Don't wait a decade: 5 things all employers should do annually

A few months ago, millions of people made New Year's resolutions. Employers should be no different. Completing a thorough review of your employment practices each year is crucial to running a legally compliant business. It isn't too late to do it now, either. To help you get started, here are five things all employers should be doing every year.

Distribute annually required employee notices

Massachusetts employers are required to distribute their sexual harassment policy to employees upon hire and annually thereafter. When you do so, we recommend you obtain some evidence you complied with the annual requirement. An employee's signed acknowledgment of the documented policy works.

If your company is paperless and chooses to send the policy via e-mail, we encourage you to retain your distribution list, send the message with "delivered" or "read" receipts, and/or require employees to "reply" that they received it. Keep a copy of the acknowledgment in the employee's paper (or electronic) personnel file.

On a side note, we recommend that before handing out your sexual harassment policy, you should expand it to prohibit all forms of harassment and discrimination based on membership in a protected classification.

Review and update handbooks, policies