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It is important that employers have a plan for complying with the law and annual compliance goals.  Please use the checklist below along with HR Care and HR Classroom to help you meet your compliance goals. 

1. _____ Employee Handbook and Policies.  The employee handbook is the company’s official source of information about policies and procedures.  The handbook should be regularly reviewed for compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws.  Go here for information on how to create employee handbooks and policies: Article.aspx/822/EmployeeHandbookExplanation

Go here to sample policies:  Article.aspx/224/Handbooks-Policies

Go here for a sample employee handbook: 
Article.aspx/895/SampleEmployeeHandbook

2. _____ Posters and Forms.  The law requires employers to post certain notices in the workplace and also requires employers to use government required forms.  Go here for downloadable posters and forms: Article.aspx/225/PostersForms
3. _____ Hiring Employees.  Below are important issues employers should be aware of during the hiring process.
1. Recruiting, Applications and Interviews.  Go here to learn about questions to ask and avoid when you recruit new employees, how to write applications for employment, and how to conduct interviews: Article.aspx/169/RecruitingApplicationsandInterviews  You can review a sample application for employment here: Article.aspx/244/ApplicationforEmployment
2. Immigration Reform and Control Act – Form I-9.  The IRCA requires employers to verify employment eligibility, makes it illegal to hire illegal immigrants, and prohibits discrimination based on national origin or citizenship status.  Learn more about this here: Article.aspx/173/ImmigrationReformandControlAct  You can download an I-9 form here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-9.pdf  
3. New Hire Reporting. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act is a federal law which requires employers to report information on new hires to State New Hire Directories. The law requires each state to set up these new hire directories.  Learn more about this here: Article.aspx/174/NewHireReportingRequirements
4. Pre-employment Inquiries Under the ADA. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits certain inquiries and examinations at the pre-offer and post-offer stages of the hiring process before an individual actually starts work for an employer.  Learn about this here: Article.aspx/607/Pre-employmentInquiriesUndertheADA
5. Obtaining Consumer Reports on Applicants and Employees - Fair Credit Reporting Act.  Employers must be careful if they obtain information from consumer reporting agencies on applicants or employees.  Learn about this here: Article.aspx/170/FairCreditReportingAct
6. Employment Testing.  Employers must be careful about various types of testing of applicants and employees.  Learn about them here: Article.aspx/175/EmploymentTesting  Learn about various state laws on the subject here: article.aspx/83/  State laws on drug testing: article.aspx/83/
7. Affirmative Action.  The federal government has a variety of laws requiring employers to create plans or practices to ensure that traditional victims of discrimination will be fairly represented throughout the work force.  Learn about them here: Article.aspx/172/AffirmativeAction  The law also requires certain employers to file annual VETS 100 reports.  To obtain forms, to file and to learn more go here: http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/fcp/main.htm
8. Negligent Hiring.  Employers can be liable for negligent hiring of employees.  Learn more about this here: Article.aspx/176/NegligentHiring

Training of New Hires.  It is important that employers regularly train their new hires in certain areas.  The following are important trainings that are either required by the law or highly recommended in order to avoid significant liability. You can see an overview of these trainings here: http://www.hrclassroom.com/content/courses.aspx

___Sexual Harassment Prevention for Supervisors and Staff

___Discrimination and Harassment Prevention for Supervisors and Staff

___Sexual Harassment Prevention for California Supervisors

___Sexual Harassment Prevention for Connecticut Supervisors

___Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

___Custom Training To Prove Review and Understanding of Company Handbook and/or Policies

Compliance percentage goal:  _______ %  Employers should know how many of their employees have completed their trainings.  We call this your “compliance percentage”.  HR Classroom will provide you with a compliance percentage of your workforce that have completed your required trainings. 

