The Department of Labor and Its Importance for Your Business Operations
Numerous government organizations are dedicated to ensuring workplace safety, maintaining proper labor standards, and overseeing business operations. Among these, the Department of Labor plays a crucial role for all businesses by prioritizing and developing laws on proper labor procedures, workplace safety, employee health benefits, workers’ compensation policies, and more. Understanding how this organization operates and the importance of complying with its laws is essential to successfully managing a growing and compliant business.
What is the Department of Labor?
The Department of Labor (DOL) is a federal agency that focuses on employees by writing and enforcing policies to improve and protect employee rights and worker safety. All DOL policies are developed to improve working and employment conditions for employees and are administered by an elected leadership team on a yearly budget.
Importance of the DOL
The DOL is responsible for enforcing over 180 federal laws that are crucial to the safety and health of millions of workers. Its authority includes regulations related to labor unions, workers’ compensation, wage garnishment, and veterans’ rights. The DOL’s expertise spans the entire country and a wide range of industries, making it an essential component of the American business landscape.
Among the most significant laws that the DOL is tasked with creating and enforcing are the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act), and the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA). Without organizations like the DOL, workers would lack the rights and opportunities they enjoy today, and there would be no programs such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect them.
Ways to Ensure DOL Compliance
Laws are continually changing, so business owners must stay informed about any law updates or new laws. Since the DOL oversees various industries and pieces of risk management and human resources (HR) functions, it can be challenging for business owners to effectively implement changes and educate their employees about new policies.
Stay up to date on current law changes and regulations
Depending on the industry you work in, regulatory law changes can be constant or a rarity. Regardless of frequency, staying informed about updates that could affect your business, industry, or employees is essential. To keep up, consider subscribing to official government email alerts or following reliable sources online. Regular reminders about potential changes will help you stay informed, adapt quickly, and implement new policies as needed. Staying current on labor news also reduces the risk of costly penalties from noncompliance or safety issues.
Prioritize documentation and employee information
To reduce the risk of non-compliance and accompanying penalties, proper documentation should be a priority. Business owners should take great care in protecting employee information, including social security numbers, direct deposit account numbers, birthdates, and more.
Employers should also document past workplace injuries, disciplinary actions, or behavioral warnings; to keep a record of past discrepancies and to have them on record, just in case another incident occurs. Proper documentation also makes it easier to pull out relevant information for authorities in case of a surprise audit by OSHA or another federal agency.
Educate employees on policies and procedures
Proper education is a great way to lower the risk of accidents, injuries, and noncompliance. Schedule monthly or quarterly educational sessions to keep employees up to date on any regulatory changes that impact their employment or benefits. Employers should also hold company-wide meetings to explain any changes to company policies or procedures. This ensures that your workforce understands current procedures and can follow them.
Work with experts
Compliance isn’t an easy responsibility for business owners to tackle, but it’s imperative to the long-term success of your company and employee retention. Some weeks, there are dozens of new bills that are signed into law, which isn’t easy for a business owner to keep track of on their own. That’s why working with compliance experts or HR partners can help reduce employee risk and non-compliance fees. A third-party company like Group Management Services (GMS) can assist your employees with benefits administration, answer workers’ compensation questions, and consult on HR tasks such as employee handbook development, performance review assistance, new labor policies, and beyond.
A Compliance Partner
Ensuring company-wide compliance isn’t something that business owners can do on their own. Regulatory compliance is an intricate web that can get confusing quickly. Luckily, professional employer organizations (PEOs) like GMS can offer businesses a helping hand.
GMS’ team of HR experts assist you in navigating local and state laws, as well as compliance requirements. They can help you prepare essential documentation, create a communication plan to inform everyone about changes in the law, and provide guidance on best practices to ensure compliance and safety. GMS’ safety team can also conduct safety audits, develop safety plans, and conduct risk management training for your employees. Compliance with important regulatory organizations like DOL or OSHA is extremely important when it comes to running a business. Stay one step ahead of noncompliance fines with the help of GMS. Learn how GMS can help your company stay compliant here.