1. The Special Case of California Employee Handbooks Presented by: Chris Cobey and Ben Emmert Littler Mendelson, P.C. – San Jose, CA May 13, 2015

2. Presented by: Christopher E. Cobey Knowledge Management Counsel Littler | San Jose Office 408.795.3425 ccobey@littler.com Benjamin A. Emmert Associate Littler | San Jose Office 408.795.3496 bemmert@littler.com

3. The Significance and Value of Employee Handbooks A source for desired and acceptable conduct A statement of the company's values and culture Courts and agencies will look at the content

4. The Dangers of Employee Handbooks Is it a contract? Is it a promise? Is it a commitment? Are your standards higher than the law requires? “Zero tolerance”: a useful standard, or not? Evidence in wage and hour class actions

5. The Form of California Employee Handbooks Do you need a paper employee handbook anymore?

6. The Musts and Shoulds of California Employee Handbooks' Contents Policies that must be included Policies that should be included Policies that might be included The messy situation of local ordinances –Counties, cities, special districts –Minimum wage; paid sick and other leaves; health insurance; public transit; work schedules The differences between an employee handbook and the policy manual

7. When to Update Your Employee Handbook Every presidential election year? Annually? More frequently?

8. Sources for Updating Your Employee Handbook XpertHR Littler Mendelson, P.C. California statutes California regulations California case law

9. The Common Pitfalls in Drafting and Updating CA Employee Handbooks At-will disclaimers Arbitration agreements Leaves of absence Lack of signed and retained acknowledgement Lack of employee review

10. The Common Pitfalls in Drafting and Updating CA Employee Handbooks Inconsistent provisions Meal/rest periods Overtime Expenses / BYOD Social media Absolute prohibitions

11. When Drafting’s Done, All’s Well, Right? Promulgation Alerting the troops Training the supervisors

12. Do You Need to Worry About the NLRB in Drafting Your Policies? NLRB has targeted policies in employee handbooks concerning subjects such as: –Profanity –Confidentiality –Social media –Other communications –At-will employment –Complaint procedures

13. Do You Need to Worry About the NLRB in Drafting Your Policies? –Non-disparagement/false statements/conflict of interest –Non-solicitation –Usage of company resources –Uniform/dress code/logos –Discipline/dispute resolution –Email organizing (Purple Communications) –Leaving work areas

14. Do You Need to Worry About the SEC in Drafting Your Policies? “Put a sock in it about the Company’s policies” may not be a great statement in your employee handbook…

15. Questions?

16. The Special Case of California Employee Handbooks Christopher E. Cobey Knowledge Management Counsel Littler | San Jose Office 408.795.3425 ccobey@littler.com Benjamin A. Emmert Associate Littler | San Jose Office 408.795.3496 bemmert@littler.com