Date: November 14, 2018
As the weather gets colder and the days shorter, the end of the year can’t be too far away. Now is a good time to start reviewing your Company’s personnel policies so that your house can be in order to start the new year.
Here are a few questions for your HR team to answer to determine whether you need outside counsel to review your personnel policies and practices:
- When was the last time your Employee Manual was reviewed? There have been a number of significant changes in the law that might impact your policies.
- Does your Company’s sick leave policy comply with NJ’s paid sick leave law? The new law took effect October 29th.
- Has the Company reviewed its pay policies? There were significant changes this year in New Jersey concerning equal pay. In just the past few days Hewlett Packard was hit with a gender pay gap lawsuit.
- Do you have a workforce in New York state? If so, has your Company provided them with mandatory sexual harassment prevention training? Has your Company issued a compliant policy? This law became effective October 9th and applies to all employers. It requires annual training. New Jersey also requires training of managers and staff members.
- Does your Company require employees to arbitrate disputes? When was the last time your arbitration policy was reviewed? There have been some significant changes in this area. Both Google and Facebook recently announced that they will not require employees to arbitrate sexual harassment claims.
- Does your Company require releases when severance is paid? Do the agreements require confidentiality? If so, it might interfere with the Company being able to deduct the severance payments as a business expense.
The Labor & Employment Law Group at the Firm is available to answer any questions you may have or help bring your Company into compliance.