{"id":1007,"date":"2017-01-24T21:56:37","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T21:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-labor-employment-law\/?page_id=1007"},"modified":"2023-05-03T17:22:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T17:22:33","slug":"employee-handbooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonwhitelaw.com\/az-labor-employment-law\/blog\/employee-handbooks\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding Implied Contracts In Your Employee Handbook"},"content":{"rendered":"
Every business, from the smallest startup to the largest multinational corporation, needs clear rules and guidelines. Employee handbooks quantify this vital information and provide it in a way workers can understand, but in some cases those handbooks could do more harm than good.<\/p>\n
If you do not understand the guidelines, you could end up with an employee handbook that contains misleading, contradictory and even illegal policies. That is why it is so important to seek legal advice and guidance when creating, updating and maintaining the employee handbooks and other materials used in your business.<\/p>\n
No matter where your business is headquartered, it is important to be aware of local laws as well as federal employment guidelines. Arizona-based companies in particular can run afoul of state law, creating what is known as an “expectation of employment” in their handbooks.<\/p>\n
The Arizona Court of Appeals has already ruled on this matter, giving business owners clear guidelines on how to avoid conflicts and protect themselves from future lawsuits. In particular, the court has ruled that employers can avoid the expectation of employment risk through the use of a disclaimer indicating that the employee manual is not a statement of contractual rights.<\/p>\n
In order to remain compliant with state law, the employee manual should also state that employment is terminable at will by either the employee or the employer, and that the employment termination can come without notice and with or without cause. While employers cannot terminate employees for discriminatory reasons<\/a>, the employee handbook should make it clear that employment is at will.<\/p>\n While the use of the at will<\/a> disclaimer and exclusion of contractual employment obligations is important, the courts in Arizona have cautioned employers that disclaimers in their employee handbooks may not always shield them from liability. Arizona employers, no matter what kinds of disclaimers they write into their employee handbooks, may still be held liable for wrongful terminations, and for breaches of explicit or implied employment contracts.<\/p>\n The court has further noted that should an employer give oral or written assurance during the employment interview or subsequent performance review, that assurance could reasonably be viewed as an implied contract. That implied contract would then supersede and alter the at will nature of the employment.<\/p>\n What that means from a practical standpoint is that management teams should make sure their hiring managers and supervisors follow all applicable employment laws, and that they avoid the creation of implied contracts during their interviewing and performance review processes.<\/p>\nAvoiding Implied Contracts<\/h3>\n
Demasse vs. ITT Corporation<\/h3>\n