Marc A. Mandelman, a Member of the Firm in the Labor and Employment practice, in the firm’s New York office, was quoted by SHRM.org, in “Employee Handbooks: Every Word Counts.” (Read the full version – membership required.)

Following is an excerpt:

But policies that prohibit any personal use of technology are no panacea. “The problem with blanket provisions is that they are very difficult to enforce,” advised Mandelman.

And even though it should be obvious that, barring specific instructions, employees cannot fly first class, stay at the Ritz or drink a $1,000 bottle of Bordeaux wine on company travel, it all needs to be spelled out in the handbook.

Employers need to be careful with confidentiality policies as well. Avoid making them overly broad, advised Mandelman. All employees—even those in non-unionized companies—are protected by the National Labor Relations Act, he noted, and certain activities, such as discussion of salaries, are protected.

Jump to Page

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.