从第一天开始保护:员工手册的重要性- 2016年2月

by Jeffrey D. Wilson

In my second year of law school, 我的一个同学暑假被一家著名的律师事务所录用了. A few days before her new job was to begin, she sheepishly approached me and asked, “What happens when I start my job?” When I asked what she meant, she replied, “On the first day, what will happen when I get to the office? Will I have a desk? Do they have office supplies? Will someone tell me what I am working on?就在那时，我才意识到，我这位极其聪明、拥有多种学位的朋友除了当过教师助理之外，从来没有做过别的工作, so she had no frame of reference.

我毫不怀疑公司给她提供了一张堆满办公用品的桌子, and most likely, a copy of the employee handbook.

虽然这是一个极端的例子，但许多新员工并不确定公司对他们的期望是什么. Sure, they know they need to be on time and, hopefully, have a general idea of what their duties will be, but every organization has its own internal culture, 需要时间来传达和学习的规则和期望(比如着装和假期政策).

Many of these rules are not just for the employees’ benefit, 但它们也为雇主提供了防止未来诉讼的法律保护. 一些联邦和州法律要求在员工公共区域张贴某些法律信息. Additionally, 雇主可以自愿提供某些通知和政策，这些通知和政策以后可能被用来抵御潜在的法律索赔. By placing all of these rules and policies in a well-drafted, updated and disseminated employee handbook (or manual), 雇主可以向新员工传授重要的信息，同时提供的信息从长远来看可以为公司节省大量的法律费用.

除其他外，每本手册应涉及以下领域:

1. Employment-at-Will Notice. In the recent case of Bahta v. Renaissance Hotel Operating Co., No. 1:15-cv-89, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10685, at *14 (E.D. Va. Jan. 27, 2016), 弗吉尼亚州的一家联邦法院驳回了一名被解雇员工对其前雇主提出的违约索赔，部分原因是雇主的手册中包含申明雇佣关系可以随意终止的语言，而且手册中没有任何内容旨在创建合同.

1. “Equal Employment Opportunity” (EEO) Statement. Every handbook should have, as part of its anti-discrimination policy, 一份平等就业机会声明，确认雇主承诺为所有雇员和求职者提供不分种族的平等就业机会, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. 雇主可以避免对任何歧视性行为负责，如果他们能证明这些行为违背了雇主遵守第七章的善意努力. In EEOC v. U.S. Dry Cleaning Servs. Corp., 24 F. Supp. 3d 782, 791 (S.D. Ind. 2014), 法院表示，拥有书面的平等就业机会政策，肯定雇主对平等就业的承诺，可以作为证明雇主真诚地试图遵守第七章的证据.

1. Sexual Harassment Policy. As with discrimination, 雇主也可能对其主管人员的性骚扰行为负责. However, in situations where no adverse employment action, such as a termination, has been taken against the harassed employee, 如果雇主能够证明(a)它采取了合理的注意措施来防止和及时纠正任何性骚扰行为，则可以避免承担责任, (b)雇员不合理地未能利用雇主提供的任何预防性或纠正性机会，或以其他方式避免伤害. See Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 807, 118 S. Ct. 2275, 2293 (1998). 雇主证明合理谨慎的最佳方式是创造, 传播和执行有效的反骚扰政策和投诉程序. 把这个政策写在你的员工手册里，要求你的新员工阅读, you can protect yourself from day one.

1. “Reservation of Rights”/“Benefits Disclaimer” Clause. 每本手册都应该有一个部分，雇主确认它有权撤销, suspend or amend any policy, benefit, plan or procedure at its own discretion. As the court recently noted in Romstad v. City of Colo. Springs, Civil Action No. 14-cv-3508-CMA-CBS, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105239, at *9 (D. Colo. Aug. 10, 2015), 这种免责声明是证明手册不是雇佣合同的额外证据.

1. “Safe Harbor” Policy. 根据《亚洲博彩平台排名》(FLSA)确定雇员是否获得豁免可能是一项艰巨的任务. 虽然有一些允许的理由“扣”或从免税员工的工资中扣除, 你可以通过不适当的扣减来放弃雇员的豁免. The FLSA, fortunately, 如果雇主有书面政策禁止不当扣款，并为任何相关不满提供投诉机制，则允许雇主提供“安全港”. Of course, 雇主也必须作出真诚的努力来维护该政策，并退还任何不适当的扣款.

然而，所有雇主应认为上述政策及通知是强制性的, 还有许多其他的内容应该写在每本手册中，比如那些涉及出勤的内容, dress, discipline, substance abuse and even nursing mothers. How an employer approaches many of these issues, such as vacation and social media use, 可能和每个组织的文化一样不同和独特. 通过创建一个全面的员工手册(并定期更新), 雇主可以管理员工的期望，同时采取积极的措施来保护自己免受未来昂贵的诉讼.

如果你对员工手册政策有任何疑问或担忧, contact attorney Jeff Wilson at Pender & Coward: (757) 502-7341 or jwilson@hataselektrik.com.