By: Christina M. Reger

So it’s 2017. What will you do differently? What goals have you set for your company?

No business resolution list is complete without an examination of your HR policies and employee issues.

Specifically, here are the top five issues an employer should examine in 2017:

1. Are your employees classified correctly?

Even though the new overtime regulations seem to have died on the vine, it doesn’t change the fact that many of your employees may be misclassified and entitled to overtime anyway. To ensure good health and good wealth in the new year, you should examine your workforce and make sure that those employees that are entitled to overtime are getting it.

2. Are your independent contractors really employees?

You know that contractor that has been working full-time with your company for years, or is now performing a function that is core to your operations? Perhaps they are not (or no longer) really independent. The Department of Labor’s crusade on this issue has not (and likely will not) die.

3. Has your employee handbook been reviewed and updated?

With all of the changes in the law in just the last year or two, it’s time to dust off that employee handbook, make sure it’s still accurate and that it says what you want it to say. Remember, if you have a dissatisfied employee, the first place they will look is your handbook. Do you know what it says?

4. Are you hiring in 2017?

Great, hiring is a sign of growth. But, hiring has become its own landmine. Make sure you comply with the FCRA, the new I-9 regulations, Ban the Box, and the anticipated regulations on asking about salary requirements. If you have no idea what I am talking about, time to talk to your trusted employment attorney.

5. Do you have a social media policy? And if you do, when was it updated?

So two points if you have a policy, but if you haven’t updated it in 6 months, it is out of date. Since then Facebook launched a live feature and the government launched worker.gov (see my prior post here), among the many, many changes to social media. Time to take a look at what you have by way of social media.

So there you have it. I could go on, but that should be enough to keep you busy for quite some time.

Wishing all of you a prosperous and litigation-free new year!