Associate Handbook
This is a prototype handbook. If you choose to use the prototype, there are a few very important considerations:
• The term "Associate" is the term we formally use for our employees. The more typical reference is, of course, "employee".
• Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does not apply to a business unless you have 50 or more employees.
• COBRA applies for any business with 20 or more employees and, or course, only in circumstances where health care benefits are provided by the employer.
• In one of the first paragraphs of the Handbook, reference is made to being an "At Will" state, in which case, termination of an employee can be pretty much "at the will of the employer". You will need to ensure your state is an "at will" state before using this language.
• The benefit information covered is a "model" of benefits based upon what is made available to our associates. if you provide benefits, you will obviously want to adapt the language.
• Whatever language or concepts you choose to integrate for our Handbook into your employee materials needs to be run by someone knowledgeable of your State Laws/Regulations including Unemployment Regulations and general practices. We typically run our new and revised policies past our HR attorney to ensure we are legally compliant in our state and in any state where our associates live and work.
|