February 2024 Volume 6

OPERATIONS & MANAGEMENT

5. Do I need to update my handbook? A handbook is a useful tool, but it can be overly cumbersome to review, update, etc. But a lot has changed and continues to, in terms of employee-related requirements and guidance. Also, if you have grown in size, you may have additional requirements you need to or want to include (e.g., FMLA). One area which seems to have a lot of change at the state level is employee leave. We are seeing more states require some kind of paid leave (generally sick leave but Illinois has a new law providing employees with paid leave for any reason). Many states also are providing a type of insurance program to provide for income continuation for employees on leave – funded through payroll deductions. If you provide paid leave to employees, how does it work with all these requirements and new programs? Many laws allow for a paid leave program to meet the requirements – provided that it gives employees with all the benefits they are entitled to under the law. And that’s not always just time. It can be notice as well, e.g., an employee can be required to get pre-approval for vacation time off, but state sick leave laws allow an employee to take leave without pre-approval.

Of course, all this is not legal advice but just general information. Your answers will depend on where you do business and your kind of business. And, if you’re in multiple states, you likely will have multiple different requirements to address. Johanna Fabrizio Parker Partner, Labor & Employment Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP Phone: 216-363-4585 Email: JParker@beneschlaw.com

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