Employment Practice Audits
Employment practice audits are a vital means of avoiding legal and regulatory liability that may arise from an employer’s employment policies and practices.Audits permit an employer to prepare for the future by identifying issues and preventing potential problems. In addition to minimizing risk, audits help identify practices that could be done more efficiently or cost-effectively, and they can also act as a deterrent to litigation. Should a claim be filed against the employer, proper practices audits can significantly strengthen the employer’s good faith defense argument.
We work with employers to develop a comprehensive Human Resources audit blueprint that identifies areas that will likely require special attention, including, wage and hour issues, discrimination claims processes, recruiting, job classification, performance management, and termination. Our experience and sophisticated understanding of ever-changing employment laws and regulations ensure the audit is appropriate in scope, covers all relevant issues, and provides the information necessary to identify the “red flags” that indicate possible risk.
We then develop a list of corrective actions based on our client’s results and provide not only practical solutions but priority evaluations and risk assessments. We also help ensure that the technical systems in place permit proper document retention, salary and benefits tracking, record review and access, and maintain required immigration and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) information, all of which are crucial to compliance with state and federal regulations.
We are here to root out problems and correct deficiencies, thereby significantly minimizing litigation risk and potentially improving the employer’s costs and efficiency.
- Determination of the scope and type of audit
- Audit questionnaire development
- Data collection
- Provision of actionable feedback
- Creation of action plans
Audit Areas Include:
- wage and hour issues
- HR practices
- employment policies and forms review
- fair employment practices
- pay equity and discrimination
- disability analysis and accommodation
- leave administration
- affirmative action and diversity programs
- I-9 compliance
- safety and health practices
- performance evaluation and discipline procedures
- fringe benefits
- employee privacy and HIPAA compliance
- office security and workplace searches
- drug testing
- pre-employment assessments
- technology and communications regarding electronics, internet, email and voicemail
- personnel and payroll records
- employment applications
- offer letters
- performance reviews
- whistleblower protection
- procedures for addressing employee issues and concerns
- reporting policies regarding claims of harassment and discrimination
- terminating the employment relationship
