Is Your Employee Handbook Up to Date?

If it’s been a while since you updated your employee handbook, chances are you’re missing some changes in legislation that could leave your company open to legal trouble. In addition to changes to federal laws, states often adopt their own regulations that govern employee benefits, which makes it even more difficult for employers to stay current. The best way to know if your employee policies and procedures are current is to seek counsel from a legal professional. Here few of the areas where you need to pay attention, according to an article by PROXUS, a leader in HR, payroll and benefits solutions.

Overtime Rules May Change
While they’ve not decided on the final rule, the Department of Labor has proposed a rule making more workers eligible for overtime pay. It’s too early to tell exactly how you need to change your employee handbook to accommodate the new law, but now is a good time to review your overtime policy and to clarify what is considered approved overtime work. Take into consideration overtime your employees do at work as well as any work they do at home, which may still be considered payable hours.

Reconsider Confidentiality Statements
You don’t want your employees sharing confidential information, but the language that spells out those rules shouldn’t be so broad that it restricts employees talking about their pay, benefits or working conditions. In recent years, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has defended employees’ free speech in discussing their working conditions, especially when it comes to collective bargaining. According to an article on the Society for Human Resource Management’s website, statements about confidentiality should be concise, original and carefully worded so as to avoid any potential minefields that violate protections under the National Labor Relations Act.

Get a Social Media Policy
Chances are you already have rules about when employees can and cannot use social media when on the job. If you don’t, you need to spell out carefully how employees can use social media, separating personal from business use. Also realize that when they’re using it for personal use (as long as it’s not on the job), any comments they post about work may be protected under the National Labor Relations Board, as discussed above.

Make Accommodations for Pregnancy
Some states already have laws requiring employers to accommodate pregnant workers. In some instances, complications arising from a pregnancy qualify as a disability and are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Nursing Mothers Provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act also requires employers to accommodate nursing mothers with a reasonable break time. Review your store’s policy to check that it provides these accommodations, and be sure you are aware of all of the other types of conditions – such as religious beliefs and physical and mental conditions – that may qualify for a special accommodation.

To read more about what you should be including in your employee handbook, read these two articles: “Is Your Employee Handbook Ready for 2016?” and “Top 10 Employee Handbook Updates for 2016” .