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Spring is a Great Time to Dust Off your Employee Handbook
With winter officially over, employers may start thinking about doing some "spring cleaning." Now might be the perfect time to dust off your employee handbook to ensure it is up to date with any recent developments in employment law.
Reviewing your handbook on a regular basis, at least annually, is a best practice since regulations and workplace trends change frequently. Another reason to revisit your handbook or personnel policies is when your business dynamics change. This could include expanding your employee headcount or hiring across multiple states, including hiring remote employees.
You should always aim to be ahead of the game when it comes to maintaining strong policies and procedures, since outdated policies can leave your organization vulnerable to miscommunication. Here are a few things to think about when reviewing your handbook:
- Do your internal policies and procedures reflect actual practices?
- Does your handbook include names of employees who no longer work for your organization?
- Has your headcount changed, so that you are now subject to certain compliance requirements? Growing to 20, 50, or 100 employees are common milestone markers when it comes to federal and state compliance requirements.
- Are there any local or state-specific policies that need to be added, such as paid sick time, medical marijuana policies, paid family leave, or pregnancy accommodation?
- Do you have policies that expressly prohibit employees from discussing their wages? This is a protected employee activity, and such policies are barred under several labor laws.
- Does your handbook include a clear employment-at-will statement?
- Do you have a robust Prevention Against Harassment Policy? Does your policy include a prohibition against retaliation?
- Does the format of your handbook reflect your company's brand and culture?
- Has it been awhile since you last distributed your handbook to employees?
This is not an all-inclusive list, but rather a good starting point for assessing the state of your handbook. If reviewing your handbook is one of those to-do tasks that you never seem to have the time to get to, we are here to help!
Want to develop an employee handbook for your company? Or revamp one that was created a decade ago? We can get you through it! To learn more about our services, please
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This content is provided with the understanding that HR Knowledge is not rendering legal advice. While every effort is made to provide current information, the law changes regularly and laws may vary depending on the state or municipality. The material is made available for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice or your professional judgment. You should review applicable law in your jurisdiction and consult experienced counsel for legal advice. If you have any questions regarding this content please contact HR Knowledge at 508.339.1300 or email us
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About HR Knowledge, Inc.
Founded in 2001, HR Knowledge, Inc. provides integrated outsourced HR services tailored to our clients' needs. Our full array of offerings includes managed payroll, employee benefits administration, and HR consulting and support services, such as training, compliance, and Hiring Process Managementâ„¢, our comprehensive recruitment service that takes you from finding to onboarding new talent. Our major markets are fast-growing small- and medium-sized businesses, many of which are venture-capital-backed; foreign companies expanding into the states; and charter schools.
Partner with us to reduce your administrative costs, minimize your legal risk, find and develop talent, and alleviate the HR burden so you can focus on your core business.
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