With a new year comes compliance issues I believe New Jersey businesses may find useful to know.
The following is not all-inclusive, but are some of the issues businesses should keep top of mind.
Legal Posters
There was a flurry of both NJ state and federal employment legislation over the past year. Many of these laws required new postings to be placed in the workplace.
Ensure all necessary postings are in a conspicuous place for all employees to see. Be sure to read them and understand them, as your business needs to comply with all of these laws.
Independent Contractors
New Jersey has made it clear that they plan on cracking down on businesses who misclassify workers as independent contractors. These workers are also referred to as “1099s”. Fines and possible litigation fees could easily run $10,000 or more for misclassifications.
The federal government also has a vested interest in this. They have provided NJ with a significant amount of money to hire more department of labor investigators, focused on 1099 misclassifications.
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Overtime Pay
I quite often need to provide guidance to businesses who misclassify their employees as exempt from overtime, or “salaried” as referred to more often.
Not classifying your staff correctly and preventing eligible employees the opportunity of overtime pay can result in significant fines and costly litigation.
New Jersey Family Leave Act (NJFLA)
If your company has grown to 30 or more employees, you must now comply with the NJFLA.
I-9 Process Review/Audit
Every new hire needs to go through the I-9 process and there are strict verification and filing requirements.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been steadily increasing their auditing activity.
Employee Handbooks
Employee handbooks should be updated often, preferably on a yearly basis, to ensure you are current with changing federal and NJ state laws.
Among other things, your company’s handbook should address the New Jersey Paid Sick Leave Law. It should also include a social media policy and discuss lactation accommodation. Additionally, state your company’s expectations for those employees working from home.
And if you don’t have a handbook, even if your workforce is 10 or less employees, you really should consider having one created.
Marzano Human Resources Consulting
There are more employment issues I could mention here, but these were top of mind.
If you are like most businesses, many things keep you up at night. Why let wondering about employment compliance be one more thing worrying you?
Call Marzano Human Resources Consulting for a no-cost consultation. We will go over everything you need to know to not only mitigate risk, but to also help your business grow and prosper.
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