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Why it’s Important to Update Your Employee Handbook for 2015
No CommentsDoes your employee handbook reflect recent legislative changes made at the federal or state level in 2014? Does it address workplace violence, appropriate leave accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or include new information, if applicable, about paid sick leave? If not, your handbook is out of date and needs to be updated. And if you aren’t sure, it’s time to do an employee handbook audit.
What if you don’t have an employee handbook at all? You may be a small business and think you have so few employees that you don’t need to establish formal policies. This approach will work — until it doesn’t, and then it can cause real problems.
The start of a new year is a good time to revisit your existing employee handbook and make sure it’s up to date. And if you don’t have one yet, it’s a good time to resolve to create one. These articles will help you get an idea of why.
Is Your Employee Handbook Ready for 2015? Phoenix Business Journal: “Review your handbook to ensure that it does not contain inflexible leave policies, i.e. policies that forbid leave and/or provide for discipline/termination after a particular amount of time off. Under the ADA, employers are required to provide reasonable accommodation to qualifying employees with a disability.”
Why Your Small Business Needs a Social Media Policy For Your Employee Handbook. The Huffington Post: “You pay your employees and provide them with stability, so shouldn’t they be loyal to your small business? If they’re making derogatory remarks toward your business on social media, they should be terminated for their disloyalty. Even if a post is made on the employee’s own computer on his or her own time, you may have legal grounds to terminate them. Be careful, though, that you don’t violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) which protects employees who discuss the terms and conditions of employment with others.”
5 Common Mistakes In Employee Handbooks. Wise HR Partnerships: “The Employee Handbook is not specific to their business. Sometimes new companies copy a handbook from another company or find one online, put their name on it and think they are covered. In this case, the employee handbook can be confusing to the employee and the employer. It does not translate into how your company does business or what is important to the company and the employees. When it doesn’t apply to your company, it won’t hold up when employee problems arise.”
2015 Is Approaching! Time To Review And Update Your Employment Policies. Schwartz Hannum PC: “In response to an increase in religious discrimination claims, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance this past March regarding religious accommodations in the context of personal appearance (i.e., dress and grooming) policies. The EEOC’s guidance is an important reminder to all employers that state and federal laws require reasonable accommodations for employees’ religious beliefs. We recommend that all employers carefully review their handbook policies related to personal appearance (as well as leaves of absence) to ensure that such policies address requests for reasonable accommodations by employees with sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Is Your Employee Handbook an Asset or a Dated Liability? Kimberly M. Hanlon, LLC: “An employee handbook isn’t simply a set of guidelines, empty of any legal meaning. In fact, many employers fail to realize just how valuable it is to keep their handbook up to date until employee litigation happens and the legal consequences of outdated policies are thrust upon them….This can be an all-too-easy mistake to make, particularly as it has not always been this way. In the past, employee handbooks filled a far simpler, less binding role that better fits the popular understanding — guidelines on basic company policy and employee benefits. Not so, now.”
Need help creating, implementing or updating an employee handbook? We’re experts at that. Contact us for assistance, and mention this blog post to receive 5 percent off a customized employee handbook for your company.
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