Reinhart Offers Comprehensive Employment Assessment: A Service to Improve Employment Practices and Policies

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In order for employers to minimize their liability and ensure compliance with the frequently changing state and federal employment laws, employers should regularly review their employment practices and policies. Reinhart's Labor and Employment group can provide a cost effective, comprehensive review of employers' employment policies and procedures. For a small cost up front, an employer can avoid potentially expensive issues down the road. The following is an overview of the matters analyzed during our assessment:

1. Family and Medical Leave Act: We can review your Family and Medical Leave Act policies and practices to ensure that they are consistent with both federal and state law, and that your company complies with eligibility criteria, disclosure and communication obligations, and record-keeping requirements. We can also review your company's procedures regarding leave to ensure that the appropriate documentation is received, that employees comply with appropriate time lines for notice and certification, and that proper measures are taken when employees return from leave.

2. Worker's Compensation: We can review your worker's compensation practices to ensure that measures are in place to promote a safe working environment, and to investigate and respond appropriately should work-related injuries and incidents occur. We can also determine whether the company has appropriate policies in place regarding the return to work of any employee who has suffered a workplace injury.

3. Employee Handbooks: We can review your employee handbook to ensure that the handbook contains all disclosures required by federal, state, and local law, and that any restrictions, prohibitions, policies and rules are lawful. We would also ensure that the handbook contains all appropriate policies, that such policies are sufficiently detailed and easy to understand, and that employee acknowledgement of handbook policies is properly documented and maintained.

4. Non-Compete, Confidentiality, Trade Secret and Intellectual Property: We would ensure that your non-compete and confidentiality agreements are valid under state law and that any such agreements are properly utilized and maintained. If your company has trade secrets or intellectual property, we would verify that appropriate safeguards are taken to ensure adequate protection.

5. Wage and Hour: We can review your wage and hour practices to ensure that employees are properly classified, that employee compensation levels are appropriately monitored and reviewed, and that all practices and policies regarding compensation and hours worked comply with state and federal law.

6. Immigration and Naturalization: We can review your immigration and naturalization practices to ensure that the appropriate paperwork (Form I-9) has been completed to verify the identity and authorization to work in the United States of each current employee. We would also determine whether the company has an appropriate system in place regarding the completion, retention, maintenance and destruction of immigration-related compliance documentation.

7. Affirmative Action/OFCCP Compliance: We would analyze your contracts and business relationship to determine whether your company needs to comply with any government contracting obligations enforced by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, including the preparation and implementation of affirmative action plans. We would further verify compliance with any additional applicable contractor compliance obligations, including recordkeeping, notice posting, job listing and the inclusion of proper equal opportunity language in company purchase orders and job advertisements.

8. Human Resources: We would examine your human resource practices to ensure that your hiring practices are consistent with state and federal law, that appropriate documentation is received, and that proper communication and training occurs with respect to new hires. We would examine all review and evaluation procedures, discipline policies, and termination policies to ensure that they are lawful and that proper documentation, communication and record-keeping with respect to each occur.

9. Employee Benefits: As part of our review of your employee benefits policies and practices, we would work with our Employee Benefits Department to perform a high level inventory of your employee benefit programs. We will review your procedures for communicating benefits to new employees, for communicating what happens to benefits during various types of leave and for communicating what happens to benefits upon termination of employment. Our Employee Benefits Department will be able to address any potential compliance issues.

10. Union Issues: We will discuss with you the current law regarding unions, recent developments in the law, and best practices for addressing any union issues that may impact your business.

If you have any questions about internal audits, or would like to have Reinhart conduct an internal assessment of your employment policies and practices, please contact your Reinhart attorney.

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