https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WypCb–bsyE&feature=youtu.be
Legally defensible, consistently followed employment policies can be a crucial risk management tool. On the other hand, however, non-compliant or impractical policies can do more harm than good. For multi-state employers, full legal compliance can be a challenge considering the multiple sources of employment law. Of equal importance, multi-state employers often face the practical challenge of maintaining a consistent corporate culture that is reflected in their employee policies.
As your risk management partner, we offer you the following three tips to update your employee handbook to avoid hidden areas of risk for employers operating in multiple states.
Your handbook should be a communications hub for your streamlined procedures and values. For your employee handbook to both reflect your values and manage legal risk, start with a focus on streamlined procedures for the main areas of legal risk. Although there may be specific details to share on an office-by-office basis, consider leveraging employee policy to communicate a consistent message of committed compliance in the following areas:
- Discrimination and harassment reporting
- Disability accommodations requests
- Wage and hour accuracy and reporting
Tip #1: Develop a consistent set of procedures that streamline the most relevant areas of liability.
Under wage and hour law, employers must exercise reasonable diligence to compensate employees for all hours worked (during and after regular business hours). To guard against unwanted after-hours work, employers may adopt a policy that does the following two things: (1) Prohibits off the clock work, and (2) requires a supervisor’s pre-authorization for all after-hours work.
By their own reports, many teleworking employees habitually check work emails and texts throughout the evening. For maximum effectiveness, your telework policy should clarify that after-hours emails and texts are still “work” and may only be done with a supervisor’s authorization.
Tip #2: Carefully scrutinize and understand the state and local laws relevant to each office.
Prohibiting off the clock work is not enough. By establishing a reporting process for employees to report uncompensated work time, employers may meet their obligation to exercise due diligence to compensate all hours worked. An effective reporting procedure should require employees to report all uncompensated time, including instances where a supervisor asked an employee to work off the clock, and protect employees from retaliation based on their reports of uncompensated time.
Tip #3: Review your reasonable accommodations policy for compliance with local law.
With both management and staff working from home, it may seem more natural for managers to call or email employees after hours. As your organization’s first line of defense, management should understand that discussions about projects or clients must be done either during the workday or, if done after hours, will result in compensable work time.
BONUS TIP: Use handbook supplements or offer letters to distribute legally compliant policies to offices multiple states and localities.
To effectively telework, employees may incur expenses, such as costs for increasing their internet bandwidth or purchasing updated technology. Notwithstanding state law (such as California’s expense reimbursement law), federal law does not explicitly require the reimbursement of expenses. If, however, employees’ expenses reduce their compensation below minimum wage, employees may have a claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act that could result in class-wide exposure for the employer. To minimize legal risk, employers may adopt a policy to reimburse certain approved expenses.
If you have any questions about the above, please contact Hall Benefits Law. We would love to hear from you, and the HBL team looks forward to serving as your risk management partner!
Hall Benefits Law, LLC
