Drafting Employee Handbooks - 2019

Originally presented on June 13, 2019

Employee handbooks are often the most important document defining the relationship between an employer and its employees.  It establishes workplace expectations from the use of personal smartphone, tablets and other devices on the job and for the job, and protection of trade secrets to prohibit conduct like discrimination and harassment.  It defines time off and leave policies, and procedures for discipline and dismissal.  If a handbook is properly planned and drafted, it provides for a stable workplace, reducing the risk of employer liability.  The absence of a handbook can lead to just the opposite – a workplace with ad hoc policies and abounding risk.  This program will provide you with a practical guide to drafting employee handbooks for client workplaces with the goal of limiting employer liability. 

• Drafting essential elements of employee handbooks 
• Ensuring handbooks are not enforceable contracts and are subject to change by employers
• Compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity laws, including the ADA, FMLA and others 
• Prohibition of discrimination, harassment, and other unlawful conduct – including drugs in the workplace 
• Defining workplace policies for personal smartphones, tablets, and other devices 
• Time off, leave of absence, and discipline and dismissal procedures

Speaker: Stefanee Handon, Paul Hastings, LLP, Washington, DC

NOTE: This program was originally produced as a telephone seminar and is available on demand in streaming audio. This material qualifies for self-study credit only. Pursuant to Regulation 15.04.5, a lawyer may receive up to six hours of self-study credit in a reporting year. Self-study programs do not qualify for ethics or elimination of bias credit.