The centerpiece of an employer defenses against litigation, claims, charges, and union drives is an effective employee handbook. The handbook must be custom-drafted to meet the objectives of each business, address legal requirements, and prevent hearing officers and judges from superimposing their own opinions on your business and how it should be run. Tom has drafted over 250 employee handbooks in many industries, and has found November and December to be ideal for employers to create employee handbooks- especially since we would now want to have yours effective on 1/1/11- now there’s a date to shoot for!

Please review the following proposal of professonal service and contact Tom today:   

Employee Handbook Proposal 

A properly drafted employee handbook is critical to your organization:

1. Legal protection against costly lawsuits, discrimination claims, and litigation.
2. Discourages plaintiffs, reduces the cost of employment-related lawsuits.
3. Communicates effective human resources policy: saving you management time and making sure your employees know your work rules and policies.
4. A contract with employees- making a unions less attractive during union drives.
5. An arbitration clause within your employee handbook can keep you out of court.

Why should you call me to either draft a new handbook, or to revise an old one:

• Identity Theft: Effective immediately, your handbook must be in compliance with Michigan’s Social Security Number Privacy Act.

• Sexual Harassment: Recent cases establish employer liability for sexual harassment by co-workers.

• Arbitration: Reduce your statutory liability for lawsuits from years to only a few weeks. But, do not attempt to pass along arbitration costs to an employee.

• Workplace Violence: Employers must have zero tolerance policies against threats, bullying, and physical confrontations. Failure to address workplace violence may be a serious MIOSHA/OSHA safety violation.

• Union Organizing Campaigns: Your employee handbook addresses, pay, benefits, job security, and other key items promised by labor unions.

• Electronic Mail, the Internet, and Computers: Employees are generally protected under the 4^th Amendment from employer intrusion into their work computers and electronic data unless employers draft a written policy allowing employer intrusion, monitoring, and inspection.   

To get started on your new employee handbook: please send me your company’s employment policies, work rules, posted memorandums, and letters to your employees. 

If you already have one, please send me your existing handbook, ideally in “Word” to: tomfredericks@cablespeed.com

Please call me at (517) 655-4100 with your questions.