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(Editor’s Note: Today’s article is brought to you by our friends at HRdirect, a trusted source for employee-related compliance, administration, and motivation tools. They serve as a one-stop shop to make employee management easier. Enjoy the read!)
I’d like to believe that organizations and HR professionals know that they’re required by law to display labor law posters. The subject of those posters varies by location, industry, and organization size. But did you know that organizations are also required by law to distribute handouts to employees?
All 50 U.S. states have some form of employee handout requirement. Handouts include federal, state, county, city, and industry-specific notices. As of the date of this article, the state with the fewest required handouts is Tennessee with 26. Puerto Rico (a U.S. territory) has 25. And the state with the most required handouts is California with 100 (including language variations). That is not a typo.
Some organizations might be thinking that these are not really “required” handouts, rather just “requested” handouts. I asked Ashley Kaplan, Esquire, senior employment law attorney for ComplyRight about fines and penalties surrounding mandatory employee handouts. Ashley leads the expert legal team responsible for researching and monitoring employee notice requirements in every U.S. jurisdiction to ensure employers comply with ever-changing regulatory requirements. “These notices are mandatory, and noncompliance may result in serious penalties, fines, and even liability in employment litigation. In some cases, daily penalties may be imposed for distributing the notices past their deadlines, which can really add up.”
Just Because HR Can Doesn’t Mean They Should
Now that we’ve established that organizations need to distribute employee handouts, the issue becomes the best way to do it. I’ve always been a believer in using my time the right ways, meaning the ways that I can bring the most value. And right now, I have to think that one of the ways for HR departments to bring the most value is by focusing on hiring and retaining the best talent.
A little side story: one of my favorite email newsletters is called “Further” by Brian Clark. The newsletter is focused on health, wealth, and personal growth strategies. It comes out weekly if you want to subscribe and check it out. In a recent edition, he was talking about The Great Defection. Over the past year, employees have reprioritized. What was important in 2019, might not have the same priority today. And as organizations start to talk about returning to the office, employees might be are looking for new opportunities.
The reason I’m bringing this up is because hiring and retaining employees is a top concern for employers. HR departments should be are spending their time trying to figure this out versus how many mandatory employee handouts they are required to provide to employees. That doesn’t mean mandatory employee handouts aren’t important.
Which takes us back to our original question – what’s the best way to maintain mandatory employee handout compliance without sacrificing HR’s time and value to the organization?
Our friends at HRdirect are launching a new Mandatory Employee Handout Service that will provide organizations with easy, online access to the latest notifications. The service has two tiers of coverage: Basic and Premium.
- Basic service is ideal for organizations with 50 or less employees that don’t experience frequent leave requests, injuries, payroll status changes, or terminations. It includes all the general notices required for existing employees and new hires under federal and state law.
- Premium service is designed for organizations with 50+ employees who regularly hire, manage leaves, injury reports, payroll status changes, terminations, and other “triggering” events that require certain handouts. This service level is ideal for employers located in cities and counties with more notification requirements as well as employers who want the peace of mind that they’ll be covered for any new or updated requirements at every government level.
If you want to see all the service benefits by level in a side-by-side format, check out the chart on the HRdirect website. HRdirect is offering a nice introductory offer – $30 off an annual subscription using the code HRB30.
If you’ve never used a subscription type service for compliance before, one of the questions that you might have is about what takes place when laws change. It’s a valid question. I asked Ashley to share the process. “Our legal team monitors all federal, state, and local requirements on a continuous basis, and we immediately notify our clients via email when legislation affects their employee notification obligations. We also update the content of the notices and instructions on the site in ‘real time’, so they are always current and available, well before compliance deadlines.”
Show Employees That Compliance Matters
If employees are out there looking for new opportunities as “The Great Defection” article suggests, one of the things they will be looking for is safety and security. Employees want to know that their employer places a value on being compliant. It helps with recruiting, engagement, and retention.
Organizations can’t push off their compliance requirements. A very viable option is to find a trusted partner that can keep the organization informed and current. This allows HR to focus on those activities where they bring the most value, like working with a manager to find and keep the best talent.
If you would like to learn more about mandatory employee handouts, download HRdirect’s free e-guide on “Mandatory Labor Law Handouts: What Employers Need to Know”. It’s the type of resource that organizations can use to develop their HR compliance strategy.
The post Compliance: HR Departments Need to Spend Time Where They Create the Most Value appeared first on hr bartender.