The Monster You Can’t Avoid: Legal Compliance

For October, we would like to discuss something truly frightful: legal compliance.

Not only are these rules, policies, and processes complex, but they are also mandatory and must be followed. Otherwise, your company can and will suffer the consequences. On top of being complicated and imperative, the stakes are heightened by the fact that these rules and regulations are differentiated by the particular jurisdiction they take place in.

What’s the worst that can happen if you fail at legal compliance? Fines, censures, damaged reputations, and even possibly jail-time. This could ruin your business and, more importantly, your life.

These compliances can start out as simple. Paying your taxes and obtaining your business license is given. What next? How about hiring, firing, safety, harassment, wages, benefits, and more. You are handling people’s livelihoods and welfare after all. It is a serious thing that is closely monitored by the government and other human-interest organizations.

Hopefully your organization has avoided legal troubles so far. Having a team of compliance experts on your side can definitely help you avoid hot water and keep the boogeyman at bay. Here’s just one example of how Who’s Your HR? recently helped a client do just that.

In 2018, the OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs) announced that it would begin conducting “Focused Reviews” of contractor compliance with Executive Order 11246 (E.O.), as amended; Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 503), as amended; and Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA), as amended, which would be a new comprehensive initiative for its organization. In these reviews, the OFCCP would go onsite to review the policies and practices of government contractors and subcontractors as it pertained to the specific act they were reviewing.

For our client, it would be their VEVRAA compliance. They received notification in 2019 that they had been selected as one of the 500+ contractors selected to participate. Only after they received the notification that they had been selected for an audit did they even realize that they were required to follow the VEVRAA requirements. As such, they needed to ensure their compliance with all the requirements (which are very lengthy) and engaged with us to help develop the formal written VEVRAA plan, but also to ensure overall compliance. Due to COVID delays, the actual Focused Review did not occur until fall of 2021, and rather than being conducted in person, it was conducted virtually.

They passed with flying colors! No small feat either. The internal HR department worked extremely hard, and we helped them by creating the AAPs, providing training to their leadership team, and giving guidance on establishing and maintaining their ongoing compliance.

Large organizations tend to have a legal or compliance department to handle these matters. However, if you are a newer or smaller company, you may not have the ability to afford a legal team or have a dedicated compliance team. That means you must be aware of all compliance policies that have to do with your business and the jurisdiction it serves under. This added workload and extra anxiety can be taken off your hands by a contractor who specializes in government contractor compliance like Who’s Your HR? We understand what compliance means for an organization and work to ensure you are always meeting your legal obligations. This includes identifying those areas that need further action or attention and developing strategic plans to ensure training is supplied whenever needed.

End of the day, it is always better to prevent the legal compliance monster from running amuck before it’s too late. The repercussions are not worth enduring if you can help it. With Who’s Your HR? on your side, you don’t need to be afraid!