Policy Updates

The Question of the Month is provided by Zywave®, a company wholly independent from Federated Insurance. Federated provides its clients access to this information through the Federated Employment Practices Network with the understanding that neither Federated nor its employees provide legal or employment advice. As such, Federated does not warrant the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of the information herein. This information may be subject to restrictions and regulation in your state. Consult with your own qualified legal counsel regarding your specific facts and circumstances.

Question

We want to update a number of our company policies. How should we do this—can we just revise the policies and send them to our employees, or should we also have employees sign an acknowledgment form? What do we do if an employee refuses to sign the acknowledgment form?

Answer

As a best practice, employers should give employees an opportunity to review any revised policy and ask questions about the policy’s terms. Employees should sign and date a statement acknowledging receipt of the updated policy and agreeing to comply with it. This statement should make clear that the revised policy supersedes any prior ones. Employers should retain signed acknowledgment forms in each employee’s respective personnel file so there is a record of receipt and agreement to comply.

Depending on the circumstances, an employer may be able to condition continued employment upon each employee’s agreement to comply with an updated policy. In general, any employee who, without justification, refuses to comply with an updated policy can be disciplined, up to and including dismissal—if employment is otherwise at-will and if consistent with the employer’s policies and past practices.

That said, employees may have a legitimate reason for refusing to comply with a particular policy. For example, an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs might prevent compliance or the employee might perceive the policy to compromise safety or violate public policy. Employers should evaluate an employee’s individual concern and take responsive measures as the situation may warrant. If there is merit to the employee’s objection, the employer should take appropriate steps to remediate, depending on the applicable facts. However, if the employee lacks legitimate justification for refusing to comply with any revised policy statement, the employer may be able to take disciplinary action, as noted above.