Just one bad apple is all it takes to infect the entire workforce and demoralize everybody. Don't let things go too far – learn how to put a strategy in place to combat negativity.

Do some of your employees work from home or on the road, even if it's just for a few hours a week?

You may not realize it, but when employees work remotely, they open your organization to a series of unique liability risks:...

Confused about how to manage employee requests for unscheduled, intermittent FMLA leave? Feel taken advantage of by employees who've learned to game the so-called "Friday-Monday Leave Act"?

Some of HR's most thorny, legally risky situations involve employees' use (and abuse) of FMLA leave taken in small bites. The amount of detail and timing necessary to administer these leaves can cause even the most seasoned HR professionals to scratch their heads.

Do your supervisors understand how to comply with employment laws?

Any gaps in this basic knowledge will put your organization (and managers' own nest eggs) at risk.

The legal and financial risks of mishandling employee expense reimbursements have spiked in recent years. And the IRS is in the middle of a wide-ranging audit crackdown on employment-tax issues.

Alert: Your organization's odds of being targeted for an audit of your I-9 forms have skyrocketed, and the Trump Administration followed through on its promise of a fivefold increase in the number of I-9 audits and worksite inspections in 2018. Plus, the feds have recently introduced a brand-new version of the I-9 form that you must be using. And the fines for I-9 paperwork violations have nearly doubled.

The most valuable commodity you have is time. And, if you handle payroll compliance, time is running out. This year, year-end preparation is your best defense against the as-yet-unknown changes to your 2019 withholding processes, necessitated by the big tax reform law.