Defusing HR’s Ongoing Legal Time Bombs
August 2007

Managing human resources is continually fraught with the potential for legal risk. What are the issues — new, emerging and everpresent — that you need to be aware of to protect your organization?

Immigration

In this red-hot issue, a critical need for employers is to ensure they accurately document an employee’s ability to work in this country. Failure to follow I-9 requirements can result in fines ranging from $250 to $2,200 per illegal employee hired. A good source of additional information is the American Immigration Lawyer Association (www.aila.org).

Sexual Harassment

It’s not just women who are victims of sexual harassment. The EEOC recently reported that of the 12,025 sexual harassment charges they accepted in 2006, a record 15% were filed by men. In fact, today’s increasing variety of harassment claims create increasing complexity and risk for employers and HR professionals. For more information and key links, go to www.eeoc.gov/types/sexual_harassment.html

FMLA

This law continues to create quandaries for HR professionals as they attempt to balance the need to provide adequate staffing in their workplaces with the need to follow legal requirements and accommodate employees. Keep up to date on the requirements through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (www.opm.gov) and the U.S. Department of Labor (www.dol.gov).

Discrimination

An aging and increasingly ethnically diverse employee pool requires ongoing vigilance to ensure that your labor practices meet requirements of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This has been on the HR front burner for a more than a generation and it isn’t going away any time soon. For up-to-date information, visit www.eeoc.gov.

The best defense is a good offense. To protect yourself in the event of litigation, you’ll need to demonstrate a history of goodfaith efforts to abide by current laws. This takes some foresight and effort:

• Have all policies and practices reviewed by legal counsel and follow your lawyers’ advice
• Provide clear and readily available opportunities for employees to provide feedback and express concerns
• Respond promptly to issues
• Document your actions to protect yourself and your organization.

Don’t assume that you and your managers are up to date on all nuances of these issues. Conduct periodic reviews of laws and company policy for both existing and new managers, and be sure you’re up to date on the latest interpretations of these issues by both courts and governmental agencies.

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