The Year-End HR Risk Check What to Review Before January Hits 

The Year-End HR Risk Check

What to Review Before January Hits 

The Year-End HR Risk Check: What to Review Before January Hits

January has a funny way of exposing all the HR things we meant to get to “before the end of the year.” That outdated policy. The employee who moved states six months ago. The manager who still isn't documenting anything. The new AI tool everyone started using without telling HR.

Before 2027 arrives, now is a good time for an HR risk check. You don't have to fix everything overnight. Start by figuring out where your gaps actually are.

Start With the Handbook

When was the last time someone actually read your handbook from beginning to end?

Make sure your policies reflect how your organization operates today. Review leave, accommodations, remote work, attendance, wage and hour practices, complaint procedures, and any policies you've been enforcing differently than they're written. And don't forget state addendums. If your workforce has changed, your compliance obligations may have changed too.

Check Where Your Employees Actually Work

Remote work makes this one easy to miss.

An Oklahoma-based company with employees working in other states may have obligations based on where those employees work, not simply where headquarters is located.

Pay transparency, paid leave, wage requirements, required notices, expense reimbursement, and other employment rules vary across jurisdictions.

Pull your employee roster and ask: Do we know where everyone is actually working?

Take Another Look at Pay Practices

Review exempt and nonexempt classifications, overtime practices, timekeeping, deductions, bonuses, allowances, and other compensation practices.

Don't just ask whether payroll is running correctly. Ask whether the underlying practice is correct.

If you've added positions, changed job duties, restructured compensation, or added remote employees this year, take another look.

And Yes, We Need to Talk About AI

If employees are using AI at work and you still don't have guidelines around it, add that to the list.

Consider what employees can put into AI tools, how confidential information is protected, whether AI is being used in hiring or employment decisions, and which tools are approved.

The rules surrounding workplace AI continue to develop. Going into 2027 without knowing how your employees are using it creates unnecessary risk.

Don't Carry the Gaps Into 2027

Finally, look at your everyday people practices. Are managers documenting consistently? Are accommodations and leave requests making it to HR? Are employee complaints being closed out? Are your policies actually being followed?

If you're reading this thinking, “Well, now I have homework,” we can help.

The People Perspective can take some of this off your plate, whether that's a handbook update, multi-state compliance review, AI policy, pay-practice review, manager guidance, or simply helping you figure out what should be at the top of your list.

You don't have to fix everything at once. But knowing where your risks are is a pretty good way to start 2027.

Compliance Compass Takeaway: Find the gaps now, so they don't become your 2027 surprises.