[Verse 1] The year was nineteen twenty-nine, the market crashed and fell The Great Depression hit the land, a economic hell But from the ashes something rose, a regulatory wave That made personnel departments strong, the workforce they would save [Chorus] Thirty-three to thirty-eight, the New Deal changed it all Wagner, Social Security, Fair Labor Standards call Compliance became the game, and personnel took the lead Not lawyers writing memos, but the workers that they need HR was born from crisis, when regulations grew The infrastructure they possessed made compliance dreams come true [Verse 2] First came the Recovery Act in nineteen thirty-three Collective bargaining rights for workers to be free Employers needed someone fast to manage union talks Personnel stepped up to fill those complicated walks [Chorus] Thirty-three to thirty-eight, the New Deal changed it all Wagner, Social Security, Fair Labor Standards call Compliance became the game, and personnel took the lead Not lawyers writing memos, but the workers that they need HR was born from crisis, when regulations grew The infrastructure they possessed made compliance dreams come true [Verse 3] The Wagner Act in thirty-five created the NLRB Union elections, labor practices, bargaining guarantees Personnel departments boomed because they knew each worker's name Managing organized labor became their greatest claim [Bridge] Social Security brought payroll taxes to the door Accounting didn't want it, personnel took on more Survivor benefits and unemployment, all fell in their hands The foundation of compliance across these United States lands [Verse 4] Fair Labor Standards finished it in nineteen thirty-eight Minimum wage and overtime, child labor's sealed fate Exempt and non-exempt workers, time tracking every day Record-keeping obligations, personnel led the way [Final Chorus] Thirty-three to thirty-eight, the New Deal changed it all Wagner, Social Security, Fair Labor Standards call Employee records, job classifications, payroll integration too Direct relationships with workers made personnel's dreams come true Legal wrote the memos, but personnel did the work From crisis came compliance, where HR learned to lurk [Outro] The moment HR became compliance, not by choice but need Infrastructure they possessed planted the regulatory seed
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