Biz Tip: Five New Year's resolutions for human resources
Kick off 2007 with an audit
By David Kurtz
Perhaps no aspect of corporate life is more regulated than the relationships between employers and employees.
Employers must be wary of frequently changing laws and regulations that range from wage and hour laws to the size of posters hanging in the workplace that inform employees of their rights.
The beginning of the year is a great time for employers to review and reassess their employment policies and procedures by conducting a thorough audit. Here are five key areas worth a look.
Employee handbooks Handbooks can be quite useful for both employers and employees. But as the laws and nature of your business changes, handbooks must be revised. If not, they can also create more problems than they solve. If a handbook is changed, new copies should be handed out to employees – a perfect opportunity to collect receipt acknowledgment forms, which reaffirm the employees’ understanding of their "at-will" status.
Restrictive covenants Businesses increasingly require employees to sign restrictive covenants, such as non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, in order to protect their intellectual property and client and customer goodwill. Courts, however, will not enforce restrictive covenants they deem over-broad, stale or ambiguous. In light of the ever-changing legal landscape governing these covenants, it is important to review your company’s "standard agreement" and individual agreements from time to time, and revise or replace them as needed.
Overtime compensation Many companies unknowingly fail to comply with the overtime requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Paying an employee a salary does not – as many employers believe – immunize them from liability for overtime. Likewise, an employee’s job title is irrelevant in determining whether he or she is exempt from overtime. Although the audit for FLSA compliance is an intensive process, it is well worth the effort, as the penalties for failing to pay overtime can be quite severe.
Performance documentation Many companies do not carefully monitor employee performance or lack an adequate system for appraising employees. Without those records of performance issues, however, a company may find itself ill equipped to defend a discipline or termination decision. Personnel files should be reviewed and, if necessary, updated to include formal records of performance shortcomings.
Recruitment and hiring Hiring procedures are often an overlooked area of review by companies. Among the recruitment areas that merit review are job advertisements, application forms, interviews, background checks, immigration status verification and offer letters. For instance, a variety of federal, state and local laws prohibit seemingly innocent interview questions such as, "when did you attend high school?" Hiring procedures should be designed not only to ensure fairness for all applicants and avoid unnecessary liability, but to start employee relationships off on the right foot.
Many employers only find out about problems in their employment policies or procedures when they become the subjects of a lawsuit. A proactive approach to employment issues – such as an audit – can pay substantial dividends in reduced legal challenges and associated costs down the road.
David Kurtz is an attorney with Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple PC in Worcester, where he specializes in employment law.
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