What does it matter? I’ll never get caught. I think I’m doing things right.

These are all things I hear from business owners who just don’t want to worry about compliance. I hate to be the nagging mom (I’m really good at it though - ask my son!), but people do get caught, it costs a lot of money, and you may not be doing it right.

Two local (to me) businesses recently got caught with not properly paying overtime – a compliance error that I see happen a lot. One paid $11.4M in back wages. The other, a smaller business, paid over $200k. If you read the articles, one says the “The Labor Department announced on Thursday the consent judgment came after months of litigation and just before a jury trial was set to begin”. How much do you think they paid in attorney fees during those “months of litigation”? YIKES.  The smaller company also got hit with a $50k penalty for a “willful violation”. Meaning, the DOL didn’t think it was an accident.

If the person handling your Human Resources is not properly trained or doesn’t have time to stay up-to-date on the latest employment laws, maybe it’s time for a compliance check.