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Writer's pictureErika Andresen

Regulatory Compliance - The Right Amount (?)

What are regulations? Do they have the same standing and effect as a law? What does it really mean to comply or not? What does compliance look like?


One thing I know - from being a lawyer - is about regulatory compliance. The boring bit:


Laws are written by the legislative branch of government (federal and state). Regulations are written by the executive branch agencies to clarify and implement laws passed by legislation. Regulations cannot be less stringent than the laws they relate to, but can be more stringent.


 A lot of times, compliance with the law is often a tick-the-box. "Yes, we are doing X. Yes, we are refraining from doing Y. We are good to go!" One area for lawyers is CLEs (continuing legal education). You need to do them to stay on top of the law and relevant in your practice. If I wanted to learn more about an area of law I didn't practice regularly, CLEs allow you to do that. You can always go above and beyond what the state bar requires.


And that is where the segue to business comes in. Is complying with the regulation doing the bare minimum? Is it the right amount? Here's my very lawyer answer: it depends. A lot of times plain compliance is enough - and I will tell that to clients. Sometimes, though, doing better than a C is almost a moral obligation.


If you are in home building, building codes (which are regulations) give the minimum but you can always do better. Think hurricane or earthquake proofing a home. Just complying tends to be not enough when there is a strong hurricane or earthquake. Being above the standard is something you can advertise! When a customer is already spending $300k, and extra $20k isn't that much when it ensures their home will still be standing (and get better home insurance rates).


Think about regulations for working conditions thanks to OSHA - the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. They exist to keep working conditions safe for employees. You may be required to give a certain amount of breaks in a day, but when conditions - like a heatwave - change, the bare minimum is not enough.


I wrote about Amazon (a few times) in my book taking them to task. They are notorious for doing the bare minimum to comply with OSHA. Need an emergency management plan? Check! Oh, but it's a plan that only accounts for a hurricane and we're talking about a warehouse in rural southern Illinois? Where a tornado killed 8 Amazon warehouse employees? Yeah...not enough at all. Way to phone it in.


You know...even some regulations say you need to have a business continuity plan. I've seen it phoned in, though. I've seen many check-the-boxes. They won't work. They made the auditor go away but they don't actually save your business. When it comes to not just your investment, but your clients' trust and your employees' way of life, more than the bare minimum should be expected, not the exception.


Be exceptional and reap the benefits.




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