Human Resources and Compliance: New Year’s Resolutions
Since January is typically the month we make resolutions for the year, here are our top recommendations to do in early 2010.
1. Review and update your employee handbook to ensure compliance with employment regulations and to keep up with best practices. Click here to see a recent article we published in the RBJ on this topic.
2. Review Form I-9s for completion and accuracy. Employers are responsible for completing and retaining Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, for each individual they hire to work upon hire. Section one of Form I-9 needs to be completed no later than the end of the employee’s first day of employment and section two of no later than the end of the employee's third day of work. Click here for the I-9 Employer Handbook.
3. Check Employment Posters to confirm all postings are displayed in your workplace. Many posters have been updated the last few years and most employment posters can be downloaded from Federal and state agencies for free. HR Works also has low cost poster kits available.
4. Get FLSA compliant. The Department of Labor is cracking down on wage and hour violations. Be sure you are in compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets standards for minimum wages ($7.25 in New York), overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor. For example, in most cases administrative employees in New York making less than $543.75 per week must be paid overtime for any week in which they work more than 40 hours.
5. Understand the FMLA. When your company has 50 or more employees on the payroll for each working day during 20 or more workweeks, which do not have to be consecutive, in the current or preceding calendar year, you are required to comply with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. In determining whether you have 50 or more employees, you must count full and part-time employees and employees on paid or unpaid leaves of absence, if you expect them to return to work. You do not need to count employees on layoff status or those who work outside the United States. If you have more than one worksite, you are covered by FMLA if you have 50 or more employees within a 75 mile radius.
6. Train supervisors on harassment and discrimination policies. Supervisors are your first line of defense. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced recently that 93,277 workplace discrimination charges were filed with the EEOC nationwide during Fiscal Year 2009, the second highest level ever, and monetary relief obtained for victims totaled over $376 million. Click here for additional information.
7. Post the OSHA Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses by February 1st. Unless you are in a partially-exempt industry, the form must be posted in a conspicuous place where notices to employees are customarily posted no later than February 1st of the year following the year covered by the records and until April 30th. The OSHA Form 300A is an annual summary of all recorded work-related injuries and illnesses.
8. Understand New York Meal and Break Period Requirements. Employees who work a shift of more than six hours starting before 11 A.M. and continuing until 2 P.M. must have an uninterrupted lunch period of at least half an hour between 11 A.M. and 2 P.M. This break period does not have to be paid. Click here for more information on meal and break periods.
9. Get up to speed on COBRA. Are you aware that in New York COBRA can now last for up to 36 months? Are you aware that the cobra subsidy has been extended? Click here for information from the New York Department of Insurance on the 36 month extension, click here for information from the Federal Department of Labor on the COBRA subsidy changes, including new notification requirements, and click here for information from the IRS on “processing” the COBRA subsidy.
10. Document, document, document. Having issues with employees? Well-written documentation is critical for effective management of employees and defense of employment decisions. HR Works will be hosting training on this topic on March 2nd. Click here for additional information.
