Every year, a handful of regulatory updates shift what companies are required to train on, how often, and how they document it. 2024 brought more changes than usual. Here's a plain-language summary of what matters and what you should do about it.
OSHA Recordkeeping Changes
OSHA's updated electronic recordkeeping rule (finalized in late 2023, effective January 2024) expanded the list of industries required to submit injury and illness data electronically. If your company has 100 or more employees in certain high-hazard industries, you now need to submit Form 300 and 301 data — not just the 300A summary.
The training implication: your safety training program needs to include accurate incident reporting procedures, and your recordkeeping staff needs to understand the new submission requirements. If you haven't updated your safety orientation materials since 2023, this is the time.
FTC Non-Compete Rule and Employee Agreements Training
The FTC's non-compete ban generated significant attention in 2024. While legal challenges have delayed full enforcement, many companies proactively updated their HR training to cover the new landscape around non-competes, NDAs, and post-employment restrictions.
If your organization uses non-compete agreements, your HR team and hiring managers should be trained on current enforceability status and what alternative protections (like NDAs and non-solicitation clauses) are still available.
State-Level Harassment Training Expansions
Several states tightened harassment prevention training requirements in 2024. Illinois now requires annual training for all employees (not just supervisors). Colorado expanded its requirements to cover more types of discriminatory conduct. Maine and Minnesota also introduced or expanded training mandates.
If you operate in multiple states, your compliance tracking system needs to manage different training frequencies and content requirements by location. This is exactly the kind of complexity that a platform like DrillPortal handles with role-based and location-based assignment rules.
Data Privacy Training Under State Laws
With Texas, Oregon, Montana, and Florida data privacy laws taking effect in 2024 (joining California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and Utah), employee training on data handling is no longer optional for companies operating across state lines.
At minimum, employees who handle personal data need training on what qualifies as personal information under each applicable law, how to respond to consumer data requests, and your company's data retention and deletion policies.
What You Should Do
- Audit your current compliance training catalog against the regulations listed above.
- Update course content where requirements have changed — particularly safety recordkeeping and harassment prevention.
- Add data privacy training if you don't already have it, especially if you operate in states with new privacy laws.
- Review your training assignment rules to ensure they account for state-specific requirements and employee roles.
- Document everything. Regulators increasingly ask for proof that training was assigned, completed, and assessed — not just that a course exists.
Compliance training isn't something you set up once and forget. Regulations change, and your training program needs to change with them. The companies that stay ahead of these updates avoid fines, reduce risk, and build a culture where compliance is routine rather than reactive.