Your Mid-Year HR Compliance Checkup: Stay Ahead, Stay Protected

Brian Costello

Brian Costello

For small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), HR compliance isn’t just about checking boxes or avoiding costly fines and regulatory headaches, it’s also about doing the right thing for your people. A strong compliance foundation helps create a workplace where employees feel safe, respected, and empowered to thrive. The middle of the year is the perfect time to pause, reflect, and make sure your practices support both legal requirements and the kind of culture where your team and your business can grow.

A mid-year HR compliance checkup helps you catch gaps early, adjust for changes, and ensure you’re on track for a smooth second half of the year.

Here’s your essential mid-year HR compliance checklist and how Mitratech Mineral helps you take action with confidence.

1. Review and Update Your Employee Handbook and HR Policies

Why it matters:

Employment laws are constantly changing, from new and expanded paid sick time, to expanded family leave, to novel lactation accommodations. Keeping your handbook up to date is the best way to ensure that managers and employees are aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Mid-year action plan, what SMBs should do now:

Conduct a policy gap analysis. Review your handbook against current federal, state, and local laws. Check for policies you may be missing or that need to be updated.

Evaluate practices that have changed. Have you added remote or hybrid work arrangements? Are you offering different health benefits or vacation plans? Add or update policies to reflect these shifts.

Redistribute updated handbooks. When you revise policies, communicate clearly with employees, and document that they’ve reviewed and acknowledged the updates.

How Mitratech Mineral helps:

➡ The Smart Employee Handbook builder guides you through creating and updating a compliant handbook customized to your business’s state(s) of operation. 

➡ When laws change in the states where you operate, we’ll notify you right in the platform—just review and accept the update to your Smart Employee Handbook. No policy gap analysis required!

➡ Policy templates provide legally reviewed policies ready to adopt or adapt.


2. Check Up on Your Training Completion Stats 

Why it matters:

Several large states require annual or periodic training on harassment prevention, and your organization should provide training on this even if not required. You might also train on other topics like workplace safety or cybersecurity. Regular training demonstrates your commitment to compliance and can help reduce overall risk. 

Mid-year action plan and what SMBs should do now:

Run a training completion report. Identify who has completed required training and who still needs it. Don’t forget new hires who may have missed earlier sessions.

Map out the next 6 months. Schedule training for employees who are overdue or whose certification will expire later this year.

Check recordkeeping. Ensure you have documentation of attendance, completion certificates, and content is covered in case of an audit or litigation.

How Mitratech Mineral helps:

➡ The Learning Management System called LEARN lets you assign, deliver, and track training courses from start to finish, with built-in reporting on completion status.

➡ Pre-built courses cover topics like harassment prevention, safety, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB), helping you meet requirements without building programs from scratch.

➡ Dashboards and reminders keep you ahead of deadlines and help ensure everyone completes necessary training.

3. Verify Employee Classifications and Wage Compliance

Why it matters:

Employee roles often shift during employment. A team member who was exempt in January may no longer qualify based on current duties. The same is true for classifying workers as independent contractors–just because they were properly classified when the relationship started, doesn’t mean they will be forever. In both cases, misclassification can lead to significant wage and hour claims, tax issues, penalties, and attorney fees.

Mid-year action plan, what SMBs should do now:

Audit exempt vs. nonexempt status. Look at employees whose responsibilities or reporting structure have changed. Confirm they still meet exemption criteria under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state law.

Assess independent contractor classifications. Ensure your independent contractors (1099 workers) still qualify as such based on the work they’re doing and how it’s controlled.

Verify wage compliance. Double-check that you’re meeting applicable minimum wage, overtime, and paid break requirements in all locations.

How Mitratech Mineral helps:

➡ Classification guides and tools help you apply exemption tests and independent contractor criteria correctly, to comply with both  federal and state requirements.

➡ Law Alerts keep you informed about changes in your jurisdictions, including those impacting wage and hour compliance. 

➡ Mineral Experts™ are here to help and specialize in providing guidance on the gray areas where classification decisions are complex.

4. Audit  Employee Documentation and Recordkeeping

Why it matters:

Missing I-9s, unsigned policy acknowledgments, or missing documentation can create major problems in audits, disputes, or investigations. A mid-year audit ensures your records are complete and up-to-date.

Mid-year action plan, what SMBs should do now:

Conduct a file audit. Spot-check your personnel files to ensure key documents (I-9s, W-4s, handbook acknowledgments, signed policies) are present and complete.

Update records. Request updated emergency contacts and beneficiary forms where needed.

Check your security measures. Ensure all records, paper or digital, are stored securely and organized for quick retrieval if needed.

How Mitratech Mineral helps:

➡ Guides and checklists help you  audit your files efficiently and identify missing or incomplete documents.

➡ Law Alerts and other reminders about filing deadlines are provided with enough lead time to get your files in order before they need to be shared with government agencies

5. Prepare for ACA Reporting and Other Mandated Filings

Why it matters:

For Applicable Large Employers (ALEs), the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires careful tracking of employee hours, offers of coverage, and eligibility data all year long. Leaving ACA prep until the last minute increases the risk of filing errors, IRS penalties, and a stressful January.

Mid-year action plan, what SMBs should do now:

Check year-to-date tracking. Confirm you’re accurately monitoring employee hours, eligibility status, and coverage offers.

Reconcile data sources. Make sure data in your HR, payroll, and benefits systems align as inconsistencies can cause filing errors.

Identify gaps. Look for missing information (e.g., Social Security numbers, hire dates) that could create reporting problems later.

How Mitratech Mineral helps:

➡ ACA Reporting Hub helps you collect and manage ACA data year-round so it’s accurate, complete, and ready when filing season arrives.

➡ Automated form generation reduces manual errors by pulling from clean, verified data.

➡ Expert support ensures you get answers to ACA questions when they arise, from eligibility rules to coding the forms correctly.

Make Mid-Year HR Compliance Your Competitive Advantage

A mid-year HR compliance checkup isn’t just about avoiding penalties, it’s about building a stronger, more resilient business. Proactively reviewing your policies, training, documentation, and pay practices gives you time to make adjustments, strengthen compliance, and avoid last-minute scrambles in Q4.

See how Mitratech Mineral can help your business stay compliant, confident, and future-ready.

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Author: Brian Costello
About
Brian Costello is a Field Marketing Manager at Mitratech, where he supports the Mineral HR Compliance and Expertise Solution. He’s passionate about connecting HR and compliance tools with the health insurance carriers, brokers, and employers who need them most. Based in Philadelphia, Brian brings over 15 years of experience in technology marketing, with a strong track record of building innovative, data-driven campaigns that fuel engagement and drive growth. Throughout his career, Brian has led go-to-market strategies and executed high-impact marketing initiatives across a variety of industries. He’s especially driven by the challenge of simplifying complex compliance topics and helping businesses realize the full value of HR tech. A proud Philadelphian, Brian is always repping his hometown—Go Birds, Go Phils! Favorite Topics: Field marketing strategy, partner and broker enablement, HR tech trends, compliance, ACA reporting.