New Year’s Resolution #1: Update the Employee Handbook
Forty is the new thirty (except under the ADEA), brown is the new black, and this year black might be the new black again! Every year, slogans shape society’s collective fresh outlook on life.
An old employee handbook is like the garage or closet that needs to be cleaned out. Tools and clothes might be broken or torn. It’s time to donate or discard some items, but others can be dusted off or ironed and re-shelved. Plus, we need to make room for the new stuff.
Similarly, employment policies that are outdated need to be deleted. Policies that made sense when drafted are ambiguous now and deserving of a short re-write. New laws mean new policies, and all of the policies (new and old) can be re-organized into a current, well-drafted employee handbook that an employer is proud to share with its employees and will provide a defense, where necessary, in court.
Some handbooks are more comprehensive than others, but all handbooks should include the employer’s expectations on basic topics including, without limitation, confidentiality; equal employment opportunity and sexual harassment prevention policies; payroll policies; work schedules and break times; vacation, sick time, and other leave policies; standards of conduct; dress code; electronic communications policies; social media policies; and employee benefits.
Employers should periodically audit their personnel files to make sure that the files contain each employee’s signed acknowledgment that he or she received and read the employee handbook. A new acknowledgment should be obtained from each employee every time a new version of the handbook is issued. Be sure to keep the acknowledgments that pertain to prior versions too.
Many employers are moving towards electronic employee handbooks with electronic acknowledgments. Even if the handbook and acknowledgement are not stored with the personnel file, employers should remember to include this electronically stored information, where applicable, in response to a discovery request in the event of an employment claim.
