Required Employee Handbook Policies by State and Municipality

Author: Brightmine Editorial Team

There is no law that requires an employer to have an employee handbook. However, if an employer chooses to create an employee handbook, certain federal, state or local laws may require that policies or notices appear in their employee handbook. These policies cover various topics, such as employee leaves, sexual harassment, and accommodations.

The following chart provides a brief overview of the policies that covered employers are required to include in a handbook, if they have one. It also includes policies where the underlying law requires employers to provide certain information to their employees and indicates that the requirement can be fulfilled by including this information in their employee handbook, if they have one. The chart also details what is required to be included in such policies, for example, specific language, definitions, or processes. Policies that do not have such requirements are marked with N/A.

This chart does not include:

• Policies that are required by law but are not required to be in an employee handbook.
• Alternative distribution requirements (such as notice-posting requirements) for employers that do not have a handbook.
• Policies for which the legal requirement to appear in a handbook has been challenged in court.

States that do not have any policies that are required in the handbook are marked with N/A on the chart.

Additional federal, state and local handbook policies can be found in the Handbook Templates resource.