JDSupra (03/16/2012)

To protect themselves, companies must ensure their employee handbooks are updated regularly. Employee handbooks should include updated information on the Family and Medical Leave Act, including the FMLA notice poster or all the provisions found in the poster. Handbooks should also include a Fair Labor Standards Act safe harbor policy that asks employees to report all deductions they think are improper. Companies that monitor their employees’ e-mail or use of the Internet should include an employee authorization within the employee acknowledgement.

In Michigan, companies should have a Social Security privacy policy that outlines how the company obtains, uses, disseminates, and disposes of records that contain employee Social Security numbers; Michigan companies may also want to include an employee consent for a shortened statute of limitations.