How to Keep Your Employee Handbook Current and Effective

Author: Douglas Zucker, Bauch Zucker Hatfield LLC

Employers use an employee handbook as an effective and efficient way to memorialize and maintain their policies and communicate them to employees. A handbook can only be effective and provide legal protection if it accurately reflects current compliance requirements and the employer's current practices and procedures. Laws change, organization practices evolve, and the handbook needs to keep pace.

At a minimum, employers should review their handbook annually to ensure it's up to date. Outside of a periodic review, employers should add new policies when their workforce changes or when new legal requirements come into play. 

The following steps will help you get organized and ensure your handbook is relevant and compliant.