The Importance Of Having An Employee Handbook And Well Written Company Policies

[The following article was written by Louis P. DiLorenzo, Esquire]

I have strongly suggested, many times, that employers should have a published employee handbook that includes complete and well written company policies - for several reasons. One reason is, in non-union settings, employers may write firm and fair employment policies that not only explain the expectations for the workforce, but can help avoid liability for employer actions. A recent case in New York County Supreme Court provides a good example.

In Scott v. Beth Israel Medical Center, a doctor-employee had a lawsuit against the hospital for severance. He regularly communicated with his attorneys about the lawsuit via the employer's email system. The employer had an email policy in place which stated that computer and other electronic systems were the employer's, and the employee had no personal privacy right in the material on the system. The employer also reserved the right to "access and disclose the material at any time, without notice."

The Court relied on a three part test in determining that the attorney-client privilege was waived:

1. The employer has a policy which prohibits personal use,
2. The employer can monitor the employee's computer or email, and
3. The employer notified the employee, or the employee was aware of the use and monitoring policy.

Here, the court found that since newly hired doctors under the employer's supervision must acknowledge the handbook in writing, he had sufficient knowledge.

Lessons learned:

• Have an employee handbook.
• Make sure company policies are accurate and up-to-date, and properly provide and protect management rights.
• Employees, once litigation commences, regularly claim they have never received or seen a handbook or policies. Make sure you can prove employees have received an employee handbook, the company policies it contains and any revisions. A written acknowledgment is best.

[Mr. DiLorenzo is Co-Chair of the Labor and Employment Law Department of Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC and maintains offices in Syracuse, NY, and New York City.]

Comments

[Betty Jo Kress]

We have what we call "lunch n learns", in some cases the employees need to drive about 15 miles to attend, they are not required to attend it is simply by choice however they are encuraged to attend to show support for their organization. The excempt employees are reimbused for their milage, the non-excempt employees are told that if they go it is an unpaid lunch and they dont get reimbused for milage, is their any laws on this out there for us to refer to and try to determine the best practice for our employees, we have allot of questions as to the fairness of this.