Part of MRA's 125th Anniversary Series
1960s–1970s: When Human Resources Got Complicated
For much of the first half of the 20th century, personnel management was largely concerned with the mechanics of employment: hiring workers, maintaining records, managing payroll, and resolving workplace disputes. By the 1960s, that was no longer enough.
A wave of social change and landmark legislation began changing not only who could work and under what conditions, but what employers were responsible for providing. Questions of discrimination, equal pay, workplace safety, and employee rights were becoming business questions—and someone needed to own the answers.
That someone was increasingly HR.
A Workplace in Transition
The 1960s were a period of enormous social change. The Civil Rights Movement challenged discriminatory practices across American society, including in employment. Women were participating in the workforce in growing numbers, while public expectations around fairness, equality, and worker protections continued to evolve.
Employers found themselves operating in a very different environment than they had just a decade earlier. Practices that had once gone unquestioned were suddenly under intense scrutiny. Organizations needed guidance on how to comply with new laws while also adapting to changing workforce expectations.
The workplace was becoming more regulated, more diverse, and more complicated.
New Rules Change the Game
Several landmark laws reshaped employment practices during this period.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 strengthened protections against wage discrimination based on sex, placing greater emphasis on how organizations established and administered compensation. The following year, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, particularly Title VII, prohibited discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. This fundamentally changed how organizations approached hiring, promotion, termination, and workplace policies.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 expanded federal protections to older workers, adding another layer of consideration to employment decisions.
Then, in 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Act established federal workplace safety standards and enforcement mechanisms, creating new responsibilities for employers to provide safe and healthy working conditions.
These laws moved employment decisions out of the realm of simply being “company policy” and into an increasingly regulated legal framework.
This also changed the questions employers had to ask. Was a hiring decision discriminatory? Were employees being paid equitably? Were workplace conditions safe? Were employment policies being applied consistently?
Compliance was no longer an occasional concern. It was becoming part of the everyday work of managing people.
HR Steps Into a New Role
As regulations expanded, the role of HR expanded with them.
Organizations needed employee handbooks, documented policies, hiring procedures, training programs, safety processes, and systems for addressing complaints and investigations. Documentation became critical. Consistency became essential.
HR professionals increasingly found themselves balancing legal requirements with organizational goals. They became educators, trainers, policy experts, and risk managers, not simply administrators keeping employee records.
The growing complexity also created a new need for practical expertise. Employers needed help interpreting new requirements and turning them into policies and practices that managers and employees could actually follow.
For employer associations like MRA, this emerging complexity created a new kind of need among member organizations. Employers were no longer simply looking for help finding workers or resolving individual personnel problems. They needed practical guidance on changing employment requirements, developing policies, training managers, and adapting to a rapidly changing employment landscape.
The relationship between employers and their employees was changing—and the role responsible for navigating that relationship was changing with it.
The Foundation of Today's HR
Many of the challenges HR leaders manage today trace directly back to this era.
Workplace investigations, anti-discrimination policies, compliance audits, safety programs, employment law guidance, and manager training all have roots in the sweeping changes of the 1960s and 1970s.
The regulations themselves have continued to evolve. So have the issues HR professionals address. But the fundamental expectation established during this period remains: organizations are responsible for creating workplaces where employment decisions are fair, working conditions are safe, and employees' rights are respected.
The modern HR function was born from this growing complexity. As employment became more regulated, employers needed people who could translate new laws into policies, practices, training, and everyday decisions.
More than half a century later, HR professionals are still doing that work—although the questions have continued to evolve.
The transformation that began in the 1960s and 1970s didn't just add more rules to the workplace.
It changed what organizations—and the people responsible for their employees—were expected to do.
That's the story this series will explore. As MRA marks 125 years of serving employers, we'll look back at the moments that shaped today's workplace and examine how understanding the past can help organizations prepare for what's next.
