Employers be Aware of the NLRB and DOL Referral System

Recently, I read an article about how the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Department of Labor (DOL) have developed a referral system to join forces against employers .

How much do you know about labor law compliance?

This got me wondering about how aware employers, like you, are about how the various federal and state agencies interact with each other in regard to labor law compliance.

Consider this

Years ago, when the DOL audited an employer, the employer was not concerned about the IRS, OSHA, or even the NLRB. The employer’s only concern, at the time of that DOL audit, was meeting DOL compliance.

Single-focus audits are a thing of the past

There’s now an initiative to crack down on employers who are not compliant with the various rules of the different agencies. This has not only resulted in the various agencies hiring additional inspectors, but also in the various agencies developing partnerships with each other.

New concerns for employers

This heightens my concerns for employers who don’t have compliance experts in-house to stay on top of all of the changes that can impact their business so drastically. It is quite realistic to have an end result ranging from the employer facing significant fines to possibly having to close their doors.

The need for employment regulation knowledge

Many times when I meet with new clients to develop an employee handbook, some of the employment regulations, that are second nature to me, are quite surprising to them.

An example of an area of focus in a DOL audit

I recently met with an employer who was not aware they needed to give their employees a rest period after so many hours and they needed to ensure the employees recorded their rest time on their time records. Are you aware of this requirement?

How are employers supposed to know all the rules related to having employees?

The focus that the DOL and other agencies put on “catching the bad employer” is not the right approach to me. I think it’s important to put the focus and initiatives on educating employers and helping them to avoid costly fines and penalties.

HR Synergy, LLC focuses on educating employers about the federal and state labor laws that apply to their specific business, size, industry, and location. We work with management to incorporate the tools they need within their business to be compliant and protect their company and their employees.