Time Frame to complete your compliance percentage goal: ______ months

4. _____ Managing employees.  Below are some important issues you should consider when managing your employees.
1. Sexual Harassment.  It is illegal to sexually harass employees in the workplace.  Learn more here: Article.aspx/194/SexualHarrassment See a sample policy here: Article.aspx/254/DiscriminatoryHarassmentPolicyincludingSexualHarassmentPolicy See how to conduct a sexual harassment investigation here: Article.aspx/274/SexHarassment--Howtoconductaninvestigation
2. Discrimination and Harassment.  You cannot discriminate against your employees based on race, color, sex, religion or national origin: Article.aspx/177/CivilRightsActof1964 Also, age bias is prohibited: Article.aspx/180/AgeDiscriminationinEmploymentAct Equal pay for men and women: Article.aspx/181/TheEqualPayActof1963 Disability Discrimination prohibited: Article.aspx/179/AmericansWithDisabilitiesAct Discrimination based on Genetic information is prohibited: Article.aspx/834/TitleIIoftheGeneticInformationNondiscriminationActGINA You cannot discriminate against those who serve in the military: Article.aspx/188/UniformedServicesEmploymentandReemploymentRightsAct  State laws on discrimination: article.aspx/83/
3. EEO Paperwork. Employers with more than 100 employees or who are federal contractors must annually complete the EEO-1 form.  Learn more here: Article.aspx/195/EEOPaperwork To complete the EEO-1 go here: http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/index.cfm
4. Family and Medical Leave. FMLA entitles eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave each year for specified family and medical reasons.  Learn more here: Article.aspx/193/FamilyandMedicalLeaveAct See a sample FMLA policy here: Article.aspx/264/FMLAPolicy Obtain FMLA Posters and Forms here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/  State laws on FMLA: article.aspx/83/
5. Wage and Hour.  To learn about federal law concerning minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and child labor, go here: Article.aspx/196/WageandHourFLSA To learn about exemptions from the federal wage and hour laws go here: Article.aspx/198/ExemptionsFromMinimumWageandOvertime-EffectiveAug232004 Sample FLSA Safe Harbor Policy: Article.aspx/263/FLSASafeHarborPolicy Sample Policy concerning time keeping records: Article.aspx/275/TimeKeepingRecords FLSA Poster: Article.aspx/225/PostersForms Sample Salary Basis Policy: http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/fairpay/modelPolicy_PF.htm  State laws on Overtime, Meal and Rest periods and Wage Payment:  article.aspx/83/
6. Employees or Independent Contractors.  It is important that you classify workers correctly as either employees or independent contractors.  Different agencies use different rules for determining this classification.  To learn more: Article.aspx/189/EmployeesorIndependentContractors IRS: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html The IRS has a new Voluntary Classification Settlement Program as described here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-11-64.pdf The local wage and hour offices are also a good place to go when you need help classifying employees.  Learn more about wage and hour law and find a local office near you here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/
7. Violence in the workplace.  Learn about potential liabilities and how to prevent it here: Article.aspx/206/ViolenceintheWorkplace A sample policy is here: Article.aspx/280/ViolencePolicy How to conduct an investigation is here: Article.aspx/279/Violence--Howtoconductaninvestigation
8. OSHA. Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) for the purpose of assuring so far as possible every working man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources.  Learn more here: Article.aspx/205/OccupationalSafetyandHealthLaw
9. Worker’s Compensation. The purpose of workers' compensation law is to provide compensation to employees for work related injuries, except for some willful or self-inflicted injuries, without regard to fault.  Learn more here: Article.aspx/204/WorkersCompensation
10. Employment Agreements.  Need to learn about how to create employment agreements?  Go here for help: Article.aspx/190/EmploymentAgreements
11. Health Insurance Portability.  Learn more about this here: Article.aspx/619/HealthInsurancePortabilityandAccountabilityAct1
12. Employee Benefit Plans and ERISA.  Learn about this here: Article.aspx/199/EmployeeBenefitPlansandERISA

Training and distribution of new policies to employees. It is important that employers regularly train their employees in certain areas.  The following are important trainings that are either required by the law or highly recommended in order to avoid significant liability. You can see an overview of these trainings here: http://www.hrclassroom.com/content/courses.aspx.  You can also use HR Classroom to distribute new policies to employees.

