As mentioned previously, companies must be familiar with the hundreds of federal, state, local, and industry-specific employment laws to ensure they are following the regulations required. Not knowing which laws apply to your company means not only not knowing and doing what you must but also may result in your doing things you are not obligated to do.

Here are some common compliance mistakes you should try to avoid.  

Misclassifying employees (wage & hour): Companies can choose to pay their employees an hourly rate or a guaranteed salary.  However, FLSA regulations dictate if employees are to be classified as non-exempt (requiring minimum wage, overtime and accurate time-tracking) or exempt (with none of this required). 

Inaccurate timekeeping (work time vs non-work time): Having inexact time-tracking practices can result in underpaying employees if time such as travel time, “donning & doffing” time, unauthorized work, and work on the weekend is not properly tracked.  Employees can be overpaid if non-work time is unnecessarily added into overtime calculations.