In this three part series, attorney, Nicholas Porto, will discuss the 15 must-haves that should be in every towing and recovery business’ employee manual.

Don’t have an employee manual yet? It’s time for you to get one. Employee manuals are used a defense when a claims is filed against your business and can often times the manual can be the best exhibit against a claim.

In the second part of this series, we’ll take you through the next five pieces of content that should be in every employee manual. [Check out part one of this series here.]

1. Compensation Statement

It is necessary for employers to define exempt and non-exempt employees in employee manuals. All non-exempt employees are entitled to overtime. The Fair Labor Standards Act laws are changing on December 1, 2016. It is pertinent that you understand the new labor laws and how the new laws affect your exempt and non-exempt workers.

2. Discipline Section

The employee handbook section is used to clearly inform employees what you (the employer) considers misconduct. From there, it is necessary to outline misconduct examples such as being late, excessive absences, violation of company code and more.

3. Damage to Company Property

There are many different ways for a business to recoup costs incurred from employees damaging company property. First, check state laws. Each state has different laws on how this process can be executed on. However, some common practices include docking pay, using employee’s personal insurance and/or using the businesses insurance.

4. Immigration Policy

Only United States citizens or aliens are allowed to work legally. Federal law requires verification of employee eligibility to work within three days of hiring. State these requirements in your manual.

5. Social Media Policy

With many companies facing “oops moments” when it comes to social media, I highly recommend you build in a social media policy in your manual. It can be as simple as only identifying customers in a positive light and stating that your business needs to approve all content mentioning them prior to posting.

In our next post, we’ll take you through the last five must-haves that need to be in your manual. Stay tuned!

About the Porto Law Firm

The Porto Law Firm was founded in 2011 with a vision of providing uncompromised legal advocacy to businesses and individuals in a cost effective manner.  Each client is provided constant access to their attorney and we are proud that most of our clients turn into our closest friends. Its current practice areas include general civil litigation, real estate law and disputes, business litigation and formation, and personal injury.  In addition, the Porto Law Firm has developed a national reputation for our breadth of knowledge in legal issues specific to the towing and transportation industry.