The beginning of a New Year is always a good time to reflect on the past and look ahead to the future. If you are an employer, the attorneys at Skeeters, Bennett, Wilson & Pike suggest taking some time this month to consider your relationship with your employees and make sure you are steering clear of any practices that could lead to trouble for your business in the months ahead.

Here are four questions to consider this New Year:

• Is our employee handbook up to date? That’s right, it’s time to dust off your employee handbook and take a look. Do the policies contained in the handbook reflect your employment practices? Does it contain everything you enforce? If not, it may be time for an update. Make sure you talk to an attorney if you think it’s time for any changes.

• Are we compliant with the law? When is the last time you spoke with an attorney to make sure your practices are compliant with the law? If it’s been more than a year, we suggest you touch base soon. Employment law is constantly changing and has been especially confusing this past year.

• What workplace issues did we have in 2016? Was there a employee issue that seemed to repeatedly come up this past year? Reflect on the issue(s) and ask yourself if it’s time to add a new policy or incorporate a new training to avoid the same issues in 2017.

• Have we recently communicated our policies and expectations with our employees? The New Year is a great time to revisit your policies and expectations with your employees. Do they know what is expected of them? Are they aware of policies in place to protect them from workplace harassment, discrimination, and other issues? If you haven’t had a conversation recently, now is the time.

The attorneys at Skeeters, Bennett, Wilson & Humphrey know this time of the year can be busy, but don’t miss the opportunity to clean up your policies and employee issues.  As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

Dustin joined the SBW&H team in 2010, coming to us from one of the oldest firms in Cincinnati. He earned his undergraduate degree from Bellarmine University, summa cum laude, and his law degree from the Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, where he graduated cum laude. Dustin’s law practice includes personal injury law, medical malpractice law, business law including corporations, LLCs and business planning, real estate law, probate law, estate planning, employment law, and family law.