Employee Handbooks: Achilles Heel or Hector’s Armor

This book examines employee handbooks, the basic tool of every human resources department. It addresses the legal issues that employers and employees need to know, such as:

• purpose of employee handbooks
  
• reasons for and reasons against having an employee handbook
  
• different handbooks for different geographic work jurisdictions
  
• how to have an employee handbook without creating a contract
  
• updating them – how often, why, how
  
• specific provisions to include or not to include
  
• legal claims that may arise out of employee handbook provisions
  
• NLRB and other government agencies and impact on employee handbooks of regulations/decisions/ opinion letters

Table of Contents

• Introduction
  • Purpose of Employee Handbooks
  • Problems with Handbooks
• Drafting Basics
• Drafting Errors That Are Easily Avoided
  • Using a Generic, Form Handbook
  • Creating an Employment Contract
  • Maintain Compliance with Federal, State and Local Laws
  • Ways to Reduce the Legal Risks
• Policies Typically Included in an Employee Handbook
  • Introduction
  • Personnel Policies and Practices
  • Employee Benefits
• The Final Review
  • Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say
  • Get It in Writing - Make Signed Acknowledgments Part of Your Handbook
• Additional Resources
  • Recent Developments