When it comes to running a business, there are a number of federal, state, and local legal regulations that must be followed. Below, we’ve put together a guide that highlights compliance best practices you should consider to help your business proactively navigate the constantly evolving legal landscape and stay compliant.
Minimum Pay Requirements and Compensation Structure
In the ever-changing world of pay, your company should regularly review how you pay your employees for many reasons (more on that below). It’s no secret that money makes a business thrive, so let’s consider key areas that are impacted:
- Pay Increases and Legal Requirements: Ensure that your pay raises and salary levels align with laws and employment hot topics like pay transparency, ban the box, and minimum wage requirements. Keep in mind that minimum wage and salary thresholds often change in January and June. Check out our Minimum Pay Requirements Help Center article for the latest updates!
- Forecasting: Create a plan to map out your workforce or potential salary increases based on performance for the year. For instance, you might consider setting budgetary percentages that apply to each department or budget for potential new hires.
- Learning & Development: Think about how much you can invest in employee development, whether it’s conferences, certifications, or workshops. Additionally, fulfill required annual harassment prevention and inclusion training, using educational resources offered by EVERFI.
Handbook & Policy Updates
Throughout the year, legislators update employment laws that may impact your company. It’s important to consider if any changes affect the policies related to where your employees work. Policies and laws that are commonly updated as part of the new year are:
- Vacation and PTO (also consider bereavement leave)
- Sick Leave (laws may update and new ones may arise)
- Parental Leave
- Workplace Health and Safety
- Complaint Policy
- Total Rewards (compensation and benefits)
Editing employee handbooks can take some time, so be sure to plan accordingly. In addition, we strongly encourage you to consult with your legal advisor/team on any policy changes, to help you stay compliant.
Don’t know where to start? Here are some helpful resources you can use to help guide you through the process:
- Mineral*: Justworks partner that provides access to HR tools, including an Employee Handbook Builder.
- The Scoop: Monthly federal, state, and local compliance updates that may impact your business.
- Help Center: Library of self-service support on a variety of topics, including Employer Compliance Starter Guides.
- HR Consultants: Tailored HR guidance from certified HR professionals.
HR Audit
Conducting an HR audit of employee files, job descriptions, and any federal and state-required employment documents is like an annual checkup of your company’s HR operations. Here are some areas you should consider:
- Signature Requirements: Make sure your employees have signed off on important documents like employee handbook acknowledgment forms, wage theft prevention notifications, offer letters, and more. ⭐Pro Tip: You can keep this information organized in Justworks under HR > Documents.
- Progressive Discipline: Having a clear process for handling employee performance issues is critical for performance management. You’ll want to be sure to store any relevant performance documentation in the employee’s file to find this information easily when you need it.
- Clear Job Descriptions: Having clear and concise job descriptions can help with level-setting conversations and define current and future roles within the organization. If you find gaps, you might discover a need to create new roles in your organization.
- Recordkeeping/Retention Best Practices: If your company is subject to laws such as the FMLA, you’ll want to make sure that you have separate medical files for your employees, keeping them apart from their regular employee files. These records should be kept complete and in compliance with the law. If you have any questions related to this, please reach out to support@justworks.com and our support team can connect you with the HR Consulting team, if needed.
Performance Management
Set yourself up for success by getting a jump start on performance reviews and goal setting. We recommend asking some of these questions to kick off the planning process:
- What does performance mean to you?
- Do your objectives tie into your overall mission and vision statements?
Once you’ve answered these questions for your company, you can take a look at our partnered vendors on Justworks Marketplace to help streamline your performance and engagement process!
Notes
*Be sure you’re logged into your Justworks account with administrative permissions to access Mineral.
Disclaimer
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal or tax advice. If you have any legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, then you should consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.