2. DATIS HR Cloud is a HR & Payroll software
company. Our fully unified solution is based
around Position Control and was built to meet
the unique, complex needs of the nonprofit
sector. With over 20 years of experience with
Health and Human Services and Nonprofit
organizations, our software has empowered
hundreds of organizations around the country to
control their costs, maximize their budgets, and
better achieve their mission.
3. To what extent has your organization experienced
compliance issues within the last 12 months?
14%
62%
2%
22%
No Issues
Many Issues
Few Issues
Several Issues
WHY THIS MATTERS
4. • An organization's adherence to laws, regulations, guidelines, and specifications relevant
to its business
• Violations of regulatory compliance regulations often result in legal punishment, including
fines
• Fines can range from $100 to upwards of $1.5 million
DEFINING REGULATORY COMPLAINCE
6. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (DOL)
• Administers and enforces more than 180 federal laws
• These regulations govern many workplace activities for over 10 million
employers and 125 million employees
• Applicable to businesses, nonprofits, job seekers, workers, retirees,
contractors, and more
• Focus on Wage & Hour, Workplace Safety & Health, Workers’ Compensation
• Key laws include:
• FLSA - Fair Labor Standards Act
• ERISA - Employee Retirement Income Security Act
• CCPA – Consumer Credit Protection Act
• FMLA – Family and Medical Leave Act
7. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY (DOT)
• The Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury
• Administers and enforces all internal revenue laws
• “Federal tax laws and regulations are now over 10 million words long” – Tax Foundation
• Organizations must follow specific calculations, filing, and payment requirements
9. You currently struggle keeping up with
changes in rules and regulations impacting
your industry.
STAYING UPDATED
10. COLLECTING CREDENTIALS
• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 75% of all Health and Human Services
positions require some form of credential
• Revenue made from services billed before credentials are attained by the organizations can
be called back
• Credentials must be collected immediately and monitored throughout the entire employee
lifecycle
• Credentials must be up-to-date at all times
11. INVOLUNTARY TERMINATION
• When the employer initiates a termination (i.e., the employee is terminated), the
termination is considered involuntary
• Involuntary terminations should be approved by the employee’s manager, coordinated
with Human Resources
• Especially true in the case of dealing with involuntary termination of a protected
class member
• Legal claims arising from involuntary terminations may be based on the common law,
federal or state statutes, or local ordinances
12. TIMESHEET INCONSISTENCIES
• The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as well as numerous other federal and state
laws, require employers to keep records of hours worked, wages paid, and other
conditions of employment
• The FLSA requires that time records show the date and time a worker's workweek starts,
the number of hours worked each day, and the total hours worked during the week
• Employers are ultimately responsible for accurate, precise time records for their
employees
14. INVEST IN HR CERTIFICATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
• HR certifications and memberships help HR professionals learn best practices within their
industry and stay up to date with the latest policy changes
• Top certifications for HR:
• PHR – Professional in Human Resources
• SPHR – Senior Professional in Human Resources
• SHRM-CP – SHRM Certified Professional
• SHRM-SCP – SHRM Senior Certified Professional
• Top HR memberships:
• SHRM – Society for Human Resource Management
• ATD – Association for Talent Management
• HCI – Human Capital Institute
15. FOLLOW PLAN DOCUMENTS
• Benefit and retirement plans should be reviewed thoroughly and followed rigorously
• Too often, benefits and payroll are configured based on what makes sense, instead of
what the plan document specifies
• Understand what is matched in 401K plans
• Referral Bonuses?
• Severance Packages?
• Understand how benefits packages should be taxed
• This information should be answered and outlined in the plan documents
16. IMPLEMENT WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
• Credential Management software guarantees that all licenses, certifications, and
clearances are collected before an employee’s start date.
• Automatic notifications are sent to managers and employees when credentials are
expiring
• Time & Attendance software makes it easy for employees to submit and for managers to
approve timesheets
• Timesheets cannot be submitted with missing punches
• All files are stored electronically indefinitely, eliminating paper files
• Administrators, executives, and managers can run organization-wide compliance reports
to view important information at-a-glance
One of the main reasons that we chose to cover this webinar topic was because we discovered that too many organizations experienced regulatory compliance issues last year. In our recent State of Workforce Management survey, we found that 78% of organizations ran into regulatory compliance issues in 2017. Noncompliance, especially for Health and Human Services organizations, is costly, but it is avoidable. With that said, I hope this webinar can help steer your organization away from experiencing regulatory compliance issues in the year ahead.
