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July 1, 2011

Writing an Employee Handbook Your Employees Will Read, and Heed, Part 2

By D. Albert Brannen

In Part 1 of this article we looked at some of the important points to keep in mind when writing an employee handbook. This concluding section covers 10 of the most important policies that should be included.

No Discrimination, Harassment, or Retaliation

With harassment verdicts against employers routinely running into millions of dollars, employers need written policies prohibiting all types of workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Such policies should, at a minimum: cover all applicable protected classifications, such as race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and same sex), religion, age, disability, and other categories, including categories that may be protected by state or local laws or regulations; contain specific examples of prohibited conduct; explain the consequences of policy violations; outline a specific reporting procedure; include a "bypass" reporting procedure; and prohibit retaliation against those who report violations.

Problem-Solving or Grievance Procedures

An effective problem-solving procedure can help to avoid liability for discrimination, harassment, retaliation, safety complaints, and union activity, as well as improve employee morale. Such policies should include a step-by-step procedure for addressing employee concerns. Employees should follow the "chain of command," of course, but they should also have access to a "bypass" procedure for reporting concerns if for some reason they cannot follow the standard procedures. In recent years, the best advice has been to establish a "special" direct procedure for claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation outside of the normal chain of command.