If there’s ever a time to rethink your handbook, it’s now. The timeliness has less to do with the 2024 year — the obvious time to roll out a replacement handbook — and more to do with the wave of changes that recently swept the workplace.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) now has submitted its new Employee Handbook changes that can make Employee Handbooks legally unlawful. The NLRB has the authority to monitor and change employee handbooks for union and non-union workplaces. The NLKRB mandates that employee handbook policies do not prevent employees from discussing with their colleagues issues about workplace issues like pay, benefits, and safety issues, and speaking negatively about the company or supervisors. This legal protection is called “Concerted Activity from Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Federal, State, and Local regulations are in place and regulatory agencies are revving up audit focus for 2023 and beyond. Many state regulations and multi-state regulations are impacting which laws supersede federal regulations.
Workers’ new expectations may clash with employers’ old policies. Policies that ban flexibilities, certain policies as per the National Labor Relations Board, and concerted activity may feel frustratingly out of date. And yet, many organizations punt on handbook refreshes. I think a lot of companies don’t update their employee handbooks as often as they should.
With the shift to hybrid work/Remote work, organizations must set clear expectations around communication, and performance. Managers and associates both play a significant role in making [hybrid work] successful within their teams, and HR teams have an opportunity to provide tools and guidelines to make it even easier.
With 2024 here, now is the time for employers to consider updating their employee handbooks. Handbooks, handed out at orientation and often afterward ignored, are an important compliance tool for employers addressing all employment issues. Handbook policies can be a helpful tool when defending a variety of employment claims, such as wage and hour violations, harassment and discrimination lawsuits, and leave disputes.
An outdated handbook, however, can be a liability, particularly for multistate employers with a widely dispersed workforce. These employers must be attuned to the myriad of different employment laws and must be aware of new developments in any state where any employee is located. These complicated compliance requirements may seem tedious or burdensome, especially in an environment where employers are already struggling with recruiting and hiring, but failure to do so can be costly. However, according to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the National Labor Relations Board’s employee handbook requirements for union and non-union employees, we are more than ever policies that Employers can violate policies that have been changed by the new administration.
An outdated handbook, however, can be a liability, particularly for multistate employers with a widely dispersed workforce. These employers must be attuned to the myriad of different employment laws and must be aware of new developments in any state where any employee is located. These complicated compliance requirements may seem tedious or burdensome, especially in an environment where employers are already struggling with recruiting and hiring, but failure to do so can be costly. However, according to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the National Labor Relations Board’s employee handbook requirements for union and non-union employees, we are more than ever policies that Employers can violate policies that have been changed by the new administration.
Margie Faulk
Margie Faulk is a senior level human resources professional with over 15 years of HR management and compliance experience. A current Compliance Advisor for HR Compliance Solutions, LLC, Margie, has worked as an HR Compliance advisor for major corporations and small businesses in the small, large, private, public and Non-profit sectors. Margie has provided small to large businesses with risk management strategies that protect companies and reduces potential workplace fines and penalties from violation of employment regulations. Margie is bilingual (Spanish) fluent and Bi-cultural.Margie’s area of expertise includes Criminal Background Screening Policies and auditing, I-9 document correction and storage compliance, …
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