Faulty Employee Handbooks: Your Biggest Liability

If you were to ask yourself how often you review and update your company handbook, what would you say? You probably would have a hard time remembering when the last revisions were made, if ever. Employee handbooks are your first line of defense against the myriad of potential employment-related lawsuits your company faces. Your employee handbook is more than a document that you give to employees on their first day of employment and then simply collects dust on a bookshelf. It’s your first line of protection against employee complaints. But a poorly drafted one - containing lawsuit-provoking buzzwords, confusing language or other unnecessary verbiage that limits your flexibility can cause your company many costly headaches.

Think of the handbook as a living document. The work world isn’t static; it changes, rapidly. Laws change. Your company changes. Your policies change. So why are you using the same handbook that was written five years ago? The increasing number of legal changes will make the policies in many existing, outdated handbooks insufficient if not illegal. A well written employee handbook will manage employee expectations, reducing confusion about applicable policies. It will also provide a defense against lawsuits provoked by employees who claim they didn't know about reporting procedures, or that the company had inadequate procedures. Learn the mistakes companies make in drafting handbooks - and how to correct them.

This 60-minute audio presentation will cover such pertinent information as:

• Learn why every company should have a handbook and keep it current
• "must-have" provisions in your handbook
• Avoid common mistakes in drafting and updating
• Review "new" items to consider adding at the next update
• Understand why handbooks are so important.

Presenter By:

Christine T. Cossler has represented private and public sector employers in litigating a wide range of employment-related matters, including defending companies against discrimination, harassment and wrongful discharge allegations, breach of contract, promissory estoppel and breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing actions, ERISA claims, non-compete and non-disclosure issues and various tort causes of action including intentional tort claims. Similarly, she has defended clients' interests at administrative proceedings before the State Employment Relations Board, the Unemployment Compensation Review Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. Building off of this experience, Christine regularly counsels both public and private sector clients on employment-related matters, including litigation risk management, and provides training in a variety of areas, including harassment prevention, employee privacy and technology concerns in the workplace.

Length: 60 minutes