Legal News

Not Your Father?s Employee Handbook

By Peter Lattman

Yesterday’s L.A. Times ran a story on its new employee handbook, created under the auspicies of billionaire Sam Zell, the new owner of Tribune, parent company to the LAT. Unlike other employee handbooks that read like they were written by lawyers — and they were — this one has a different feel. For starters, it’s shorter, coming in at 3,663 words versus its 11,519-word predecessor. It’s also lighthearted. Here’s the opening: “Rule #1: Use your best judgment; Rule #2: See Rule 1.”

Some applaud the handbook’s casual tone. “I don’t think a lawyer got their hands on it, and that’s fantastic,” said a recruiter to the LAT. (Law Blog Biographical Note: Sam Zell, though he doesn’t practice, wields a JD from Michigan. Click here for Law Blog Background on Zell’s legal career.)

But some employment lawyers think it’s dangerous, telling the Times that the book, which is laced with humor, could be a legal minefield. For instance:

* “7.1. If you use or abuse alcohol or drugs and fail to perform the duties required by your job acceptably, you are likely to be terminated. See Rule 1. Coming to work drunk is bad judgment.”

* “7.2. If you do not use or abuse alcohol or drugs and fail to perform the duties required by your job acceptably, you are likely to be terminated.”

San Fran labor lawyer Mark Schickman tells the LAT that while he admires the book’s plain language, they’ve made a lot of mistakes. For instance, the manual encourages employees to “Question authority and push back if you do not like the answer. You will earn respect, and not get into trouble for asking tough questions.” But Schickman says that if an employer tries to fire someone for insubordination, the employee could argue she was simply questioning authority and pushing back.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on January 18, 2008 (boomark / email).