The Ins and Outs of Establishing a Compliant Organization Within Your HR Department

Written by Isabella Casale

While your human resources department is busy managing payroll, adjusting new hires to company standards, and managing employer relations, one of the most significant responsibilities they undertake is ensuring labor and tax compliance. HR compliance is critical as it guarantees your organization protection from legal and state complications. Additionally, remaining compliant verifies that your organization avoids litigation and helps your company maintain its sought-after reputation, which is beneficial in attracting future clients and securing strong job candidates for open positions. 
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With laws constantly changing, understanding the intricacies of legal compliance is a full-time role in itself. RJ Reliance's experts remain well versed in the ins and outs of compliance within industries of all sizes and every industry vertical, encompassing all 50 states and across the globe. We ensure that your business dodges potential legal risks through our complete and thorough comprehension of government and union regulations. Such visibility gives you confidence in your HR department so that your organization's team is free to prioritize more meaningful business ventures.

Interested in learning more about how to ensure confidence in your organization's compliance? Check out these four simple ways to get started. 

Did you know that Maryland requires minors under 18 to receive a 30-minute break for every 5 hours of work? Or that in Minnesota, employees must work 48 hours per week to receive overtime pay? While finding the right talent for open positions is tedious, navigating the legislative technicalities for new hires can consume even more of your time. Your HR team must remain proficient on the ever-changing pieces of legislation applicable to your organization. 

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A simple way to learn about laws relevant to your organization and stay atop all legislative updates is by subscribing to resources such as the Society for Human Resource Management, a digital source abundant with HR legislative updates and news. Alternatively, it is helpful to block out time monthly or weekly to catch up on recent changes through associations such as Association for Talent Development or WorldatWork. In terms of federal laws, ensure that your organization has a strong understanding of federal anti-discrimination laws, immigration laws, wage laws, and laws that regulate employee relations.

After setting and establishing organizational standards, your HR team should ensure the timely distribution of these standards is communicated throughout the organization effectively. Be sure that your employee handbook is updated regularly, shared, and made easily accessible. It is always best to approach such handbook updates and redistributions with legal counsel to review your documents with expertise. ​

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Conducting scheduled HR compliance audits should be made a priority to avoid unwanted legal liabilities. To make time for such crucial tasks, consider automating less important yet time-consuming and repetitive projects. Task automation also reduces employee error and frustration, which generally helps improve employee satisfaction and operational efficiency.​

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The organization of critical documents is essential in every department, yet it serves an especially significant role within the HR wing. Organization entails confirming that you have access to employee and company documentation and that such documents are quickly and easily accessible from any location. Be sure that you keep your documentation for the entire term by regularly reviewing what you have on file. Additionally, make sure that these documents are kept secure. Only essential employees should have access to these regularly.​

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Since 2005, RJ Reliance has alleviated employee headaches by consulting customers in legal compliance, task automation, and talent acquisition and management. Interested in discovering how RJ Reliance can keep your business compliant? Contact us today - our experts are ready when you are!