It’s always hard to be sure that everyone is following policies. (Some frustrated readers might ask, is anyone following any policy?) A comprehensive audit is really the only way to find out.
In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered audit areas for preemployment issues. Today, we’ll look at employment and termination issues, and we’ll introduce a unique checklist-based audit system.
Job descriptions. For all positions, you should have up-to-date job descriptions that accurately reflect the job duties. Make sure that the job descriptions identify all essential functions of the job.
Posters. Make sure you maintain a complete set of up-to-date posters as required by law.
Recordkeeping. Be sure that you are maintaining records as required.
Reasonable accommodation. Do you have a reasonable accommodation policy? Have you trained managers in how to approach the accommodation process with a disabled employee?
Wage and hour. Review exempt and nonexempt status decisions. Employees who are improperly classified as exempt from overtime could end up costing you a bundle. Problematic categories include, among others, administrative assistants, paraprofessionals, lead persons, low-level supervisors, assistant managers, sales employees, and computer software professionals.
Child labor. Make sure that you are following the strict child labor rules regulating hours of work and the types of work youngsters may perform.
Independent contractors. Review classifications of all independent contractors.
Employee leaves. Make sure you know the rules regarding when you have to provide time off, paid or unpaid, for jury duty, military service, voting, family and medical leave, and sick leave to care for a family member. Also, keep in mind that state and federal laws typically prohibit retaliating against employees who exercise their legal rights to certain types of leave.
Using the “hope” system to avoid lawsuits? (We “hope” we’re doing it right.) Be sure! Check out every facet of your HR program with BLR’s unique checklist-based audit program. Click here to try HR Audit Checklists on us for 30 days !
Employee privacy. If you engage in sensitive activities such as workplace searches, polygraph tests, drug and alcohol tests, fingerprinting, use of criminal arrest information, and monitoring or recording employees’ telephone conversations and e-mail, review your policies and practices carefully.
Electronic communications. Do you have a policy defining acceptable uses of your company’s computer system, including Internet access and e-mail? Have you notified employees in writing that their electronic communications are not private?
Complaint investigation system. Review your procedures for investigating employee complaints to make sure they are effective.
- Have you designated an ombudsman who can help resolve employee complaints before they escalate into major problems?
- Does your system include guidelines for receiving the complaint, including an employee complaint form, procedures for selecting an investigator and interviewing witnesses, and guidelines for reaching a conclusion and determining appropriate corrective action?
Termination practices. Be sure to have procedures in place to review adverse employment decisions, such as employee suspension or termination, before they are carried out, in order to assess whether there are legal concerns. Consider offering severance pay in exchange for a signed release. And, for employees age 40 and older, be sure to include special age discrimination claim waiver language in releases for individual terminations or group layoffs.
So, is that everything you need to check on? Unfortunately, that just scratches the surface. But the fact remains that an HR audit is really the only way to dig down, find problems, and get them fixed before the feds find them. For most HR managers, the biggest hurdle is getting started with an audit—where do you begin?
To get your audits going, BLR’s editors recommend a unique product called HR Audit Checklists. Why are checklists so great? They’re completely impersonal, and they force you to jump through all the necessary hoops, one by one. They also ensure consistency in how operations are conducted. That’s vital in HR, where it’s all too easy to land in court if you discriminate in how you treat one employee over another.
HR Audit Checklists compels thoroughness. For example, it contains checklists on both Preventing Sexual Harassment and Handling Sexual Harassment Complaints. You’d likely never think of all the possible trouble areas without a checklist; but with it, just scan down the list and instantly see where you might get tripped up.
Find problems before the feds do. HR Audit Checklists ensures that you have a chance to fix problems before government agents or employees’ attorneys get a chance. Try the program at no cost or risk.
In fact, housed in the HR Audit Checklists binder are dozens of extensive lists, organized into reproducible packets, for easy distribution to line managers and supervisors. There’s a separate packet for each of the following areas:
- Staffing and training (incorporating Equal Employment Opportunity in recruiting and hiring, including immigration issues)
- HR administration (including communications, handbook content, and recordkeeping)
- Health and safety (including OSHA responsibilities)
- Benefits and leave (including health-cost containment, COBRA, FMLA, workers’ compensation, and several areas of leave)
- Compensation (payroll and the Fair Labor Standards Act)
- Performance and termination (appraisals, discipline, and termination)
HR Audit Checklists is available to HR Daily Advisor® readers for a no-cost, no-risk evaluation in your office for up to 30 days. Visit HR Audit Checklists, and we’ll be happy to arrange it.