With these nine strategies you can implement immediately to limit your risk and exposure to employee labor lawsuits. Useful tools are provided to you to use as checklists, tips and worksheets.
1
Make Sure Employees Take Meal and Rest Breaks
One way to ensure such is to pre-print the following statement upon on all time cards, “I hereby certify that I have taken all meal and rest breaks for the above pay period.” Employers cannot impede, discourage or dissuade employees from taking rest periods; they need only provide, not ensure, rest periods are taken. It is the employer’s responsibility to track employee’s work hours and to maintain all records, even if using an outside payroll or administrative agency.
2
Have an Effective Employee Handbook
A written at-will employment policy is enormously useful in litigating wrongful discharge claims because it can rebut an employee's claim that he or she could be fired only if your company had good cause. It is also the law in California. Without a written policy manual, or employee handbook, or even a poorly drafted one, you are at a disadvantage to defend yourself when faced with a lawsuit based upon your policies, procedures, or accusations of discrimination or sexual harassment.
3
Required Employer Posters
Make sure all of your labor law compliance postings as required by the State and Federal Government are posted and your appropriate Industrial Welfare Commission Order and Sexual Harassment Pamphlet are posted in a conspicuous place in your workplace where all employees can refer to such.
4
Maintain Employee Files Correctly
Make sure you have an employment file created for each individual employee and independent contractor. Applications, independent contractor or employment agreements, disciplinary actions, Form W-2, and other related employment documents may be filed within this file. Create a second and separate employment file for each employee that has health information to be filed such as Medical Releases, Drug Test Results or Medical Screening Results, Pregnancy Disability Leave doctor notices or any other medical information. Employee health information must be filed in a separate file and not kept together with their employment file in order to satisfy the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1320d) (HIPAA) and the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (Civil Code Section 56 et seq.) (CMIA). If you are served with a Subpoena Duces Tecum for an employee’s employment file, contact your employment or labor law counsel.
5
Implement Mandatory Form I-9 Program
All U.S. employers are responsible for completion and retention of Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. On the form, the employer must verify the employment eligibility and identity documents presented by the employee and record the document information on the Form I-9. The list of acceptable documents has been amended in the 2007 version of the Form I-9 and can be found on page 4 of the forms. Form I-9 is not filed with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and must be kept by the employer either for three years after the date of hire or for one year after employment is terminated, whichever is later. Failure to complete this form at the time of hire for each employee subjects an employer to substantial fines and penalties. Form I-9 should be kept in a separate file and independent of the employee files.
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