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Our Q & A is the go-to resource for HR professionals, managers, supervisors, and employees. We are here to help solve your toughest questions about employment law, workers' compensation, benefits administration, human resources policies and procedures - or anything that falls under the HR umbrella. Human resource professionals need the best advice to stay compliant and profitable—our Q & A is all you need! Whether you're new to HR or like to keep up with the latest trends, the Q & A has you covered. We're here to answer your questions with reliable, thorough answers. Our team of experts can help you stay on top of your game.

Compliance is a tricky issue to tackle, but there are a few key benefits that HR can take advantage of to make compliance easier. The key benefits of HR compliance include training, managing payroll, and making sure that the company is meeting the legal requirements.

There are many parts of HR compliance, but the most important are the Internal Revenue Code, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and Title I-XIX of ERISA. IRS is critical because it establishes how employees are taxed for fringe benefits.

 

Title VII is important because it prohibits discrimination in employment practices or conditions of employment on account of race or color, sex, religion, or national origin. ERISA is an act that provides for pension protection and other employee benefits.

The four steps to take to ensure compliance with all relevant laws are as follows:

 

-Understand the law and its importance.

-Understand the risk and how it could affect your business.

-Know your obligations as well as those of others involved in the process, such as employees and external stakeholders.

-Create a strategy that includes an action plan, processes to mitigate risks and compliance procedures.

So how do you go about ensuring compliance with all regulations? Is it a time-consuming process?

 

The first step is to identify what regulations your company needs to comply with. This can be done through research as well as talking to professionals or people that have been in the industry for a long time. Once you have identified the regulations that your company needs to comply with, then you need to put together an action plan on how you will achieve compliance. The first step of this is going through all current policies and procedures and making sure they are compliant with any new regulations.

 

In order to comply with all relevant laws, a company should:

 

1. Define the issue or question that is being raised

2. Identify the applicable law that governs the issue or question

3. Review and analyze relevant law to identify obligations and risks  

4. Put in place measures to address any issues identified

The following are the leading laws/regulations in human resource compliance.

 

• The Civil Rights Act of 1964

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

• The Equal Pay Act of 1963

• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Companies need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. It's important to know what is expected of employees during an emergency or disaster situation. There are laws in place that require employers to provide work choices and access to information on the safety of workplaces.

The most common HR violations are not paying employees on time, not following the minimum wage law, and not providing adequate breaks.

The following are examples, to date, of requirements that employers have most frequently failed to follow:

 

  • Provide a medical evaluation before a worker is fit-tested or uses a respirator.
  • Perform an appropriate fit test for workers using tight fitting respirators.
  • Assess the workplace to determine if COVID-19 hazards are present, or likely to be present, which will require the use of a respirator and/or other personal protective equipment (PPE).
  • Establish, implement, and update a written respiratory protection program with required worksite-specific procedures.
  • Provide an appropriate respirator and/or other PPE to each employee when necessary to protect the health of the employees (ensuring the respirator and/or PPE used is the correct type and size).
  • Train workers to safely use respirators and/or other PPE in the workplace, and retrain workers about changes in the workplace that might make previous training obsolete.
  • Store respirators and other PPE properly in a way to protect them from damage, contamination, and, where applicable, deformation of the facepiece and exhalation valve.
    For any fatality that occurs within 30 days of a work-related incident, report the fatality to OSHA within eight hours of finding out about it.
  • Keep required records of work-related fatalities, injuries, and illness.

You can change plans through August 15 due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emergency. If you’re currently enrolled in Marketplace coverage, you may qualify for more tax credits. Learn more about new, lower costs.

 

  • If you have a life event that qualifies you for a Special Enrollment Period, you can change any time.
  • Most people who qualify for a Special Enrollment Period and want to change plans may have a limited number of health plan “metal” categories to choose from (instead of all 4) during their Special Enrollment Period.
  • This means if you want to change plans during a Special Enrollment Period that you qualify for, you may need to select a new plan within the same plan category as your current plan, or wait until the next Open Enrollment if you want to change to a plan in a different category.

If you’re currently enrolled in Marketplace coverage, you may qualify for more tax credits.

A Summary Plan Description (SPD) is a document that employers must give free to employees who participate in Employee Retirement Income Security Act-covered retirement plans or health benefit plans. The SPD is a detailed guide to the benefits the program provides and how the plan works.

Generally, no. If you only have a cafeteria plan, you are not required to file Form 5500 or Schedule F. However, if you have a welfare benefit plan, you may be required under Department of Labor regulations to file a return for that plan.

Pre-existing conditions are medical conditions that a person has before enrolling in a health insurance plan.
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