Law stated as of 01 May 2018 • USA (National/Federal)
Adjusting human resources policies and practices to stay compliant with always evolving employment laws can be a challenging task for employers. Failure to do so, however, can lead to costly messes and lawsuits. To ensure up-to-date compliance in all areas, employers should conduct regular audits of their human resources policies and practices. Springtime cleaning in the form of a human resources audit can help employers identify and refresh any outdated or problematic policies and practices and reduce exposure to lawsuits posed by stale policies.
Employers should periodically review their HR policies and practices to ensure legal compliance. This entails evaluating employee handbooks and other guidelines and procedures and deciding what to keep, dispose of or update. Like cleaning out the closets in our homes, spring cleaning in the workplace can be daunting. However, regularly reviewing, revising and refreshing any outdated human resources policies and practices is critical for ensuring up-to-date compliance with the law and minimizing litigation risks for employers.
Conducting a human resources audit is a good way to accomplish this task. This audit should focus on:
Employee handbooks, stand-alone policies and guidelines housed on company intranet sites, including ensuring that:
the content of these policies reflect any legal developments;
the policies are properly disseminated;
employees acknowledge the receipt of important policies, such as anti-harassment policies and the procedure for reporting complaints, and signed acknowledgment forms are maintained in employees' files; and
the policies are uniformly enforced and not applied in a disparate manner.
Practices relating to:
recruiting and hiring;
classification of employees;
payment of wages;
providing leave;
responding to complaints;
conducting internal investigations;
responding to accommodation requests;
promoting workplace safety and health;
termination of employment; and
recordkeeping.
Training of supervisors and other employees on these policies and procedures.
A human resources audit can help employers avoid potential lawsuits by identifying and correcting:
Inaccurate, incomplete or outdated policies and practices.
Inconsistent application of policies and practices.
Unfamiliarity with or misunderstanding of policies and practices.
Insufficient training on policies and practices.
For Practical Law's resources to assist employers in conducting human resources audits, see Human Resources Audit Toolkit.