Human Resources compliance can be a tricky subject, especially if HR is not your specialty. For small businesses, HR can be something that often falls on the back burner as it isn’t a money making department. While HR may not make money directly for the business, it can protect against lawsuits or audits that can cost the company money.
When businesses are found to be non-compliant, the consequences can be damaging, costing both money in the form of fines as well as credibility. One of the most important roles of HR is to continuously manage your company’s compliance with employment and labor laws. To get an idea of what it looks like to be HR compliant, take a look at this HR compliance checklist.
Forms
All forms need to be on file, up to date and ready to be presented at any time. I-9 forms are a great example; every employee needs one and this should be held separate from their normal employee file.
Recruiting and Hiring Processes
Employees, current and prospective, are protected by laws and regulations. Your recruiting and hiring processes need to meet the standards of government initiatives such as the American Disabilities Act, the Fair Employment and Housing Act and Title VII.
Employee Compensation
Your employee compensation should be well defined. If you have different compensation groups, such as hourly vs. salary, it’s important that the difference between the two are clear and communicated.
Policies and Procedures
Your company’s policies and procedures should cover everything from medical leave and health benefits to sexual harassment and drug policies.
Social Networking
With social media being such a large part of everyday life, it’s important that your business has a policy put in place that addresses the relationship between the company, the employee and their social media.
Management Training
This is huge if your business has a lot of internal movement. Manager in any department should be trained in subjects like how to have performance conversations, diversity and harassment.
Work Hours
How are work hours regulated and monitored? And are they clearly communicated with employees? According to the Department of Labor, any time in which the employee is working should be accounted for, including overtime and business travel.
Unemployment/Retirement
Human Resources manages the company’s relationship with the employees event when they are no longer with the company. This can mean helping an employee that resigned get their last paycheck or a retired employee get their benefits. But, it also means assisting employees who are terminated, laid off or furloughed. You need to have a plan in place for any and all situations.
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