Employment Compliance Assessment

During the past 20 years, federal and state employment laws and regulations have become extraordinarily complex. Now, these laws and regulations govern every conceivable aspect of the employment relationship. Community Banks are under particular scrutiny.

Enforcement agencies and the courts have been unsympathetic to banks that are unable to maintain strict compliance. Lawyers representing disgruntled employees have exploited the threat of expensive and time consuming litigation to extract settlements from bankers.

Few bankers have validated their satisfaction of these new and complex requirements by carrying out a thorough employment compliance assessment. We are very familiar with the employment laws regulating the banking industry, have performed these assessments regularly, and have developed an efficient methodology.

I. Document Analysis


The Assessment begins with a review of personnel documents to determine whether the legally required documents are in place at the Bank, whether the documentation violates any federal and state law prohibition, and whether the documentation gives rise to potential employment liabilities. During the Assessment, we will review the following types of documents:

  • Employment Application
  • Pre-employment Tests
  • Harassment Policy
  • Performance Appraisals
  • Employment Offer Letters
  • Employee Handbook
  • Personnel File Contents
  • Discipline Documentation

II. Practice Analysis


We will interview by telephone the appropriate Bank representatives responsible for human resources matters. The structured telephone interview is intended to examine various personnel processes regulated by a variety of federal and state employment laws. The processes that will be examined during the Assessment are:

  • Candidate Evaluation
  • Job Classification
  • Discipline and Discharge
  • Compensation Administration
  • Performance Evaluation
  • Recordkeeping
  • Promotion Consideration
  • Resolution of Employee Claims

III. Laws Considered


We will focus on those laws that most extensively regulate banks and financial institutions. We examine Bank compliance with the following critically important employment laws and executive orders:

  • Fair Labor Standards Act
  • Americans With Disabilities Act
  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act
  • Equal Pay Act
  • Family and Medical Leave Act
  • Title VII
  • Pregnancy Discrimination Act
  • Fair Credit Reporting Act

I. Written Report


Each Assessment will create an attorney/client relationship for the purposes of this project. Therefore, all communication will be protected by the attorney/client privilege. This provides a unique opportunity for complete candor, teamwork to identify where human resources practices could be enhanced, and little risk of subsequent disclosure in an investigation or lawsuit.

Participating banks will receive a written report identifying areas of significant potential liability. In the course of our extensive work in the banking industry, we have found that areas of deficiency can often be easily cured with a policy, document, checklist or other tool we have already developed or is otherwise readily at our disposal. If deficiencies are identified that can be addressed by tools at our disposal, those documents will be provided with the report at no extra charge.

II. Pricing


We have agreed with the American Bankers’ Association to a reduced fee schedule for ABA members. The fee varies depending on the number of employees employed by the Bank. The larger banks are charged a slightly higher fee, but those banks obtain value spread over a large group of employees.

Bank Size Non-Member Fee Member Fee
0-30 Employees $1,200 $1,000
31-60 Employees $1,700 $1,450
61-100 Employees $2,250 $1,950
101-200 Employees $3,300 $2,750
201-350 Employees $4,500 $3,750
351 or more Employees Individually Negotiated Individually Negotiated

ABA member banks who wish to participate in an Assessment may call 1-866-801-6302, email bankers@employlawcompliance.com or fax us at 770-206-3381.