HR leaders, what is the one workplace compliance mistake that you (or others) may not know you're making? How can this be avoided?
 

To help you identify or avoid workplace compliance mistakes you may be making unknowingly, we asked HR managers and business leaders this question for their best insights. From failure to follow up on investigations to not adapting risk management and other policies to remote or hybrid work, there are several things that you may need to check about workplace compliance to see where you may be making mistakes without knowing.

In Part I, we learned 9 compliance mistakes HR should be mindful of in the workplace.

In Part II, we bring you 9 other compliance mistakes these leaders are mindful of in their workplaces:  
●    Not Providing Adequate Training on Rules and Regulations
●    Lack of Understanding of Benefits Compliance
●    Failing to Be Proactive in Staying Compliant With Laws and Regulations as the Company Grows
●    Not Having Policies for Reporting Workplace Incidents
●    Neglecting to Keep Track of Licensing Renewals and Requirements for Employees
●    Failing to Get Adequate Training on Company Policies and Procedures
●    Being Unclear About Questions That Are Illegal to Ask Candidates
●    Prohibiting or Avoiding Salary-Related Discussions
●    Not Adapting Risk Management and Other Policies and Protocols to Remote or Hybrid Work

1. Not Providing Adequate Training on Rules and Regulations

It can be difficult to stay up-to-date with all of the different workplace compliance laws and regulations that are constantly changing. One common mistake that many leaders may not realize they are making is failing to provide employees with adequate training on the company's policies and procedures. It is critical for employers to provide employees with detailed training on the rules and regulations that are in place to protect both the business and its employees. Not providing adequate training can lead to workplace compliance issues such as discrimination, harassment, and safety violations. If employers fail to address these issues by providing proper training, this can result in costly fines or lawsuits for the company. Linda Shaffer, Chief People Operations Officer, Checkr

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2. Lack of Understanding of Benefits Compliance

One of the biggest workplace compliance mistakes that many organizations make is failing to understand benefits compliance. This can lead to a number of consequences, including fines and penalties from government agencies. How can you avoid benefits compliance issues in your organization?: ●    Be aware of all the rules and regulations surrounding employee benefits administration, which come from federal and state authorities, as well as benefits providers. ●    Train your staff on how to administer employee benefits programs correctly. This includes being up-to-date on health care reform requirements like the Employee Notice of Exchange.   ●    Ensure that your employees are properly and promptly notified about any upcoming changes to their benefit plans. Nir Leibovich, CEO and Co Founder, GoCo

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3. Failing to Be Proactive in Staying Compliant with Laws and Regulations as the Company Grows

With great growth comes great responsibility. It’s such a win when your business is experiencing rapid success and growth - however, this is where mistakes happen. As an HR leader, if you fail to stay compliant as you grow, you’re going to put your whole company in jeopardy. For example, if your employee numbers grow more than 50 but you’re trying to comply with the Affordable Care Act, you’re going to have to bump those overflow employees to independent contractors, but independent contractors have their own set of regulations you need to be compliant with. As your company grows, your HR leaders need to be incredibly proactive in staying compliant and knowing the ins and outs of what your growth entails so that no laws are broken and your team gets everything they need to do their job successfully. Jimmy Minhas, Founder & CEO, GerdLi

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4. Not Having Policies for Reporting Workplace Incidents

When it comes to workplace compliance, it’s not just about sticking to the laws and regulations, but it is also about having policies and procedures in place that help protect employees. What good is all the training and awareness about mental health, bullying, discrimination or sexual harassment if there are no policies in place that can help employees know what to do when an incident occurs?  This is a common mistake many organizations make and it prevents employees from speaking up, taking action and can cause harm to the business, company and employees when incidents go unreported. To help improve the situation, it is important to not only have clear policies to support employees but also make sure they understand how to identify and report workplace incidents. Jenna Nye, CEO, On the Strip

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5. Neglecting to Keep Track of Licensing Renewals and Requirements for Employees

It’s crucial to stay on top of the licenses of relevant employees. Some positions require the renewal or updating of licenses for a specific period. Neglecting to keep track of licensing renewals and requirements means having employees with expired licenses, putting your company at risk for lawsuits and other negative consequences. Avoid this by having a database of this information arranged in a way that is easy to pinpoint employees with upcoming license expiry dates. Include such a workflow in your company’s dashboard to automate the process. Ruth Novales, Marketing Director, Fortis Medical Billing Professionals

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6. Failing to Get Adequate Training on Company Policies and Procedures

One of the biggest workplace compliance mistakes is failing to get adequate training on your company's policies and procedures with respect to things like sexual harassment, discrimination, and other workplace issues. Without this training, it can be easy to unintentionally violate the law or company policy. To avoid falling into this trap, make sure that you are always up-to-date on the relevant laws, regulations and your company's policies and procedures. And remember that it's always better to ask questions before you act, rather than having to deal with the consequences of getting it wrong. Because legislation and policy are always evolving and changing, you should consider that your training in HR will never be 'finished'. Instead, training in HR law and policies is an ongoing process, and ensuring your training and knowledge base are regularly updated is a fundamental method for avoiding unknowingly making mistakes. Ian Wright, Managing Director, Business Financing

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7. Being Unclear About Questions That Are Illegal to Ask Candidates

It's no secret that since the untimely death of George Floyd, many organizations have scrambled to put together Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. While it's great that many companies are prioritizing DEI in the workplace, it's important to have DEI goals that are clear and are not creating a compliance risk by asking illegal questions during the interview process. It creates tremendous risk and is illegal to ask a candidate about their race and gender during the interview process. Candidates can elect to self identify however; this is a 100% voluntary process. If a candidate elects not to disclose this information, an employer cannot mandate it. Tawanda Johnson, HR Leader, Sporting Smiles

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8. Prohibiting or Avoiding Salary-Related Discussions

One of the most common compliance mistakes that I have noticed others make is prohibiting or suppressing salary-related discussion in the public. Discouraging employees from openly discussing their salary with their coworkers in the workplace naturally induces suspicion about unethical salary distribution practices. Some employees may feel less valued as a result since they may believe that their efforts are not properly compensated for. Plus restricting employees from approaching salary raise talks will only incite them to resent the work process and people in the management.   This problem has an easy fix. Be open, direct, and unambiguous with your salary distribution process. Give the employees complete freedom to contact you directly for more clarification regarding paycheck-related questions, if not in public during working hours. Enable a merit-based promotional/increment work paradigm as well to prevent employees from constantly feeling like their careers are stuck. Sally Johnson, CEO & Founder, Greenlightbooking

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9. Not Adapting Risk Management and Other Policies and Protocols to Remote or Hybrid Work

Your compliance system may have run like a well-oiled machine pre-pandemic, but shifting workplaces present new challenges unique to a remote or hybrid setup. With employees physically and psychologically further from managers and employers, you need to double down on efforts to maintain a culture of safety. Remote workers may partake in more risky behaviors when they feel no eyes are watching, colleagues may chat inappropriately on private apps, and sensitive documentation maintenance and disposal can’t be as easily monitored from afar. HR needs to ensure that their risk management policies and protocols are updated to fit their new normal and keep compliance efforts adequate. Maximilian Wühr, CGO & Co-Founder, FINN

 

Author Bio

Brett Farmiloe is the Founder / CEO and currently the CHRO of Terkel.io. Brett is an SHRM Influnecer and has also been a keynote speaker at several state SHRM conferences around the topic of employee engagement. Connect Brett Framiloe

 
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