Transcript Employee Handbooks - Snake River Chapter of SHRM

Designing Employee
Handbooks
Legal Limitations
Employment At Will
Employees shall not be considered
permanent employees.
 All employment is at-will.
 Employees may have their employment
discontinued for any reason.

Not a Contract

Nothing in this employee handbook shall
be construed as an employment
contract.
Changes in the Handbook

Management may make changes in the
employee handbook at any time.
May vs. Must
“May” statements provide more flexibility
than “must” statements.
 For example: management must
complete performance appraisals by
March 1 might cause legal problems if
that “must” is not obeyed. “May” is much
better.

Sexist Language
Be politically correct in your language
 Refer to sales people rather than
salesman
 Refer to Workers’ Compensation rather
than Workmen’s Compensation

Posters--Federal
OSHA—It’s the Law
 Employee Polygraph Protection Act
 Fair Labor Standards Act
 Equal Employment Opportunity Notice
 Department of Justice Notice—Antidiscrimination

Posters--Idaho
Workers’ Compensation Notice
 Idaho Unemployment Insurance
 Discrimination
 Minimum Wage

Safety

For companies with 11 or more
employees, make a provision for safety
administration
Separate Recordkeeping Files
Medical records: workers’ compensation
claims, exams, and drug and alcohol
tests
 EEO-1 reports for companies with 100 or
more employees
 Reference checks
 Immigration files
 The rest

Length of Time to Keep Records
I9 Form: 3 years
 Pension-related files under ERISA: 6
years
 Wage rate tables under the FLSA: 2
years
 Records detailing exposure to toxic
substances: Employee’s tenure plus 30
years

Fair Labor Standards Act
Overtime
 Time-and-a-half
 Independent contractors

Independent Contractor Definition
20 IRS Rules
Set the hours of work?
 Dictate the methods by which the task is
to be completed?
 Pay an hourly wage?
 Supply materials, tools?
 Furnish space, telephone secretarial
services?
 Set fixed geographic limits on the work?

Independent Contractors
Benefits
Don’t have to pay Social Security,
Unemployment Insurance, Workers’
Compensation. Contractor does this on
his/her own.
 Don’t have to deal with city, state, and
federal income taxes. Contractor does
this on his/her own.

Independent Contractor Limitations
Lose employer control of contractor
 IRS penalties for paying a contractor
when you really have an employee

Top Twelve Handbook
Updates—1. Workplace Violence

Provide employees with reporting
opportunities, counseling avenues, and
general guidelines on how to act when
there is a threat.

Source: Nationalreview.com
2. Benefits Provisions
Monitor changes in benefits plans—
particularly health benefits
 Obama Health Care Plan--Employers
who choose to offer employees health
insurance can receive tax cuts of up to
35% of premiums this year, and up to
50% in 2014. More than 60% of small
employers will be eligible for these tax
cuts.

3. Employee Free Choice Act
(still a bill)

Make sure to update bulletin board
solicitation in the handbook. Ban all
outside solicitation to be consistent.
4. Text Messaging
Texting and Driving
 Harassment
 Retaliation

5. Social Networking II--Advantages
Networking
 Goodwill
 Idea generation
 Customer complaints and praise
 Recruiting

5. Social Networking IIIDisadvantages
Sexual Harassment
 Time Management and Productivity
 Security
 Privacy—Confidential Information
 Accuracy
 Defamation
 Discrimination

6. Location Monitoring
Restrict used of GPS, RFID due to
privacy and discrimination concerns
 Check
http://www.computer.org/portal/web/csdl/
proceedings/h#4 for problems and policy
statements

7. Adverse Weather/Other
Closings
How affect employee compensation for
both exempt and nonexempt employees
 H1N1

8. Family Medical Leave Act
Military Families—Up to 26 weeks of
leave to handle injured or ill military
member of the family
 http://www.slideshare.net/mdibi/adafmla-update

9. Americans with Disabilities
Amendments Act of 2008
Eased definitions of handicapped—
creates nonexhaustive list
 Sitting, bending, caring for oneself
 Functions of the immune system, normal
cell growth, bladder functions
 Common sense standard—not scientific
 http://www.slideshare.net/mdibi/adafmla-update

10. Respectful Workplace Policy
Jerksatwork.com
 Mybossismichaelscott.com
 Defining respectful workplace behavior
separate from harassment policies
because harassment is illegal and
disrespect is not

11. Genetic Information
Nondiscrimination Act
Genetic information should be added to
the list of protected classes
 Update wellness programs to protect
genetic information

12. Charities and Tax-Exempts
Revised IRS Form 990 asks whether
employer has whistleblower, conflicts of
interest, and document retention and
destruction policies.
 Same form asks about executive
compensation procedures

Sample Handbook Statements
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Society for HR Management www.shrm.org (have to be a
member)
Bureau of National Affairs’ HR Library
(http://library.boisestate.edu/indexes/) Have to be on Boise State
campus
Federal government page with examples
http://www.business.gov/businesslaw/employment/hiring/employee-handbook.html
Several state examples http://easyemployeehandbook.com/
Nevada Handbook
http://dop.nv.gov/emphand.pdf
Generic sample
http://www.fhba.com/docs/Employee%20Handbook%20Sample
.doc
Many university examples
http://www.hr-guide.com/data/023.htm