Human Resources Year-End Review:  Legal Compliance Topics

Steven Cesare, Ph.D.

With the end of another calendar year fast approaching, it is an apt time to put down the eggnog, stop writing Christmas cards, and avoid the Internet shopping sites for a couple of moments in order to take a measure of your company’s current human resources program.  This year-end opportunity allows you a last chance to ensure compliance with the major laws for the current year.

Human Resources Legal Compliance

1. Employment Posters: Ensure your organization has ordered the 2019 integrated state and federal employment posters for each of your work locations; if necessary, make sure you purchase sufficient Spanish documents as well.
2. I-9 Forms: Verify that every active employee has an I-9 Form on file and that an external representative conducted an I-9 audit during the past year.
3. OSHA Records: Per OSHA, companies with 11 or more employees must have the OSHA 300, 300A, and 301 Forms for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018, plus a copy of the annual Detailed Loss Run Report from your workers’ compensation provider.
4. Safety Data Sheets: In compliance with OSHA’s 30-year recordkeeping standard, confirm possession of a current SDS for every chemical purchased, used, or involved with employee exposure.
5. Payroll Audit: Review all employees’ pay records to verify they received at least the proper minimum wage, all accurate overtime pay, and reimbursements through the past year’s payroll periods.
6. ObamaCare: Per the Employer Mandate, ensure all employees have either enrolled or formally declined participation in a minimum essential health care plan; prepare the Form 1095-C.
7. Required Training: Per individual state laws, ensure your company has satisfied all mandatory training requirements (e.g., IIPP, CPR, First Aid, Sexual Harassment, Globally Harmonized System, Lockout/Tagout).
8. FMLA: For companies with at least 50 employees, make sure you have all current forms, documentation, and paperwork on file related to every FMLA incident that occurred during the past year.
9. Employee Classification: Review every position to verify if it meets federal and state standards as either an exempt or non-employee or an independent contractor.
10. FLSA Paperwork:
    1. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires that a company have the following 14 pieces of information on every non-exempt employee:  (1) Employee’s full name and social security number; (2) Address, including zip code; (3) Birth date, if younger than 19 years of age; (4) Gender and occupation; (5) Time and day of week when employee’s workweek begins; (6) Hours worked each day; (7) Total hours worked each workweek; (8) Basis on which employee’s wages are paid (e.g., “$9 per hour”, “$440 a week”, “piecework”); (9) Regular hourly pay rate; (10) Total daily or weekly straight-time earnings; (11) Total overtime earnings for the workweek; (12) All additions to or deductions from the employee’s wages; (13) Total wages paid each pay period; and (14) Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment.
    2. The Fair Labor Standards Act also requires that a company have the following 7 pieces of information on every exempt employee:  (1) Employee’s full name and social security number; (2) Address, including zip code; (3) Birth date, if younger than 19 years of age; (4) Gender and occupation; (5) Time and day of week when employee’s workweek begins; (6) Total wages paid each pay period; and (7) Date of payment and the pay period covered by the payment.

Make sure you provide ample time during your hectic year-end close-out procedures to not only verify that these compliance issues have been completed but also to provide you with sufficient time to remedy them in a timely manner if any problems exist.  If you have any questions or comments, simply call me by click (760) 685-3800.