• Employers are not legally required to provide a handbook, but it is considered a best practice.
• Employers should be careful how they word reading agreements signed by employees.

While employers are not legally required to provide a company handbook to employees, it is considered a best practice to provide the workforce with an overview of company policies and procedures. During orientation, employers should:

• Refer to the handbook as the company’s rule book, and
• Provide contact information in case new employees have questions about the various policies in the future.

While specific policies are generally not required by federal law, developing a policy may be a condition of a government contract. For example, federal contractors may need an equal employment policy.

Similarly, federal law does not specifically require employers to have a sexual harassment policy, but it is highly encouraged.

In most cases, if a state or federal agency wants to make employees aware their rights under a law, they will require a poster or other notice be placed in a conspicuous location, rather than mandate that an employer develop a policy. For example, all employers must post notices about:

• Workplace safety, and
• Wage and hour laws.

Most employers must post notices about:

• Equal opportunity employment,
• Harassment, and
• Workers’ compensation laws.

Recommended policies

In addition to posting any required notices, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recommends that employers have written policies on:

• Discrimination
• Harassment

Other recommended policies might include:

• Substance abuse and drug testing for reasonable suspicion, or
• Searches of work areas (to remove the expectation of privacy).

Employers may also want policies on dress codes, workplace conduct, and other work rules that employees need to know.

Required reading

There are several ways to get employees to read the company handbook, such as:

• Giving a quiz or test that incorporates various parts of the handbook, and
• Having employees sign and return a statement that they have received the handbook.

If employees will sign a statement upon receipt of the handbook, employers should consider the wording of the statement. Instead of having employees sign that they “have read” the handbook when they may not have, the statement could say that employees “agree to read” the handbook. If there is a later dispute, the statement will more accurately reflect the situation and places responsibility on the employee to read the book.