Paper processes. Sticky notes. Green ledgers. Spreadsheets. Hand calculators. Entering and re-entering data. Multiple payroll imports.
No, this isn't your assistant's shopping list for Office Depot. Rather, these are telltale signs that your organization's labor and payroll processes — while technically 'still working' — are most likely not compliant.
Workforce compliance is complicated and time consuming, no doubt. It's also expensive if you ignore it.
Understanding Workforce Compliance & Legislation
Did you know that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has more than 180 laws regarding safety compliance, wages, benefits, that must be followed to the letter? On top of that, employment law can be convoluted and change often. Here's proof: In the last five years, employers paid workers $1.3 billion in back wages for common compliance violations such as misclassifying employee status, paycheck errors, and overtime pay, according to the DOL.
While genuine factors — time, budget, and resource constraints — may have hampered your ability to manage compliance effectively, here are some practical, proactive steps to help you change that story.
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Stay informed. There are a lot of federal, state, and local labor laws apply but not every one of them apply to your organization. Find the ones that do. Once you've determined the top issues that put you at risk, know them, and stay on top of updates from the DOL, SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management), APA (American Payroll Association), IRS.gov, and SSA.gov.
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Master the big laws. You generally know the primary laws but compliance requires your HR team to understand the nuances of each. The FLSA, Fair Standards Act, deals with meal breaks, record keeping, overtime. The FMLA, the Family and Medical Leave Act addresses unpaid, job-protected leave. The ACA, the Affordable Care Act is the legislation guaranteeing health coverage to Americans, but also brings a slew of employer compliance and reporting mandates for employers.
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Automate your WFM platform. Chances are whether you are an SMB or a larger corporation, you have some kind of workforce management system (WFM) in place. Whatever system you use, taking the time to automate compliance-related functionality is critical to minimizing risk. Automating payroll, time and attendance, scheduling, and your workforce data will carry you leaps and bounds into the land of optimum compliance.
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Prioritize data security. HR records contain sensitive employee data, so too HR leaders need to focus on compliance regulations to protect employee data as well as establishing protocols to prevent breaches, and breach responses. One way companies are meeting the employee data security challenge is by migrating to the cloud.
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Integrate time tracking. One of the biggest compliance gaps of any business can be found in its time tracking process. It's also what sends 46% of business to court each year. If it hasn't cost you yet — failure to integrate your WFM's time and attendance with payroll, it will cost you.
When systems are integrated powerful things happen. Managers can streamline processes, gain real-time and consistent visibility (analytics) into scheduling trends, configure and adjust rules for various employee types, reduce labor costs, and (most importantly) minimize potential non-compliance. Too, integration — on platforms such as Kronos — gives employees big wins as well such as paycheck accuracy, consistent policy enforcement, scheduling equity, and often mobile access and insight into benefits.
We are workforce management experts who understand compliance protocols. As digitization of the workplace grows and regulations change, the risk of doing business is skyrocketing. If you are working in Kronos Workforce Central, Dimensions, or Workorce Ready, or if you are ready to move your WFM data to the cloud, Improvizations can help you reach your compliance and workforce goals today. Contact us today.
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