Helping Hand

Tillman Coffey, a partner in the Atlanta office, was quoted in the article “Helping Hand” in the December 14 edition of the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The article stressed the importance of periodically updating employee handbooks to keep up with company policies and changing employment laws. Yet not every business believes in the importance of having employee policies written down. Tillman said some companies are worried that employee handbooks will provide employees with a road map of ways to sue them.  But not having policies can hurt a company’s defense in the event that an employee brings a case against it. “It’s easy for an employee to say ‘I didn’t know what to do,’ when a handbook isn’t there.” A badly written handbook that attempts to address every possible event with detailed procedures may make businesses shy about putting policies in writing. Tillman stressed that a good handbook outlines what an employer intends to provide employees and, in turn, what the company wants from them. “It should be written in somewhat general terms so both sides know what’s expected.”