Do you have an employee manual for your contracting business? Has it been updated recently to protect you against an employee complaint or lawsuit?

In today’s interview with construction employment attorney Philip Siegel we review the new laws that you need to be aware of and the action you need to take. We also get into the latest changes in the immigration laws and the new requirements every business owner now falls under. 

Show Highlights:

• Having an employee manual is imperative for two main reasons:

1. A handbook is an opportunity to establish company culture.
2. A handbook establishes a roadmap or guide to avoiding discrimination claims.

• Get a harassment and discrimination policy in place as soon as possible. Make sure the policy is reasonable in terms of how complaints of harassment or discrimination are to be reported.
• To settle a harassment or discrimination claim if you don’t have a policy that can be used to defend against a claim can cost $100,000.
• If a policy with a reasonable reporting mechanism is in place but wasn’t followed, then that is a defense to a claim of harassment where the harasser is alleged to be a coworker.
• A good policy should consider these two elements:

1. Don’t address only sexual harassment. Racial harassment or national origin harassment make up the majority of claims. A harassment/discrimination policy needs to be broad enough to not just cover sexual harassment.
2. Regarding the reporting mechanism, be cautious about the job titles that are allowed to receive complaints, as opposed to individual’s names and phone numbers. Some policies require reporting to titles that do not actually exist within that particular company.

• Dave and Philip revisit some hot topics that they’ve discussed on prior shows, such as employee poaching and medical marijuana.
• Dave and Philip discuss some timely topics that currently impact business owners in the roofing industry. Listen in for more complete details!

1. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released the latest version of the Form I-9 and will require employers to use this latest version beginning May 1, 2020. This form must be completed by the employee within three days of being hired. The employee verifies their identity and verifies their work authorization status. The individual must be able to produce documents to show who they are.
2. OSHA’s Form 300A must be placed between February 1 and April 30 inlocations easily accessible to employees, such as the break room. This form summarizes the total number of work-related injuries and illnesses that occurred during the prior calendar year and entered into OSHA Form 300, which logs said injuries and illnesses.
3. OSHA’s increasing penalties: they recently announced maximum penalty amount increases to account for inflation in 2020. Penalties for an other-than-serious violation, a serious violation, and a failure-to-abate violation increased to $13,494. Willful and repeat violations now have a maximum penalty amount of $134,937 per violation.
4. Philip addresses the complex issues of wage and hour violations, compensable travel and the new method of calculating overtime pay.

• Be proactive in keeping up-to-date on these relevant issues! One way of doing this is through a retainer program (also known as a subscription program) that Hendrick Phillips Salzman & Siegel offer. It is a means of consulting with them without worrying about the clock running. You pay a monthly retainer fee for them to be available to answer your questions and resolve issues that can be handled in a phone call or within the hour’s time. This involves contract reviews!

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Suggested Episodes:

114: How to Prevent Employee Poaching By Your Competitors with Philip Siegel

32: High Times - Drug Testing and Medical Marijuana. What Employers Need to Know with Philip Siegel

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