Now that we have hit the midway point in 2023, it seems like an ideal time to discuss a Human Resources checkup, or audit.
With the rise in both federal and state department of labor audits, companies need to ensure that their human resources practices are compliant with federal, state and local labor laws.
DOL audits can be random, but many times are triggered by an employee complaint. The fines and other monetary penalties can be financially crippling to a business.
A review of a company’s HR documents, processes and practices is well worth the investment and can ensure that the business mitigates risk and develops a strong Human Resources compliance framework for the future.
An HR audit is comprised of the following areas:
Pre-Hire
Not only does a business need to put in place a process for hiring the best candidates, they also have to ensure they don’t violate anti-discrimination or privacy laws.
-A well written job description compliant with federal, state and local laws.
-A review of the interview process, including interview questions and applicant flow protocols which may put a company at risk of a discrimination claim.
-Ensuring background check processes are compliant with federal and state fair reporting and privacy requirements.
-Review of offer letters to ensure inclusion of needed components to limit risk to the business
New Hire Onboarding
Review of all the documents needed when hiring a new employee, including:
-Necessary payroll documents, such as a W-4.
-Ensuring proper tax deductions
-Proper completion and retention of I-9 documents
-Needed federal, state and local labor law notices to be provided to new hires
–An employee handbook (Marzano HR Consulting can discuss a project price for updating an employee handbook or creating a new one)
-Registration of new hires to a state’s child support check database
-Proper process for hiring minors
-Other documents such as:
>Confidentiality Agreement
>Non-solicitation Agreement
>Sexual Harassment Policy Acknowledgement
Maintenance of Employee Documents
A company’s document retention processes will be reviewed to ensure compliance with:
-Privacy Laws
-Federal, state and local anti-discrimination laws
-Wage and hour laws
Federal, State and Local Labor Law Postings
A business needs to ensure it displays all the necessary federal, state and local labor law posters.
-Just as importantly, companies need to know if they have a labor poster up that they should not display based on the size of the business.
-A legally compliant process for informing remote workers of labor laws for the jurisdictions in which they live and work.
-Some jurisdictions not only require labor posters be displayed, but also want certain labor law notices to be provided to employees on an annual basis.
Employment law compliance can be overwhelming to a business. But in this day and age, not being in compliance with the myriad of employment regulations can be disastrous.
Marzano Human Resources Consulting has conducted many HR audits. We will review all of a company’s employee documents and discuss with management their HR practices. At the conclusion of the project, we will provide the company with a report and an HR checklist they can use going forward. We ask businesses to get in touch with us for a no-cost consultation.