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Ten (10) Ways Fractional General Counsel Can Help Your Nonprofit's Human Resources Department

In a previous blogs, I detailed ‘What is Fractional General Counsel?’  ; ‘Ten (10) Ways Fractional General Counsel Can Help Your Nonprofit with Corporate Law and the Requirements of Tax Exemption.’ ; ‘Ten (10) Ways Fractional General Counsel (FGC) Can Help Your Nonprofit with Contracts and Intellectual Property.’ ;  and Ten (10) Ways Fractional General Counsel (FGC) Can Help Your Nonprofit with the Legal Aspects of Raising Money

In this blog, I spell out Ten (10) Ways Fractional General Counsel (FGC) Can Help Your Nonprofit’s Human Resources Department:

  1. Review and provide counsel regarding employee applications, hiring promotion, discipline, and termination. Additionally, FGC can review employment contracts and offer letters, including statements of job responsibilities, reporting relationships, compensation, confidentiality provisions for those with access to sensitive or proprietary information, intellectual property assignments and term or at-will employment provisions.
  2. Review and provide counsel regarding employee handbooks and methods for enforcing employee policies (leave policies, accommodations for employees with disabilities (temporary or permanent); policies implementing EEO, anti-discrimination, and anti-harassment laws; ensure nonprofit utilizes proper procedures for distributing employee handbooks, obtaining acknowledgement of receipt and assent
  3. Provide advice and counsel for COVID-19 related HR issues, including work-from-policies/accountability, FFCRA, and PPP.
  4. If nonprofit performs background checks, FGC will provide advice and counsel to staff ensuring compliance with laws for handling results
  5. FGC will work with HR staff to periodically review classification of workers as employees or independent contractors for tax purposes (W2 or 1099) as well as compliance with wage and hour laws
  6. FGC will review nonprofit’s compliance with federal and applicable state/local minimum wage laws. FGC will ensure that employees have job descriptions that accurately reflect what they do and provide counsel as to whether these positions are exempt or non-exempt from wage and hour laws.
  7. FGC will review any proposed termination/separation from service for compliance with law and sound risk management.
  8. FGC will review any correspondence/complaints received by the nonprofit from Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Labor, etc. FGC will correspond with regulators and appear on behalf of the Nonprofit related to any administrative proceedings. FGC will recruit and manage litigation (including expenses) with outside counsel if matter goes into state or federal litigation.
  9. FGC will review benefits programs and counsel regarding compliance with applicable law (including required and optional benefits, COBRA requirements and retirement benefit plans such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans.
  10. FGC will nonprofit’s compliance with immigration law, particularly I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms and work visas.