Is your company the wild west of employment law compliance? From willful disregard of the law to negligent disregard, many companies can do better. "Let's just hope no one notices we are violating the overtime requirements of the law" to "we updated our handbook five years ago, we're fine," compliance with the myriad of employment laws should be constantly on your radar, not just after you receive a lawsuit, administrative charge or visit from the Department of Labor or OSHA.
When was the last time you conducted non-harassment training, looked at your grievance process, updated job descriptions and your handbook, thought about a social media policy, looked at recruitment and hiring practices, done an employment law compliance audit, checked to see that your employment law posters are up to date, etc?
Legal compliance should be a constant process. Be proactive. For human resources employees, make sure your employer knows you are a human resources expert, not an employment lawyer and that there is a difference. Those who don't understand this are easy pickings in litigation. Having represented employees and companies alike, I can tell you that you will pay more money in settlements and judgments (and typically in attorney fees too) the more lawless you are. You will get caught if you don't comply, it's simply a matter of time. Remember, Jesse James didn't win in the end. http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html
When was the last time you conducted non-harassment training, looked at your grievance process, updated job descriptions and your handbook, thought about a social media policy, looked at recruitment and hiring practices, done an employment law compliance audit, checked to see that your employment law posters are up to date, etc?
Legal compliance should be a constant process. Be proactive. For human resources employees, make sure your employer knows you are a human resources expert, not an employment lawyer and that there is a difference. Those who don't understand this are easy pickings in litigation. Having represented employees and companies alike, I can tell you that you will pay more money in settlements and judgments (and typically in attorney fees too) the more lawless you are. You will get caught if you don't comply, it's simply a matter of time. Remember, Jesse James didn't win in the end. http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html
RSS Feed