HR AUDITS

HR/Compliance Audit

A HR/Compliance Audit allows an organization to critically evaluate its current policies, systems and practices to uncover and provide solutions where the organization is likely at risk. Could your organization’s own information be used against it in court? Will your HR documents hurt you when they are reviewed by the Employment Development Department, a judge, a jury, an DFEH/EEOC investigator? What’s Exhibit A if you go to a hearing?

We know and understand that most employers have expended time and effort to create staff policies, practices, and procedures to meet legal requirements and maintain their company’s culture. Often, this includes employee handbooks, administrative rules for managers, performance management systems and guidebooks, severance plans, and processes for onboarding new hires, disciplining or terminating employees, promotion guidelines, and deciding on bonuses.

We also recognize that not all HR policies, practices, and procedures are put on paper – there are “unwritten rules” which exist because they always have. In writing or not, it is quite important that your company has a process to make sure that policies, practices, and procedures stay current with legal and compliance requirements. Human resources audits and compliance reviews can do just that.

A human resources audit involves review of all HR policies, practices, and procedures, formal and informal. It includes reviewing documents, interviewing human resource staff, and interviewing managers. Conducting an HR audit every few years allows an employer to:

• Identify policies and procedures that need to be updated for changes in the law or compliance rules.
• Identify policies and procedures that are not followed and find out why.
• Find out about unwritten practices and whether there are any legal risks associated with those practices.
• Gauge whether procedures and practices are user friendly and what changes can be made to help assure broader compliance.
• Identify opportunities for new policies or procedures that will help minimize risk.
• Determine whether record-keeping practices are being followed.
• Identify where additional training or communication would be helpful for compliance.

Wage & Hour Audit

Claims involving employee pay and wage and hour laws continue to be among the largest risks for employers and can keep them up at night. Rest easy … we have you covered. Farrell Law Group strives to assist our clients mitigate risk and avoid litigation that can cost millions of dollars, distract from business goals and cause reputational harm.

Being an employer is no easy feat. Federal and state wage and hour laws are an area particularly rife with potential pitfalls for employers. These laws provide employees the legal right to compensation if their employers fail to pay the minimum wage or overtime earnings, require work to be conducted “off the clock,” overlook meal and/or rest breaks during the workday, or misclassify employees as independent contractors or as being otherwise exempt from wage and hour requirements. When employers violate wage and hour laws, the financial implications can be severe. This is especially true to the extent workers may be able to litigate alleged violations of state and federal labor laws through wage and hour class action lawsuits or other collective actions. Consequently, companies across industries should do all they can to ensure compliance with applicable wage and hour laws—this so as to avoid the possibility of legal exposure. They can do so by conducting comprehensive wage and hour audits.

Performing comprehensive wage and hour audits and compliance reviews is among the core competencies of the Farrell Law Group. We have conducted audits for employers of all sizes and in numerous industries concerning a variety of wage and hour issues. Our audits include a comprehensive review of relevant documentation related to employee pay, such as job descriptions, payroll records, time records, wage payment policies and leave policies, as well as on-site visits to observe operations and identify problematic practices on the ground. With every review, we work hand in hand with human resources personnel and management to gain a clear understanding of the client’s operations and manage risk in a manner consistent with operational needs and business goals.