December 16 Tip of the Week

“New Year’s Resolutions”

As 2025 draws to a close and the New Year approaches, many of us may be considering what New Year’s resolutions to adopt for our own personal growth and happiness.  This practice is also a good one to apply to our work life and nowhere is that more important than in Human Resources.  Managing employees and compliance with the myriad of state and federal laws that apply to the employment relationship requires an organized and methodical approach.  One way to help alleviate the stress that is inherent in the job of a human resources professional is to make sure that the basic building blocks of the employment relationship are properly implemented and documented.  The end of the year is a good time to take stock of your basic human resources practices, including your job descriptions, payroll processes, performance management tools, and other items that help to ensure that employees are properly compensated, motivated, and held accountable. 

The first place that your review should start is with your job descriptions.  Job descriptions are created when a need is identified in the workplace for someone to perform certain duties and responsibilities and, when that job is posted, a job description is created and included with the posting.  These descriptions often focus on the tasks to be performed and the qualifications needed to perform those tasks.  To be effective, however, a job description must go beyond those items to include information such as who the person reports to, the physical demands of the job, and the essential functions of the job. 

The physical demands and the essential functions of a job are important elements when an employer is dealing with an employee who is requesting an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  For example, if an employee whose responsibilities are customer facing and require their presence at work, then regular attendance should be included on the job description as an essential function of the job.  This is also an important distinction for employees who wish to work remotely – if in person work is not included as a requirement on the job description, it is harder for an employer to deny a remote work request.  Finally, the physical demands of the job, including any attendance requirements, are important considerations when determining reasonable accommodations for employees under the ADA.  If a job requires an employee to regularly lift 35 pounds or more and an employee is unable to do that, the medical provider who is evaluating the employee’s physical capacity against the demands of the job needs to know what is actually required of the position.  An incomplete job description will make it more difficult to determine reasonable accommodations and could place workers at greater risk of injury in the position. 

In addition to reviewing the physical demands of a job, the functions and responsibilities of each position should also be reviewed.  When a job is originally created, the focus may be on one specific area of responsibility.  However, as additional jobs are created within the organization or as employees with different strengths and interests take on certain job duties and responsibilities, the focus of the job may change and that change should be reflected in an updated job description.  Updating job descriptions is important to ensure that employees fully understand what is expected of them and that performance reviews focus on the entire job, not just the aspects of the job that an employee prefers and emphasizes.  Updated job descriptions are also important to ensure that employees are properly compensated for the work that they perform and that the organization is properly staffed.  After reviewing your job descriptions and the work that your employees actually perform, you may find duplication of efforts in some areas while other areas are ignored. Or, you may find that you are overstaffed with respect to particular functions and you need to either move individuals around to maximize efficiency or eliminate positions to avoid duplication of efforts. 

The final benefit of reviewing and updating job descriptions is to ensure that employees are properly classified as exempt or nonexempt.  This means ensuring that the job duties and responsibilities assigned to a specific position meet the standards of the exemption test set forth in the Fair Labor Standards Act for executive, administrative, professional, computer, or outside sales personnel.  The failure to properly classify employees – based on the actual work performed by the employee – can lead to expensive penalties and overtime wage claims.  Job descriptions that accurately describe the work performed and the amount of independent judgment and discretion that an employee has over their work are an important element for justifying employee classifications. 

While employers face many year end requirements, the end of the year is a good time to take stock of your employment practices to ensure that you complying with all applicable labor and employment laws. It is also a good time to ensure that you are best positioned to defend against any claimed violations of the law.  One important tool in your defense of many potential claims is comprehensive, up to date and accurate job descriptions.  myHRcounsel can assist you in ensuring that your job descriptions are an effective tool to guide your employees and to protect you from lawsuits.