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Employee Handbooks

If you are thinking of starting a business, you should have an Employee Handbook. Reviewing the handbook should be one of the first things you do with an new hire. The handbook sets the tone of the employer-employee relationship.

If you own a business and currently do not have an Employee Handbook, our attorneys can help draft a custom one that is tailored to your business’ needs. A well- drafted Employee Handbook can help your business run smoothly on a daily basis, can help your business avoid costly mistakes and oversight, and can limit your liability in any future litigation.

Why are Employee Handbooks important? An Employee Handbook essentially communicates the rules of employment with your employees. It tells employees (and employers) what the rules are; what is required of them; what is acceptable; and how issues will be handled. It keeps everyone accountable, and it gives you (the employer) the power (and the justification) when making tough decisions.

Most Employee Handbooks provide the following: an introduction to the company, information regarding work schedules and rest and meal breaks, rules regarding the use of company technology, rules regarding safety in the workplace, information regarding performance reviews, information on disciplinary actions and termination, and how and when any benefits offered to the employees. You should apply all the rules in your Employee Handbook should be applied consistently to all employees so that your employees do not accuse you of unfair treatment, favoritism, or discrimination.

If you have already distributed an Employee Handbook to your employees, our attorneys can help you determine if your Employee Handbook adequately covers your business’ interests and needs. The issues that are of utmost importance to a restaurant owner will be different from the issues that concern the owner of a construction company. However, many of the wage and hour issues will be the same. Our attorneys can help you identify issues specific to your business that may have a negative impact on your success. Most importantly, our attorneys can make sure your Employee Handbook complies with all local ordinances and state/federal laws.

Our number one goal is to safeguard your business. Let us help.

Mandatory Employee Training

At the Bailey Law Corporation, we know that your may not have the time, the energy, or even the desire to ensure that your employees are receiving all mandatory training. Our attorneys can help you satisfy all your employee training obligations under California Law by providing training specially tailored to your business’ needs. Not only will we inform you of any training obligations you may have, but we can also help you conduct the training as well as be available to answer any questions your employees or supervisors may have. It is important to not only provide the mandatory training, but you should also provide mandatory training that has your business in mind and maximizes your potential for success. A well-trained staff can help prevent costly mistakes and save your business thousands in future liability.

California currently has several laws that make certain employee training mandatory.

• Sexual Harassment Prevention Training: Employers with 5 or more employees must provide sexual harassment and abusive conduct prevention training to all employees (even nonsupervisory employees) every two years. Supervisors are required to have at least 2 hours of sexual harassment training, and nonsupervisory employees must have at least 1 hour of training. This training is also required for all temporary or seasonal employees as well. The training should educate employees on examples of harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.

• Talent Agencies Must Provide Sexual Harassment Training and Educational Materials: All talent agencies must provide training and educational materials discussing sexual harassment prevention, retaliation, reporting resources, nutrition and eating disorders to adults artists. The training and educational materials discussing sexual harassment prevention, retaliation, and reporting should cover all of the content found the Department of Fair Employment and Housing’s Form 185. In addition, the training and educational material discussing nutrition and eating disorders should include the content specified on the National Institute of Health’s Eating Disorder’s webpage. There are similar requirements for children artists as well.

• Hotel and Motel Operators Must Provide Training on Human Trafficking Awareness: Hotel and motel operators must provide interactive training and education regarding human trafficking awareness to the employees who are likely to interact or come into contact with victims of human trafficking. For example, “an employee who has recurring interactions with the public, including, but not limited to, an employee who works in a reception area, performs housekeeping duties, helps customers in moving their possessions, or drives customers.” In addition, this training and education is mandatory for the duration of the employee’s employment. Thus, the first interactive training and education should be completed within six months of employment and all subsequent training and education must occur every two years thereafter.

Anti-Harassment Policy

California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the workplace. As such, all employers are obligated to “take reasonable steps to prevent and correct all harassing, discriminatory, and retaliatory behavior in the workplace. In order for you (as the employer) to comply, you must create a harassment, discrimination, and retaliation prevention policy that includes a complaint procedure, and (most importantly) this should be distributed to all of your employees. This policy should be in writing and discussed with employees on a regular basis (i.e. every six months). The policy should list all current protected categories under FEHA, create a complaint process, provide a complaint mechanism that doesn’t require an employee to complaint directly to his or her immediate supervisor, instruct supervisors to report any complaints,

In addition, all of your managers should receive their mandated two-hour training and be well-versed in this policy so that they may act as role models of appropriate workplace behavior.

Although all managers should be very familiar with the policy, any employees designated as complaint handlers should be familiar with the anti-harassment policy and also receive specialized training in how to conduct prompt, thorough, and fair investigations of complaints. During the course of investigations, the complaint handler needs to be impartial, fair, and not make any legal conclusions.

If you have an anti-harassment policy, our attorneys can review it to ensure that it sufficiently protects your company’s interests and adequately informs your employees as to what is appropriate workplace behavior. If you do not have such a policy, our attorneys can help you create one for your specific business.

Handling Complaints

All complaints should be handled fairly, consistently, throughly, and quickly. The complaint handler, who is usually an employee, should begin investigations by conducting in-person interviews, whenever possible, first with the complaining party and then with the accused party so that the accused has a chance to respond. It is good practice to only reveal the allegations made against the accused party during his or her interview- not before.

In addition, there may be relevant witnesses (who are not the complaining party or the accused party) and documents to reviewed by the complaint handler. Sometimes, the complaint handler will need to visit work sites, videotapes, or take pictures during the course of his investigation. The key here is to be thorough and take all complaints seriously.

Most times, you (as the employer) can only promise limited confidentiality, i.e. information will be revealed only on a “need to know” basis. Complete confidentiality is sometimes not possible and, often times, not practical. Sometimes, employers and managers may have some concerns about sharing sensitive information even on a “need to know basis.”

It is important to remember that prompt investigation benefits you (the employer). Acting quickly can stop the bad behavior, lets employees know that you take the complaints seriously, helps to ensure you can get your hands on the evidence you will need (i.e. emails, videos, witness accounts), and nips an issue in the bud so that it does not spiral out of control.

Many times, missteps or honest mistakes during investigation may lead employees to immediately file suit for harassment, discrimination, or retaliation. You are not alone. Our attorneys have helped many clients through some tricky investigations and guided employers and employees to a fast and quick resolution.

It is important to remember that a thorough well-conducted investigation can put many complaints to rest, can preserve relationships, and can prevent employees from pursuing litigation against employers. Our attorneys are experienced in guiding employers and their managers through contentious investigations.