What You Do Not Know Can Hurt You: An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
By: INGRID N. CULP
May 2007
Do you worry that your company may be violating one or more employment laws simply because you are unaware of a legal requirement? Or, are you concerned that you have not properly implemented one of the many employment law requirements? In either case, you are not alone.
In recent years, federal and state employment laws and regulations have become increasingly varied and complex. Many conscientious employers miss or misapply one or more of the many employment laws. A short list of questions concerning employment legal compliance often reveals one or more areas of possible concern.
Does your company:
- Comply with federal and state laws governing background checks for new hires?
- Comply with Minnesota’s drug-and-alcohol testing statute?
- Correctly complete both parts 1 and 2 on the Form 1-9 for U.S. citizens and non-citizens in a timely manner?
- Correctly classify employees as “exempt” under wage and hours laws?
- Pay non-exempt employees all required overtime; for example, for “on-call” and travel time?
- Pay the correct amount of overtime to its non-exempt employees; for example, on quarterly or annual bonus amounts?
- Follow disability-leave rules to accommodate an employee’s mental or physical impairment?
- Comply with the myriad requirements for leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and other employee-leave laws?
- Have EEO and anti-harassment policies that the EEOC and Minnesota Department of Human Rights will agree meet their requirements?
- Take appropriate measures to prevent and address harassment and discrimination.
- Have a certified written affirmative action program if required?
- Properly maintain employee personnel records for the required length of time?
- Use a discipline process that will reduce legal risk of a wrongful discharge lawsuit?
- Have an employee handbook that includes all of the newly required policies; for example, setting forth your commitment to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act?
- Have employment agreements that include appropriate termination provisions and are drafted to protect the company’s interests?
- Have non-competition agreements drafted to comply with applicable state law and obtained in exchange for required consideration?
- Know what to do if a government investigator appears at your door?
If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” “probably not,” or “I don’t know,” we recommend that you obtain a compliance audit from your employment attorney.
To help avoid expensive employment litigation, to put your mind at ease, and to protect your company’s hard-earned assets, employers should periodically audit their employment legal compliance with an experienced employment attorney under the auspices of the attorney/client privilege. (This helps protect the information from later use against the company.) Fredrikson & Byron’s employment attorneys are knowledgeable on the many laws with which employers must comply. Our expertise can help you uncover areas of legal exposure and, as needed, eliminate areas of concern. Investing in an audit now could save your company hundreds of thousand of dollars down the road.
The attorneys in Fredrikson & Byron’s Employment & Labor Law Group offer various types of audits from the most basic, high-level review (which may take only a few hours) to an in-depth analysis of practices, documents, and compliance mechanisms. If you would like more information regarding our audit services, please call any of the attorneys.