Written policies aid employers

[Harold F. Schiffman]

Written policies aid employers
Published: Sunday, January 29, 2006

Every year, the state Bureau of Labor and Industries gets hundreds of
calls from employers who want to know what the "law" is on a myriad of
employment issues. In many cases, we tell them that there is no law and
that it's up to them to decide what to do. Surprisingly enough, employers
are often frustrated to hear this, as if they would be better off if the
law dictated how they should proceed in every different situation. But
more often than not, they don't resent the lack of law, as much as they
are frustrated by not having a policy in place that addresses the issue.

There is, of course, no requirement that employers have written policies.
But if an employee filed a discrimination complaint, one of the first
questions that the bureau would ask is: "The employee says you took this
action because of her race, color, gender, age, etc. You are saying that
this is how you treat all employees, regardless of their protected class.
Do you have a policy that states that?" If there is no policy, the
employer's past actions effectively become the policy, because there is
simply no other information for the investigator or jury to draw upon.

In addition to being helpful as a legal defense, workplace policies are a
great way to save both parties time, confusion and frustration. Take the
time to draft workplace policies and have your attorney approve them. You
can distribute the policies to your employees and provide training
regarding their contents. You don't have to have a policy on every little
thing that might happen.  You wouldn't have time to do anything else! And
once you put together a policy, you don't have to make a lifetime
commitment to it. You can always change it or add to it, as long as you
include language in the policy that expressly reserves your right to do
so.

But the most important thing is to get started. It might help to jot down
the 10 or 15 most important things that you want your employees to know
about their workplace. Some examples you might use include: How do you
handle breaks and meal periods? How should employees request paid time
off? What should an employee do if he believes he is being harassed? What
happens when paydays fall on holidays or weekends? How is overtime earned?
How should an employee communicate that they are sick or otherwise unable
to come to work that day? What is the company dress code? What should
employees do if they see an unsafe condition or if they themselves get
hurt on the job? Once you establish the broad picture, it will be easier
to start filling in the details.

You might consider creating a policy-writing committee consisting of both
employees and supervisors. Committee members could discuss important
workplace issues and how they might be expressed in a policy. Not only can
the committee help get things moving, but committee members also may gain
valuable insights as to how others view some controversial issues. But a
word of caution here: You should make it very clear to the committee that
they are only recommending policies and not deciding them. It may be that
what sounds good to a committee is unrealistic or even illegal.


On The Job is written by the staff of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and
Industries, (503) 731-4200.

http://www.registerguard.com/news/2006/01/29/printable/f2.bz.boli.0129.B74w4cX2.phtml?section=business