In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber Associate General Counsel Matthew Roberts and CalChamber Employment Law Subject Matter Expert Vanessa Greene discuss the importance of a well-built and up-to-date employee handbook.
Widely considered by employment law experts as the policy backbone of daily operations, these handbooks contain critical information, like meal and rest break laws, and set the tone for employee conduct. A faulty handbook can mean more than just confusion among employees and management, it also can open up a business to compliance liability.
Why Even Bother with an Employee Handbook?
Even though there is no legal requirement that employers have an employee handbook that outlines their policies and procedures, these living documents can be the difference between showing compliance with state and federal law and potentially costly litigation.
An up-to-date employee handbook will help legal counsel defend against potential claims, give managers and supervisors a useful resource to guide day-to-day operations, and set the tone for employee conduct.
“Sometimes employers might underestimate how complicated this process is, not just to create but to maintain, a compliant handbook, particularly in California,” Greene says. “And so, sometimes, because of that complexity, we see a lot of mistakes.”
Pitfalls and Problems: Common Handbook Mistakes
Greene notes that one of the more common mistakes she sees in her work with employers is the use of an outdated handbook or overly generic templates that don’t align with actual company practices.
“We see things that don’t make sense for the workplace, and that can lead to liability and risk,” she says.
Greene points to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) as one example of an area where employers may misstep by assuming that the law applies only to unionized workplaces, which isn’t the case, as it applies to all private employers. Including overly broad or restrictive policies limiting employee discussions about wages or working conditions could be seen as a direct violation of the NLRA.
“We need to be really careful about the way that we word our policies. Now we want to make sure we’re balancing our business interests, but we’re also not having overly broad policies or things that could be interpreted to chill employees’ rights under the NLRA,” Greene says.
Updates and Keeping It Real(istic)
The constantly changing legal landscape — especially in California — means that employers need to carefully review and update their handbooks annually, at a minimum, and throughout the year as laws change.
“One of the biggest things I see when we have an outdated handbook is [that] policies no longer align with the current laws,” Greene says.
She also urges employers to beware of putting specific processes in the handbook that don’t match practice, such as describing a multi-step disciplinary process that managers don’t use. Greene stresses that it’s important to include only policies that are followed in practice.
Once the hurdle of creating an employee handbook is cleared, getting staff to read and retain the information is another battle. Greene says employers should have employees sign an acknowledgment form confirming they have received, read and understood the handbook. Greene also says to consider hosting a handbook-specific meeting or other process to boost engagement with the material.
“[Otherwise,] let’s be real — are they really going to read the handbook? Probably not, right?” Greene says.
Don’t Go It Alone
Perhaps the most important part of developing an employee handbook is not doing it on your own, Greene and Roberts note.
“I would not recommend going it alone. It’s just complex — and we’re in California — you all know how complicated things are here,” Greene says.
She encourages employers to do their research, find what works for them and get a good partner to help them through the process.
CalChamber’s Employee Handbook Creator, which allows employers to build a customized handbook based on their specific needs, and Employee Handbook Creator Plus, an add-on that includes the help of an employment law expert, are available for those who may not know where to start.
“I think there are a lot of great tools out there, and I highly recommend that employers do [their] research, find what’s going to work for you and get a good partner to help you through this process,” Greene says.
