Happy New Year … Now AUDIT!

By Mickey Matran / January 7, 2014 / Uncategorized No Comments

The beginning of the year always sets the tone for fresh starts, renewals, and new commitments.  For many businesses, it is a time to purge files and close out records in preparation for another year of sales and service.  It is also a great time to evaluate your human resource policies and procedures for compliance with federal and state laws. No matter what size your business, there is likely a federal  labor or employment law to which you are subject and therefore may need to audit your current practices. Bringing your company into compliance could be as simple as adding a form to explain to employees their rights and responsibilities or including the most current documents in a new hire packet. Achieving compliance may also be include more complex tasks such as assessing a job for exempt or non-exempt status, comparing similar positions for pay equity or handling a request for an accommodation.

Below is a sample list of federal labor and employment laws to which your company may be subject based on number of employees*.  A review of this list may provide you with guidance for the policies and procedures you wish to audit.

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES AND APPLICABLE LAWS

1-14

• Equal Pay Act
• Fair Credit Reporting Act
• Fair Labor Standards Act
• Immigration Reform and Control Act
• Lilly Lebetter Fair Pay
• National Labor Relations Act
• Occupational Safety and Health Act
• Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act

11-14 all the above, plus

• OSHA Recordkeeping Act

15-19  all the above, plus

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)

20-49 all the above, plus

• Age Discrimination in Employment Act
• Consolidated Omnibus Benefits Reconciliation Act (COBRA)

50 + all the above, plus

• Family and Medical Leave Act
• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a “Healthcare Reform” or “Obama Care”)

100 + all the above, plus

• Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
• EEO-1 Report filed annually with EEOC if organization is not a federal contractor

Knowing your company’s status provides a great start towards creating a plan to correct any deficiencies or areas of non-compliance.  Taking care of any deficiencies proactively can save thousands of dollars in fines resulting from an audit by federal or state authorities. Please contact us here at HR Solutions if you would like additional information about our available HR assessments.

Have a Happy New Year AUDIT!

* This blog is intended only to provide general human resource guidance and information. It is not intended to constitute legal advice or legal service or even a full human resource perspective regarding a company’s employee count or subjectivity to any particular federal law. An attorney should be contacted if legal advice or legal services are needed.

---