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Employee Education and Human Resources Compliance

EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND HUMAN RESOURCES COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE

        The best way for employers to manage the risks posed by unwieldy and ever-changing employment laws and regulations is to focus on policy development, employee training, and human resources compliance management. Employers who have strong training and compliance programs are better able to implement and enforce reasonable workplace policies and defend themselves in the event of litigation.

      Simply having a handbook or workplace posters hung in a lunchroom or copy room is not sufficient to protect employers in today’s business and legal environment. Employers may not realize the significant effects that state and local laws and regulations have on employee rights, including additional rights to leaves of absence from work, not provided under Federal law. Many employers often have “growing pains” as they expand from a small business where employers treat employees like family to a larger company with employees whom are not familiar with or mindful of company culture. Although most employers do not have thousands of employees, employers who consider themselves to be “small businesses” often are surprised to learn that there still are many employment laws which apply to companies with fifty, twenty, fifteen, four, or as few as two employees.

ELDI’s Employer Protection Services Utilizes a Three-Pronged Approach:

PART ONE – POLICY DEVELOPMENT

     The foundation of any employer’s dealings with its employees and defense of any related claims which may arise is strong policy development. The development of strong, legally compliant workforce policies is an investment which has gone from being a luxury to one of the fundamental components in any company’s ability to survive long term. Many employers utilize remote employees in different locations, and employer policies must account for employer responsibilities to employers in offsite locations. Employer policies must go beyond Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination policies. Although those policies remain critically important, those policies do not address many pressing issues facing employers. ELDI customizes policies based upon the employer’s specific needs and expectations of its workforce.

      Employee Handbooks

  • Creation and revision of employee handbooks
  • Alternate handbook formats for separate company divisions, including corporate vs. divisional employees, exempt vs. nonexempt employees
  • Alternate handbook formats for employers with offsite employees in other states or locations

      Policy Development

  • Employee background checks – criminal, credit, driver’s license checks
  • Drug testing policies
  • Medical Marijuana in the workplace
  • Telecommuting/remote work policies
  • Employment eligibility verification – use of E-Verify
  • Dress codes
  • Social media and internet use
  • Employer data integrity and protecting confidential/proprietary information
  • Security – employee self-defense vs. weapons in the workplace
  • Biometrics – use of fingerprinting, facial identification software at work
  • Employee monitoring – email monitoring, cameras, GPS tracking programs
  • Use of employee-owned devices for work

PART TWO – TRAIN EMPLOYEES

     Employers cannot protect themselves against claims unless they can prove that they have educated employees about policies and that the employers actually follow the policies. EMPLOYEE TRAINING IS A MUST and in addition, some insurance companies may offer discounts on Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) to employers with a comprehensive training program. Employers who place their employees at a client site may also need to demonstrate to their clients that the employer has trained its employees on appropriate workplace conduct, particularly if the employer has contracts with federal, state, or local governments.

    ELDI offers a comprehensive employee training program which can be customized to meet any employer’s needs. ELDI’s employee training programs include:

  • Anti-Harassment Training
  • Anti-Discrimination Training
  • Workplace Confidentiality Training
  • Workplace Security Training
  • Social Media Training – use of private social media accounts for business purposes, “cyberbullying,” impact of conduct on private social media accounts on employee’s job
  • Training on “Free Speech” in the Workplace
  • Training on New Workplace Policies and Workplace Culture – including “Handbook Rollout” Training
  • Insurance Compliance Training
  • Government Contract Compliance Training

PART THREE – HR TRAINING AND COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE

     Human Resources employees are on the front lines of the daily battle between employer legal compliance and strong employee relations. Employers often find themselves with the impossible decision of whether and how to “help” an employee in light of the potential problems that providing “help” can create for the employer in the future. ELDI focuses on the critical balance between employer rights and obligations, compassion for employees facing difficulties at or outside of work, and the need to maintain a productive workforce.

     Companies without a dedicated Human Resources professional face an even more perilous battlefield when the Vice President of Finance, Controller, or other executive becomes the de facto Human Resources Department. That executive needs training and support in order to be successful, minimize time and attention diverted from other tasks due to human resources issues, and minimize potential legal exposure for the company and the executive. As companies move employees into supervisory roles, those new supervisors need training to understand their new role and the potential exposure supervisors create for the company. New supervisors also need training to help supervisors evolve from being a co-worker to management.

    Rather than just providing “legal advice” to human resources professionals, ELDI learns about your company and its operations, your workplace culture, and the specific issues facing your workforce so that we can recommend ways for your company’s HR team to deal with situations specific to your company.

    ELDI’s management training can be done as a group training or as private training for individualized discussions and training on recurring issues in your workplace. Employers can use private training through ELDI rather than “anger management” or “coaching” classes as part of discipline for managers and executives who are to be sent for training and investigation of complaints to HR.

ELDI’s Human Resources and Management Training Includes:

  • “HR 101 for Executives, Mid-level Managers, and New Supervisors” – What all levels of management must know about Human Resources
  • Practical Guide to HR – Practical ways to implement human resources training for human resources professionals
  • How to counsel employees without creating legal exposure or invading employee privacy
  • Workplace confidentiality training for HR
  • Training managers and HR to spot and report harassment and discrimination
  • Training for managers and supervisors on the difference between a “hostile work environment” and appropriate workplace criticism
  • Training on appropriate conduct and communication in the workplace
  • Training on appropriate workplace relationships
  • Training managers on implementing changes in workplace culture and policy

ELDI’s Assistance and Training on Policy Implementation Includes:

  • Counseling employers on use of background check information in hiring and termination of employees
  • Implementation of drug testing policies including employee counseling, discipline, termination, and effect on offers of employment
  • Counseling employers on employee privacy issues in hiring, discipline, and termination of employees
  • Counseling employers on consistent policy enforcement and employee policy awareness
  • Counseling employers on documentation of employee performance and discipline issues, including protection of employers from making unnecessary admissions and unintended consequences
  • Counseling employers on employee discipline and termination