Employer Compliance And Consulting
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Legal compliance training for HR professionals, managers and supervisory personnel.
Human resources and personnel management that is compliant with state and federal employment laws is essential for any business. In most cases, preventative maintenance and knowledge of employment law basics can eliminate or significantly reduce an employer’s litigation risk. On the other hand, failure to take into account the rights of employees and how federal and state anti-discrimination laws impact the workplace can lead to costly mistakes and litigation. Early intervention by a qualified employment attorney is often effective in mitigating these risks.
Ms. Sahli is devoted to the efficient resolution of personnel issues through direct interaction with clients. The skills she has built through her impressive history of employment litigation arm her to identify current workplace deficiencies, and to minimize risk through instruction, counseling and other effective approaches.
Managers may react to personnel issues without first consulting human resources professionals or counsel, often with devastating results. Ms. Sahli assists businesses in training HR professionals and management on compliance with the requirements of Title VII, Section 1981, the ADEA, Equal Pay Act (EPA), Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), ADA, Rehabilitation Act, FMLA, state and local anti-discrimination laws, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Colorado Wage Claim Act. These laws can impact any phase of the employment relationship, including recruitment, hiring and promotion, compensation, performance and performance counseling, discipline, leaves of absence and/or termination.
Businesses are further required to adopt policies and procedures in compliance with federal and state wage and hour laws. The FLSA and Colorado Wage Claim Act govern employee rights to fair pay in Colorado. These laws cover wage requirements such as pay periods, overtime pay, meal and rest breaks, minimum wage, record keeping, how and when final paychecks are delivered, and whether employees must be paid for unused sick or vacation time. Ms. Sahli assists businesses in adopting proper workplace standards, and evaluates existing policies and procedures for wage and hour compliance. Ms. Sahli further instructs businesses on classification issues such as exempt and nonexempt employees and independent contractors. This proactive approach enables businesses to identify and address deficiencies before problems develop.
Ms. Sahli further assists businesses in planning to avoid the loss of intellectual property and other proprietary information when employees separate from the company.
Development of human resources handbooks, policies and practices to maintain compliance.
Absent a contract for a definite duration, Colorado employees are presumed to be “at-will.” While courts do not automatically treat properly drafted employee handbooks as contracts, companies that publish policies and procedures and then fail to uniformly follow them can be subject to costly litigation. While a handbook may be useful in setting uniform expectations, what a business puts in writing regarding personnel policies, disciplinary procedures or employee rights must be considered carefully. Ms. Sahli is available to develop and review employee handbooks and personnel policies in order to protect businesses from unintended obligations.
Personalized consulting as personnel issues and problems arise to ensure legal compliance and minimize risk.
Complex and contentious personnel issues demand the expertise of an experienced employment law attorney. To ensure effective compliance and avert legal claims, Ms. Sahli works directly with clients to provide real-time legal advice for personnel issues, including complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination and whistleblowing, substandard performance, difficult and/or disruptive employees, management or supervisory noncompliance, hiring, employee discipline, performance improvement and/or termination. In appropriate cases, Ms. Sahli will assist employers in drafting severance agreements. Ms. Sahli’s training in legal compliance issues enables her to effectively address serious personnel issues while ensuring legal compliance and minimizing the risk of meritorious legal claims. Ms. Sahli is well-versed in effectively responding to employee complaints of unlawful conduct, discrimination, retaliation and harassment. With her impressive background in employment litigation, Ms. Sahli is able to offer insightful legal counseling to respond to a broad spectrum of personnel issues.
Employers often have questions about how to identify and respond to disability complaints and requests. Ms. Sahli understands the myriad requirements under the ADA and Colorado Government Code, the interactive process and accommodations. Ms. Sahli further assists employers in evaluating requests for accommodations, including leaves of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the ADA, Rehabilitation Act and/or Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). With Ms. Sahli’s expertise, clients can effectively manage their workforces while remaining compliant with these and other applicable laws.
Customized investigations and risk analysis to ensure legal compliance.
Personnel issues involving alleged discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination can become complicated legal affairs requiring the expertise of an experienced employment law attorney. A qualified employment law attorney can help resolve current issues and identify ways to prevent problems in the future. Ms. Sahli performs customized workplace investigations and risk analysis of employment-related issues. Such investigations may be legally required and may avert potential employment-related risks, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower and/or claims for termination in violation of public policy. Workplace investigations may further assist businesses in identifying the origins of risky or unlawful management behavior.
Independent contractor compliance and audits.
The use of independent contractors is a time-honored tradition in the United States. Independent contractors may include carpenters, sales representatives, direct sellers, consultants, engineers, drywallers, real estate appraisers, landscapers, architects, truck drivers, messenger couriers, taxicab drivers, carpet installers, loan officers, petition circulators, interior designers, accountants, court reporters, computer programmers, graphic artists, instructors, massage therapists, psychiatrists, etc.
However, employers are subject to audit, penalties and even lawsuits for improper classification of employees as independent contractors. Ms. Sahli thus works with businesses to reduce and eliminate the risk of hiring independent contractors, including:
- Advising companies of the risks involved in using independent contractors and assisting them to lower that risk by properly classifying workers
- Applying criteria used by state and federal courts to identify and classify independent contractors
- Reviewing and revising independent contractor agreements and other written materials that companies use in connection with independent contractors
- Updating clients when changes in the law impact their independent contractor relationships