For Staff and Supervisors

___Sexual Harassment Prevention for Supervisors and Staff

___Discrimination and Harassment Prevention for Supervisors and Staff

___Sexual Harassment Prevention for California Supervisors

___Sexual Harassment Prevention for Connecticut Supervisors

___Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

___Distribution of new policies to all employees with proof of receipt and review

For Supervisors

___Interviewing and Hiring Practices

___Discipline of Employees

___Termination of Employees

___FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act)

___Hiring and the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)

___Managing under the ADA Training

___Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Training

___FLSA - Child Labor Standards Training

___FLSA - White Collar Exemption Training

Other important trainings recommended for Staff and Supervisors:

___Diversity: Awareness to Action

___Building a Drug-Free Workplace

___HIPAA (as amended by HITECH) Privacy Training for Employers/Plan Sponsors, Group Health Plans & Business Associates

___HIPAA (as amended by HITECH) Privacy Training for Health Care Providers

___Workplace Violence Prevention

___E-mail and Internet Use Training

Compliance percentage goal:  _______ %  Employers should know how many of their employees have completed their trainings.  We call this your “compliance percentage”.  HR Classroom will provide you with a compliance percentage of your workforce that have completed your required trainings. 

Time Frame to complete your compliance percentage goal: ______ months

5. _____ Discipline and Termination of Employees.  Below are important issues to consider when terminating employees.
1. How to conduct discipline and termination of employees: Article.aspx/212/DisciplineandTermination
2. Reductions in force and The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN): Article.aspx/215/ReductionsinForceandWARN
3. OWBPA. The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) amended the Age Discrimination In Employment Act (ADEA) in 1990 and is concerned with three areas: (1) bona fide benefit plans, (2) early retirement and (3) releases/waivers of ADEA claims.  Learn more here: Article.aspx/216/OlderWorkersBenefitProtectionAct
4. Exit Interviews.  Why they are important: Article.aspx/220/ExitInterviews   
5. COBRA. COBRA is a federal law that requires employers to offer employees and their dependents the opportunity to continue the employer's group health insurance plan at the employee's expense for a limited period of time if a qualifying event occurs.  Learn more here: Article.aspx/214/COBRA
6. Sarbanes Oxley.  This statute protects whistleblowers from retaliation by employers.  Learn more here: Article.aspx/213/Sarbanes-OxleyActof2002
7. Miscellaneous Wrongful Discharge Claims:  Learn about them here: Article.aspx/219/MiscellaneusWrongfulDischargeClaims
6. _____ Unions.  Below is coverage of important issues that arise in the union environment.
1. Right to work. "Right to work" is a common phrase in employment relations. It has its origin in the relationship between unions and employers. Essentially, it concerns the rights of employees to choose to become members of unions and/or to contribute union dues promotive of union activities.  Learn more here: Article.aspx/207/RightToWork
2. How to create a work environment that does not encourage unionization. Article.aspx/208/PreventingUnions
3. Learning about Union Election Campaigns. Article.aspx/209/UnionElectionCampaigns
4. Collective Bargaining. Article.aspx/210/CollectiveBargaining
5. Strikes and Picketing.  Learn about this here: Article.aspx/211/StrikesandPicketing
6. Anticipating Labor Disputes. Article.aspx/608/GuidelinesforEmployersAnticipatingLaborDisputes
7. Communications with Striking Employees. Article.aspx/609/CommunicationswithStrikingEmployees
7. _____ Recordkeeping. There are a substantial number of pieces of federal legislation which demand that an employer maintain certain employment records in order to substantiate compliance with the law.  Learn about them here: Article.aspx/80/RecordkeepingAndPostingRequirements