What Contents Should Be Included in My Employee Handbook?

Upon acquiring an employment opportunity with a New Jersey employer, you may be supplied with an employee handbook that overviews the company’s mission/vision, policies/procedures, and code of conduct. With this, you must keep in mind that certain disclosures are required by law. Follow along to find out what contents should be included in your employee handbook and how a proficient employment agreement attorney in Gloucester County NJ, at The Vigilante Law Firm, P.C., can help you in retaining this.

What disclosures should be included in my employee handbook?

Notably, your employee handbook may include details surrounding the company’s paid holidays, employee benefits programs, and direct deposit programs, among other things. Though, there are only certain policies that are required to be disclosed by both federal and New Jersey state law. Similarities are seen between these federal and state disclosures, and they read as follows:

• State-specific disclosures:
  • The state policy on at-will employment.
  • The state policy on equal employment opportunity.
  • The state policy on compensation.
  • The state policy on time away from work and employee leave.
• Federal-specific disclosures:
  • The federal policy on equal opportunity and anti-discrimination.
  • The federal policy on sexual harassment.
  • The federal policy on family medical leave.
  • The federal policy on military service leave.
  • The federal policy on jury duty leave.

You must understand that your employer can make your employee handbook into a legally binding contract. So, you must not gloss over any vague language that is used to explain certain policies. What’s more, you cannot ignore the fact that certain policies may be missing or significantly outdated. This is why we recommend that you review its provisions with an experienced Gloucester County employment agreement attorney.

What other documents should I obtain upon my employment?

In addition to an employee handbook, you should expect to receive the following documents upon your job offer at a company:

• A non-compete agreement: this is an agreement in which you may not leave your job at this company for another job in the same, or largely similar, field for a given period.
• A non-disclosure agreement: this is an agreement in which you may not disclose the company’s confidential information (i.e., trade secrets, personal client information, marketing plans, etc) to the public.
• A severance agreement: this is an agreement in which you may be offered a financial cushion for a given period if you are laid off from your job at this company and seeking new employment.

Your employer must not refuse your right to access these documents. At the same time, you must make a valiant effort toward retaining all of them. Reach out to one of the talented New Jersey employment lawyers at The Vigilante Law Firm, P.C. to learn how to get started.