Employee Handbook Sections to Overhaul in 2023

Intro: [00:00:01] Broadcasting from the studios of Business RadioX, it’s time for Advisory Insights. Brought to you by Oberman Law Firm, serving clients nationwide with tailored service and exceptional results. Now, here’s your host.

Stuart Oberman: [00:00:20] Hello everyone, and welcome to Advisory Insights. Stuart Oberman here as your host. All right, folks, it’s 2023. HR is in the house. Now is the time. I want to go over a couple of things. Today’s topic, Employee Handbook Sections to Overhaul in 2023.

Stuart Oberman: [00:00:40] We have some clients that have not overhauled their employee manuals for ten years. Now, it’s time to rethink the entire process, especially in today’s world, in today’s economy. Look, what’s happening is we have the workers of today. The new workers are clashing with the old employer policies and procedures. And what’s happening is that the employers are losing.

Stuart Oberman: [00:01:05] So, I want to run through a couple of things that seem to be sticking out as sort of a poke in the ribs, if you will, as to where things are going and what needs to be looked at and changed.

Stuart Oberman: [00:01:17] Number one, I know a lot of our clients have very, very strict appearance rules. So, if you have a particular rule or policy that you are wanting to enforce, folks, you’ve got to get it in writing. And another thing you got to take a look at in today’s world is the new reality as far as appearance goes.

Stuart Oberman: [00:01:43] One particular thing I want to bring up is you have to look at legislation and where things are at today. So, let me give you an example.

Stuart Oberman: [00:01:50] The Crown Act, for example, bans race-based hair discrimination in the workplace. So, the CROWN Act or similar legislation has been enacted – get this – 19 states. And a bill is currently pending before Congress. Who knows what will happen as far as Federal legislation goes? And it’s set at the Senate level to regulate hair and appearance. So, you better jump on the bandwagon now. Adjust things that you need to adjust knowing what we know as far as hair discrimination. The next thing you know, we’re going to work on tattoos and everything else.

Stuart Oberman: [00:02:31] So, look, at the end of the day, what people do with their bodies is up to them. If you’re going to have a policy and procedure, be ready for some pushback on it, be ready to explain why you need it, and be ready to review federal and state law as it comes down the pike.

Stuart Oberman: [00:02:47] Let’s take a look at number two, the work arrangements. Folks, we’re in a different world. We’re in a hybrid workplace. Our communications have changed. Our performance has changed. Everything about what we do on the work side has changed. So, what does that mean? That means your HR teams have to provide opportunity, tools, guidelines, and make it easier. Do you have a remote policy? Do you have a nondisclosure policy? Are your employees working with sensitive data along with the same computer that they’re using for their kid’s recreation facility and baseball teams? So, you’ve got to look at all these things.

Stuart Oberman: [00:03:28] Now, another area – huge – technology. So, policies have to outline technology and how a company’s handbook should be remote workplace. Does your technology require multifactor authentication for employees to use their own devices? Your data, your confidential data that could literally sink you as a company is now on your employees cellphones. What do you do if the cellphone is lost? What do you do if the cellphone is hacked? What do you do if data is lost? What is the policy and procedure for that? Does your company provide the cellphones? Does your employer or employee have an automatic shutdown and wipe out on their cellphones if you lose it?

Stuart Oberman: [00:04:25] So, I think you’ve got to address safety and technology concerns along with security now as the technology grows and as the workplace becomes blended between work, play, and family.

Stuart Oberman: [00:04:41] One of the things we’re looking at now is sick leave. And there’s a lot of discussion regarding this. States now are mandating certain leave policies. Certain companies are now being subject to jurisdictional issues that they never thought they would be before. The localities are now handling sick leaves. So, you really have got to take a look at where your states are, what’s on a local basis, what’s the trends.

Stuart Oberman: [00:05:11] You know, if you’re in Georgia or if you’re in North Carolina or if you’re in Massachusetts, what’s coming down the pike as far as from Cleveland, Ohio, or from California, or from Texas, where are these things coming from? Because everything trends and you’ve got to know the trends.

Stuart Oberman: [00:05:31] Next one – I’ve talked about this over and over and over again – marijuana use and testing. So, the law hasn’t changed. Marijuana is still illegal on the federal law. But what’s happening is, is that the states are adding protection for workers use of marijuana. Folks, I can’t make this up.

Stuart Oberman: [00:05:53] So, example in California, for instance, employers cannot discriminate against employees for legal marijuana use outside of work. Now, what do you do if on the way to work, an employee is toking on the way to work and they’re not a health safety welfare hazard to other employees? How do you address that? You know, they’re inebriated, but they’re in no danger to other employees.

Stuart Oberman: [00:06:25] So, you’ve got to understand what the trends are. So, you’ve got to get out in front of this. You’ve got to have descriptions as to what’s acceptable, what’s not acceptable. You’ve got to have safety concerns. The use of marijuana is not a carte blanche on the workplace. There are restrictions. There are protocols that employers can follow. And we have to get ahead of this, because I always say what happens in the West comes East. It’s just a matter of what direction it comes.

Stuart Oberman: [00:06:59] So, again, these are a couple of things that we want to take a look at. We’ve got communication issues. We’ve got technology issues. We’ve got employee handbook issues. We have appearance issues, work arrangements. We have remote responsibilities now that employers have to really be aware of. So, I don’t think any of this is earth shattering. There’s been a lot of commentary on these issues.

Stuart Oberman: [00:07:25] But, again, we keep seeing the same problems over and over and over, which is in summary, (1) employers are not addressing appearance; (2) employers are not revising the work arrangement, policies, procedures; (3) employers are not getting ahead of technology; (4) employers are not modifying their sick leave; and (5) marijuana usage, employers are not adjusting what they need to do.

Stuart Oberman: [00:08:00] Folks, there’s a lot of things that really, really we need to look out for 2023. We’re going to have some more discussion on this. If you have any questions, please let me know, Stuart Oberman, Oberman Law Firm, stuart, S-T-U-A-R-T, @obermanlaw.com, phone number 404-630 – excuse me – 770-886-2400. Again, 770-886-2400. Please stay tuned for other issues of Advisory Insights. Have a fantastic day.

Outro: [00:08:36] Thank you for joining us on Advisory Insights. This show is brought to you by Oberman Law Firm, a business-centric law firm representing local, regional, and national clients in a wide range of practice areas, including health care, mergers and acquisitions, corporate transactions, and regulatory compliance.