It is very important for California employers to maintain properly drafted written workplace policies. In fact, there are certain written policies which are either required to be maintained and/or which will serve to highly benefit the employer if they are indeed maintained. Having appropriate written policies in effect may relieve employers from substantial liability in employee lawsuits.
A written policy against unlawful discrimination and harassment in the workplace is one such policy. However, the policy must be adequately drafted and must provide employees with a proper complaint and investigation procedure. There are other policies which employers are well-advised to incorporate, such as a properly drafted at-will employment policy and a sexual harassment policy, among other things.
Often times, employee handbooks are simply too voluminous and serve to unnecessarily create contractual obligations upon employers that would not have otherwise existed, resulting in a vast limitation upon employer discretion. As a result, in many circumstances, "less" is indeed "more" when taking into consideration which policies an employer should implement in writing.
In light of this, employers are strongly encouraged to have an experienced employment law attorney develop appropriate policies and/or review existing policies.
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