FEATURE EDITORIAL
Heritage Publishing, Inc. © 2012
DON’T BE COMPLACENT WHEN IT COMES TO EMPLOYMENT COMPLIANCE
10) Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act states employers are no longer permitted to ask questions of an applicant or employee regarding their medical history or conduct any testing to determine if the person has a genetic predisposition to any disease of any kind. This group of laws applies to businesses that employ 50 or more employees:
11) Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) 12) Employer Information Reports (EEO-1 Forms)
13) Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)
If you have Federal Contracts, the following laws may apply to you:
14) Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
15) Davis-Bacon Act (Gov’t Contracts) 16) Service Contract Act (Gov’t Contracts) 17) Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (Gov’t Contracts) 18) Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Gov’t Contracts)
19) Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988 (Gov’t Contracts) requires government contractors of any size to comply with drug-free workplace requirement.
Th en there are:
20) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Their mission is to ensure that businesses provide safe and healthy working environments for all their employees.
21) State-mandated workers’ compensation 22) Unemployment Compensation 23) New Hire Reporting
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know and What You Don’t Know CAN (and often will) Hurt You Now, I know you are probably thinking that this is a bunch of
boring mumbo jumbo, but think again. In reality, it is very serious and should be taken very seriously. There are too many businesses out there that are not paying attention to the importance of implementing and enforcing these laws.
In February 2009, Hilda Solis, the current Secretary of Labor,
made the statement, “There’s a new sheriff in town.” Her intention is to ensure the employees of American businesses are treated fairly. However, the concept of fairness may be defined very differently by business owners and managers than by an agent of the Department of Labor (DOL).
It is essential for you to know that the Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is out for “blood,” which equates to your money, when it comes to compliance. ICE is the second largest investigative agency in the federal government. I-9 audits conducted by ICE have tripled in the last few years. Many small businesses have been fined, not because they hired someone illegally, but because the paperwork was not filled out correctly. ICE estimates that 90 percent of companies have incorrect I-9 forms.
It isn’t hard to fill out an I-9 form correctly, but if no one trains
you, you don’t know what to look for within the form. Now, you may have just gotten your business into a heap of trouble and fines. Unnecessary fines! Some of these fines range from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.
Another hard hitter by the DOL is fines and/or lawsuits for
wage and hour (FLSA) violations. The primary duty of the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) is to investigate complaints of violations of the FLSA. The WHD states that 75 percent of companies in the U.S. are in violation of the law. Last year, the WHD hired more than 700 new investigators. Their mission is to find companies that are in violation of FLSA. The WHD is looking for such things as misclassified employees, employees working “off the clock,” and W-2 employees versus independent contractors.
It is so important to stay ahead of the “game” when it comes
to compliance and running a business. Medical professionals have more on their plate than any other professional business out there. They not only have to stay abreast of all the changes within the laws of practicing medicine, but also have to focus on compliance with their business and their employees. It can be overwhelming, but just remember knowledge is power and if you don’t know, you have no power!
Andee Sparrow is the Director of Business Development for McKenzieHR, a Jacksonville-based human resources consulting and outsourcing firm.
2012-2013 The Greater Daytona Healthcare GuideTM
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