Most Common HR Compliance Issues To Prepare For In Small Business

If you are a small business owner who is not worried about HR compliance, you are not doing your job right. Ensuring compliance with HR law in the workplace is a must. Otherwise, your business operations are always faced with the risks of getting shut down for noncompliance or getting sued by employees. This is not a sustainable environment for any organization. Find out the top HR compliance issues you should be concerned about and how to overcome these HR challenges in the post below.

Employee Misclassification

Misclassification of employees is one of the most prominent HR compliance issues in recent times. A recent ruling in the case of Dukes v. Walmart mitigated the risks of class action lawsuits for business owners. However, there is still a lot of concern when it comes to independent contractors. Misclassifying employees as independent contractors is a huge human resources compliance issue that could prove to be damaging for many small businessmen. Make sure to properly classify all employees to avoid such problems.

Legal Drug Use

The ever-changing marijuana laws in the United States have made workplace drug policy a hotbed of HR issues. Some states have now legalized recreational marijuana use. This poses a problem for standing drug policies at a number of businesses. Make sure that your workplace drug policy reflects current medical marijuana law in your state as well as laws surrounding recreational use of marijuana. There are certain protections in place for employees using medicinal marijuana. Be certain that your business drug and controlled substance policies reflect marijuana law in your state if you want to sidestep these HR compliance issues.

Employee Leave

Employee leave has been a recent hot topic in politics and society at large. That makes it one of the most important HR compliance issues for you to worry about in the coming years. Business owners like you will have to come up against the rapidly rising number of mandated employee leave laws at all local, state and federal government levels. Paid sick leave, military leave and family leave are some of the types of employee leave that you will have to accommodate at your organization. Make sure you incorporate these mandated employee leave policies into your own procedures to make sure you do not encounter any human resources problems in the coming years.

Payroll Errors

Payroll errors are one of the most common human resources problems for small business. Every new employee you bring onboard requires a ton of paperwork throughout their tenure at your organization. If your business does not use a payroll management software for payroll funding, this leaves a lot of room for human error. Make sure to keep these errors to a minimum. Using payroll and accounting software can help with this. But, even if you choose to go the DIY route, just be certain to have quality assurance processes in place. This will keep your employees happy and put you at less risk for a whole slew of issues with human resources compliance.

Civil Rights

Civil rights are a pressing issue in society today. The workplace is no different. Not all business owners have to be progressive civil rights activists at their company. However, all business owners need to follow civil rights law and civil liberties protections at their establishments. You cannot consider race, gender, religion or age when hiring, firing or managing employees. This is particularly pressing in matters of performance management. Make sure you are aware of civil rights law in your state. Then, comply with these regulations to avoid issues with HR compliance in civil rights that could lead to extremely time-consuming and costly lawsuits that are damaging to your business image.

If you are a business owner, you should always be doing whatever it takes to maintain HR compliance. There are many HR compliance issues that are commonly occurring for small business owners. The HR compliance problems mentioned above are some of the most common that you will face in your time as an employer. Make sure to prepare for them. This way, you can maintain human resources compliance with local, state and federal employment law. Otherwise, HR noncompliance can cost you your business.

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