Labor and Employment Law Checklist

Here is a checklist of some best employment-related practices:

Employee Handbook and Policies

Yes   No

□      □    Do you have an employee handbook/personnel policies manual or similar document?

□      □    Have you distributed the handbook/manual to your employees and had them acknowledge in writing their receipt of it?

□      □    Does your handbook/manual comply with current law?

□      □    Have you prepared and implemented legally required and/or best practice-type policies (e.g., computer use and social media policies)?

□      □   Are your current practices and procedures consistent with your policies (e.g., have you provided training required by your policies)?

Postings

Yes   No

□     □    Have you displayed all legally required posters?

□     □    Have you confirmed that you are not displaying posters containing information about which you have no obligation to post?

Notices

□     □    Will you timely issue your employees’ W-2 forms (general deadline is February 2, 2015)?

□     □    If applicable, have you timely issued wage notice forms required by the New York Wage Theft Prevention Act?

□     □    If applicable, have you provided or publicly posted written policies relating to sick leave, vacation, personal leave, holidays and hours?

□     □    Do you have a procedure in place for distributing the Notice of Healthcare Exchange form to new employees?

Wage and Hour Issues

Yes   No

□     □    If applicable, have you updated your payroll system to incorporate the New York minimum wage?

□    □    Have you properly classified your employees as exempt or non-exempt for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law?

□    □    Have you confirmed that you have completed I-9 forms for all of your employees?

□    □    Have you complied with all applicable prevailing wage laws?

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”)

Yes   No

□    □    Have you determined whether you are subject to the employer shared responsibility provisions for the 2015 calendar year?

□    □    Have you completed the analysis of your workforce to determine which employees are and are not full-time for purposes of potential penalties for the 2015 calendar year?

□    □    Have you designated periods for the look-back measurement method?

□    □    Have you determined whether required health insurance contributions are “unaffordable” for any of your full-time employees?

□    □    Have you established a system for gathering the information required to be submitted to the IRS as part of the reporting requirements?

Workforce

Yes   No

□    □    Do your pre-employment applications comply with federal and New York State law?

□    □    Do your job descriptions accurately reflect the work that is expected to be performed and which of these duties are “essential functions” of the job?

□    □    Have you properly implemented job evaluation procedures?

□    □    Have you confirmed that relevant deadlines have been met for renegotiating or terminating employment contracts or collective bargaining agreements?

□    □    Are all of your employees’ terms and conditions of employment memorialized in a resolution, letter of understanding, contract or collective bargaining agreement?

□    □    Are appropriate employees covered by legally enforceable non-compete and/or confidentiality agreements?

□    □    Have your employees who are on leave of absence received appropriate documentation with regard to their rights and responsibilities (e.g., if applicable, did you distribute COBRA, FMLA or Civil Service Law Section 71 or 73 notices)?

□    □   Have you properly classified workers as employees or independent contractors?

□    □    Do you have appropriate written agreements with independent contractors?

This non-exhaustive checklist should be addressed by your human resources or personnel department with the assistance of counsel, if appropriate.  Please contact us if you have any questions regarding the information contained in this memorandum.

THIS MEMORANDUM IS MEANT TO ASSIST IN GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE CURRENT LAW. IT IS NOT TO BE REGARDED AS LEGAL ADVICE. THOSE WITH PARTICULAR QUESTIONS SHOULD SEEK THE ADVICE OF COUNSEL.

© Lamb & Barnosky, LLP 2015