Regulatory Compliance is an organization’s adherence to laws, regulations, guidelines, and specifications relevant to its business. Violations of regulatory compliance regulations often result in legal punishment, including federal fines. For example Category 4 noncompliance with HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, can cost organizations up to $1.5 million.
First, I wanted to take a look at the major governing bodies that oversee regulatory compliance.
First, we’ll look at the Department of Labor, who primarily focus on things such as Wage & Hour laws, workplace safety, and workers comp. They administer and enforce over 180 federal laws that govern more than over 10 million employers and 125 million employees across the country. Some of their key laws include FLSA, ERISA, CCPA, and FMLA.
The second governing body I wanted to touch on is the Department of Treasury, who’s notoriously known for the IRS, or Internal Revenue Service. As we know, the Department of Treasury administers and enforces all internal revenue laws. Tax codes are complex and comprehensive, and according to the Tax Foundation, today’s federal tax laws and regulations are over 10 million words long, which is equivalent to reading every Harry Potter book from start to finish 10 times. Even nonprofits, who are tax exempt must follow specific procedures to maintain their exemption.
As many of you listening are likely Health and Human Services professionals, I wanted to shed some light on some of the biggest regulatory compliance challenges that organizations in your space are currently facing.
In our 2018 State of Workforce Management report, we found that more then 1/3 of Health and Human Services professionals struggle to keep up with the laws and regulations that directly impact their industry. Ensuring that all new laws and regulations are acknowledged and accounted for is a crucial first step in ensuring regulatory compliance.
Collecting credentials sounds like a simple task to perform when an employee joins an organization, but can lead to compliance issues if not completed immediately. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 75% of all healthcare positions require some form of license or credential. With that said, revenue made from services billed before credentials are collected and entered into the system can be called back. For example, if a practitioner bills services before receiving their NPI number, revenue earned form those services can be taken away. It’s also important for credentials to be monitored and kept up-to-date throughout the entire employee lifecycle.
Another area of common regulatory compliance issues is involuntary termination. Involuntary termination is when an employee is terminated by the employer when the employee is still willing and able to work. As a rule of thumb, all involuntary terminations must be approved by the employee’s manager, in coordination with Human Resources. Without proper documentation, an involuntary termination runs the risk of noncompliance with various state and federal labor laws. This is especially true when the termination involves a member of a protected class.
Next, timesheet inconsistencies can cause more serious compliance issues that one may think. As we know, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as well as numerous other federal and state laws, require employers to keep records of hours worked, wages paid, and other conditions of employment. The FLSA requires that time records show the date and time an employee’s workweek begins, the number of hours worked each day, and the total hours worked during the week. Ultimately, employers are responsible for accurate, precise time records for their employees. Inconsistent timesheets open the door to wage and hour lawsuits, and have employees claiming they are not being paid for appropriate hours worked.
So, now that we’ve reviewed some common compliance challenges, let’s take a look at what you can do to ensure regulatory compliance within your organization.
One of the first things you’ll want to do is look at your HR department and make sure they are certified or working towards their certifications. It’s also a good idea to invest in memberships to some of the leading member organizations in the HR industry. Some of the top certifications and member organizations are here. By investing in HR certifications and memberships, you’re providing your HR department with the tools and resources they need to stay on top of the latest compliance issues and comply with the latest rules and regulations. These investments will also give peace of mind that you’re HR department is well equipped to handle any compliance issue that come their way.
One of our last tips, but definitely not the least important, is to follow plan documents word for word. For example, unless explicitly outlined in plan your organizations retirement plan, things like referral bonuses and severance packages should be matched in the employees 401K. Organizations have landed themselves in hot water when it comes to compliance for not following there document plans rigorously.
Although collecting credentials from the employee early on and monitoring them often is essential, there is software available that automates and expedites this process, taking the stress, frustration, and human error completely. For example, at DATIS we offer a credential management system that not only collects all required credentials before an employee’s start date, but our solution automatically sends managers and employees monthly notifications regarding the status of their credentials and when they are due to expire. Our unified workforce management solution also comes equipped with a time and attendance portion that makes it effortless for employees to submit, and managers to approve, timesheets. For higher level employees, easy-to-use dashboards can see important credential information at-a-glance without having to open up individual reports for each employee. Credential management systems also store all information electronically and indefinitely, eliminating the risk of credentials getting lost of misplaced.