Compliance Resolutions for 2012
Here are HR Works' top five compliance recommendations for early 2012:
1. 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.
2. 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. Be sure your policies related to social media, the Internet, and employee conduct do not contradict the National Labor Relations Board’s position that employer’s, both union and non-union, may not interfere with an employee’s rights to engage in protected concerted activity, such as discussing wages, hours, and working conditions.
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. As a reminder, the National Labor Relations Board has issued a Final Rule requiring most private-sector employers to notify employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act by posting a notice. The poster was originally required to be posted in the workplace on November 14, 2011. The posting requirement has been delayed to April 30, 2012. Please click here for additional information about the notice, including some FAQ's.
4. Get compliant with the Wage Theft Prevention Act. Employers in New York have a requirement to provide pay rate notices to employees upon hire and also annually during the month of January of each year. The first annual notice should have been issued by February 1, 2012. If you haven’t done so already, provide the annual notice to employees as soon as possible. Additional information released by the New York Department of Labor includes Guidelines for Written Notice of Rates of Pay and Regular Payday, instructions related to the model templates employers can use to provide the required notices, and Frequently Asked Questions About the Wage Theft Prevention Act, which provides answers to many of the most common questions employers have about the WTPA.
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. In addition, you may have noticed that the DOL’s official FMLA notice and certification forms expired on December 31, 2011. Despite the expiration date stamped on each form, they’re still valid while the DOL seeks re-approval of the forms by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
