Employee handbooks are commonplace today. Many employers in the public and private sectors use them to help both new and tenured employees navigate the workplace. However, there’s a lack of standardized advice about why employers need to be careful about what goes into — or gets omitted from — their employee handbook.
To reduce your compliance risk and keep your organization away from lawsuits, having the right information in your employee handbook is key. Understand how to craft that critical document and avoid common legal mistakes in this guide.
What Should Go Into an Employee Handbook?
Your employee handbook is a comprehensive document that should cover all the bases related to employment with your organization. This includes:
- Your organization’s mission and values statements
- Onboarding procedures for new employees, such as how to replace ID cards, how to access the network, and what to expect during probation periods
- Information about compensation and benefits, including timekeeping procedures, payroll schedules, wage dispute procedures, and healthcare open enrollment
- Policies and procedures governing performance reviews, promotions, employee discipline, and employment termination
- HR procedures for making requests, such as requests for permission to work remotely or take paid time off
- Information surrounding issues of company culture, including dress codes, the use of profane language, and acceptable use for the company network
- State-by-state legal requirements, such as voting leave or sick leave policies that offer benefits beyond the organization’s standard offerings
In-depth coverage of these points ensures everyone is equipped to thrive and do their best work.
Optional Things to Consider for Inclusion
You can go the extra mile for your staff by incorporating the following into your handbook:
- Welcome note from the CEO
- Company organizational chart
- Guide for taking advantage of employee perks
- Explanation of the employee rewards system
Including these items makes employees feel welcome, supported, and able to reap the full benefits of working for your organization.
Mandatory Notices to Include in an Employee Handbook
Employee handbooks are not mandated by any state or federal laws. However, they can serve as an efficient delivery method for required legal notices that are designed to help employees understand their rights under key employment laws, and can offer evidentiary support for your organization in the event of a lawsuit.
Some of the major laws you should include in your handbook include:
- Fair Labor Standards Act: Notices of minimum wage and overtime pay
- Americans With Disabilities Act: Notices about reasonable accommodations and how to request them
- Family Medical Leave Act: Notices of each employee’s rights and responsibilities, such as the right to job-protected leave, if applicable to your organization
- Paid Leave: Notices of state-based accrual laws for paid sick and personal leave and how they can access information about accrued hours
- EEOC-Enforced Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Laws: Notices of rights and responsibilities and how to file complaints
- Safety: Notices of emergency procedures and evacuation routes, policies and SOPs for hazardous materials, and how to file OSHA complaints
Make sure to check with federal and state regulatory agencies for content that must be present in your policies or employee notices.
Avoiding the Most Common Legal Mistakes
One common handbook mistake employers make is not including critical information about employment laws. One example of such an omission that cost an employer dearly was the 1998 case of Faragher vs. the City of Boca Raton.
A Florida lifeguard sued the city for allowing sexual harassment to create a hostile work environment. In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court found that the city had not properly disseminated its sexual harassment policy to beach employees. Therefore, it breached its duty of care to prevent the harassing behavior.
Another mistake is to omit a disclaimer stating that nothing contained within the handbook constitutes an employment contract. It’s important to communicate that all employment can be terminated at will.
Employees have been known to sue for wrongful termination because a company handbook led them to believe they had greater job security. A well-known instance of this was the Toussaint vs. Blue Cross case from 1980.
Another common mistake is not including language that nothing in the handbook is intended to violate an employee’s rights under the FLSA.
Finally, HR leaders should stay informed of regulatory changes and update handbook policies accordingly. Federal and state agencies amend laws, such as California’s recent mandate for workplace violence prevention policies, all the time. You must keep the organization in compliance and ensure that employees are informed of all changes.
Let Advanced Technology Do the Heavy Lifting
Having an employee handbook is a great way to ensure that you are able to communicate important information to employees about their rights and responsibilities. It serves as a cornerstone document that outlines how the workplace flows and how you will work together to accomplish the company’s goals and mission.
For these reasons, it’s important that you get it right. VirgilHR’s handbook builder takes what can be a tedious and complex process and makes it easy for you.
You’ll get access to hundreds of federal, state, and local pre-built templates that make sure you don’t miss important policies so you can keep the business out of legal trouble. It also has an upload feature that will analyze your existing handbook for missing national and state-specific policies. VirgilHR’s handbook builder consistently tracks new or updated legal changes and automatically adds new policies to your handbook real-time for reviewIf you want to take the hassle and worry out of creating a customized, comprehensive, and compliant handbook, VirgilHR can help. Schedule a demo today and experience the ease and peace of mind that comes with letting our solution do the heavy lifting for you.
