to manage compliance on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis or adopt a stringent standard across the board. Either approach should be intentional, documented and consistently applied.

The Next Compliance Frontier: AI

Jackowski noted that AI-generated content—including hiring filters, automated decisions, meeting notes, chat summaries and drafted emails—is most likely subject to discovery and will become a major litigation battleground in 2026 and beyond. HR teams should keep track of where AI is being used, assess whether it truly improves outcomes and ensure policies, training and monitoring are in place. 

Jackowski warned that AI does not shield employers from liability. If an algorithm results in discriminatory outcomes, employers—and potentially vendors—may be held accountable, regardless of intent. Courts are increasingly allowing claims against employers and vendors on the grounds that both can be held responsible for understanding the tools they use and the risks built into those algorithms.