In yesterday's Advisor, Jacuzzi laid out pitfalls in employee handbook writing, and the challenges handbooks and at-will statements may face. Jacuzzi is a shareholder in law firm Simpson, Garrity, Innes & Jacuzzi, P.C. in South San Francisco, California. His comments came at BLR's recent National Employment Law Update in Las Vegas.

Here is Jacuzzi's handbook checklist:

Introductory Statements

___ Statement welcoming employees
___ Statement of employer's right to amend handbook and benefits
___ Employees covered by handbook
___ History of the organization
___ Discussion of products and services
___ Company philosophy

Recruiting and Hiring       

___ Equal employment opportunity commitment
___ Affirmative action (ONLY where applicable)
___ Prohibition against discrimination
___ Hiring and employment of relatives/persons with relationships with employees
___ Posting policies
___ Promotions, transfers, reassignments

Organization and Structure

___ Locations
___ Organizational Hierarchy — org chart
___ Personnel/HR department

Training and Orientation

___ Application and Interview process
___ Hiring and selection process
___ Introductory period (do not say probationary period)
___ Pre-employment post offer examinations
___ Pre-employment post offer alcohol/drug screen
___ Injury and illness prevention
___ Trade secrets and confidential Information
___ Job description
___ Eligibility to work in the U.S.

Employee Classifications—Categories of Employment

___ Regular
___ Full-time
___ Part-time
___ Temporary
___ Seasonal
___ Per-Diem
___ On-Call (stand-by)
___ Exempt
___ Non-Exempt

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Compensation, Meal Periods and Rest Periods

___ Wages and salaries
___ Paydays
___ Place of wage payments
___ Pay period
___ Business Hours
___ Work Schedule                           
___ Overtime                       
___ Definition of workweek
___ Alternative work weeks
___ Make-up time
___ Rest periods
___ Meal periods
___ Meal period waiver — on duty meal period
___ Other wages (tips, meal or lodging credits, gratuities)

Benefits

___ Introduction to benefits section
___ Disclaimer addressing conflicts between brief handbook
summaries and official plan documents
___ General description of benefits for eligible employees
___ Vacation
___ Holiday
___ Sick
___ Paid Time Off
___ Health Insurance
___ Dental
___ Optical
___ COBRA continuation coverage
___ Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
___ Accident and disability benefits
___ Life Insurance
___ Pension, profit sharing (401k, ESOP, etc.)
___ Cafeteria plan benefits under IRS Code §125
___ Deferred compensation plans
___ Stock options
___ Employee discounts
___ Education assistance

Other Leaves of Absence

___ Other medical (FML or not)
___ Pregnancy related disabilities
___ Work related disabilities
___ Family care*
___ Drug and/or alcohol rehabilitation
___ Other personal leave
___ Education
___ Military
___ Family military leave*
___ Bereavement
___ Jury duty
___ Volunteer firefighter*
___ Literacy education*
___ Time off for Voting*
___ Time off for parents to visit child's school *
___ Time off for parent to participate in school or day care activities*
___ Time off to appear as witness*
___ Time off for domestic violence victims*

*State specific Leave rights — make sure you know your state's rights (or states' if multi-state employers).

Standards of Performance

___ Performance expectations
___ Examples of unacceptable conduct or behavior
___ Examples of type of discipline
___ Absenteeism
___ Dress or appearance requirements
___ Rules regarding solicitation and distribution
___ Firearms and weapons
___ Communication skills (including languages)
___ Outside employment
___ Confidential information/trade secrets
___ Employee expectation of privacy
___ Inspection of desk, lockers, tool boxes, etc.
___ Smoking rules                    

Dispute Resolution Policies

___ Open door policy

Time Cards — Timekeeping

___ Use of time-clocks
___ "Punching in" practice
___ Correction of mistake in notations or punches
___ Timecards are employer's property
___ Unauthorized destruction, use or removal of cards
___ Falsification of information on time cards
___ Punching or recording on another employee's card
___ Recording meal periods
___ Shifts

Termination Procedures

___ Advance notice resignation
___ Notice of Involuntary termination
___ Severance or other exit benefits
___ Return of company property  
___ COBRA continuation coverage — Update for ARRA
___ Final paycheck
___ References — letters of reference or recommendation

Safety

___ IIPP
___ Commitment to safety statement
___ Disaster plan
___ Fire prevention
___ Reporting unsafe conditions
___ Emergency medical treatment
___ Good housekeeping
___ General security — locking doors, etc.
___ Saving energy

Personnel Records

___ Contents
___ Property of employer
___ Confidentiality of medical records
___ Inspection of personnel file
___ Copy of personnel file
___ Copy of payroll records

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Drug/Alcohol Policies

___ Separate policy

Miscellaneous Policies and Provisions

___ Lockers
___ Supplies
___ Conference rooms
___ Business cards, stationery
___ Suggestion boxes
___ Duplicating services
___ Communications with the press or media
___ Newsletters or Intra-Net
___ Parking
___ Concluding statements

Employee Acknowledgment

Be sure employees acknowledge receipt of the handbook.

Handbook revisions—critical, but where's the time? And, of course, dealing with handbooks is just one of what, a couple of dozen recurring challenges you face? What about FMLA intermittent leave, overtime, ADA accommodation, and sexual harassment, to name just a few?

You need a go-to resource, and our editors recommend the "everything-HR-in-one website," HR.BLR.com. As an example of what you will find, here are some policy recommendations concerning e-mail, excerpted from a sample policy on the website:

Privacy. The director of information services can override any individual password and thus has access to all e-mail messages in order to ensure compliance with company policy. This means that employees do not have an expectation of privacy in their company e-mail or any other information stored or accessed on company computers.

E-mail review. All e-mail is subject to review by management. Your use of the e-mail system grants consent to the review of any of the messages to or from you in the system in printed form or in any other medium.

Solicitation. In line with our general nonsolicitation policy, e-mail must not be used to solicit for outside business ventures, personal parties, social meetings, charities, membership in any organization, political causes, religious causes, or other matters not connected to the company's business.

We should point out that this is just one of hundreds of sample policies on the site. (You'll also find analysis of laws and issues, job descriptions, and complete training materials for hundreds of HR topics.)

You can examine the entire HR.BLR.com program free of any cost or commitment. It's quite remarkable—30 years of accumulated HR knowledge, tools, and skills gathered in one place and accessible at the click of a mouse.

What's more, we'll supply a free downloadable copy of our special report, Critical HR Recordkeeping—From Hiring to Termination, just for looking at HR.BLR.com. If you'd like to try it at absolutely no cost or obligation to continue (and get the special report, no matter what you decide), go here.

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