Employee Handbooks Research Articles

Preserving Your Revenue-management System as a Trade Secret

Abstract A hotel's or airline's revenue-management system is ( 1 ) quite valuable and ( 2 ) a trade secret. Trade secrets involve special proprietary information and processes, including publicly available information that is assembled in a special manner by the trade secret's owner. Establishing that a process is a trade secret involves demonstrating that it is, in fact, a secret, that information about the process is restricted to employees and licensess, and that the owner makes a specific effort to shield the information. Hotels' revenue-management systems are particularly at risk for either general disclosure or corporate espionage because of the relatively rapid turnover of employees and the fact that those employees often go to work for competitors. Thus, a wise hotelier will take the following steps to protect the company's revenue-management system: ( 1 ) maintain the information's physical security by restricting access, ( 2 ) place restrictive legends on the information stating that it is in fact confidential, ( 3 ) state in employee handbooks that the revenue-management information is a trade secret and will be shared only in confidence, ( 4 ) require revenue-management employees to sign confidentiality agreements, ( 5 ) train employees and remind them regularly of the confidentiality of the revenue-management information, and ( 6 ) ask exiting employees to reaffirm their agreement not to share the confidential trade secrets. The former employer may also consider sending an advisory letter to a departing employee's new employer stating that the revenue-management information is confidential, but that letter-writing step involves other issues that require legal counsel.

Point-and-click personnel policies: State laws may affect electronic employee handbooks

Point-and-click personnel policies: State laws may affect electronic employee handbooks

Polnt-and-click personnel policies: State laws may affect electronic employee handbooks

Polnt-and-click personnel policies: State laws may affect electronic employee handbooks

New Developments in Wrongful Discharge

The purpose of this paper is to inform managers about the recent increase in wrongful termination suits and the high price employers can be forced to pay if their company is found guilty of wrongful termination. Although the focus is on common termination errors made in the 1980s and 1990s, some steps are suggested to help prevent and defend against wrongful termination suits. Finally, a new method being considered to deal with wrongful termination is presented, The Model Employment Termination Act. Businesses are now more likely than ever to be sued for wrongful discharge. The increase in wrongful discharge cases is a result of recent changes in employment law, court interpretations of employment law, and the highly litigious climate which now exists. Today, the deck seems to be stacked in favor of the terminated employee. In fact, a recent survey in California revealed that plaintiffs who get jury trials win about 75% of the time, the average award being approximately $300,000. In addition, legal expenses to defend wrongful discharge cases averaged $80,000. If that is not bad enough, the situation is expected to get worse before the pendulum begins to swing back towards the employers. The purpose of this paper is not to go over all the employment laws nor is it to analyze all possible situations. The objective is to highlight common errors committed by managers, recent developments in wrongful termination, and point out steps to reduce the chance of losing a wrongful discharge suit. Most wrongful termination cases involve one or more of the following categories: breach of contract, breach of common law duty by the employer, discrimination, fraud, infliction of emotional distress, defamation, violation of public policy, or violation of personnel policy. They all carry unlimited compensatory and punitive damages. Moreover, because charges can be brought against both company and individuals, managers have their own assets at stake. According to Phillip Perry, employers commonly commit seven errors. (1) Use of implied promises in employee handbooks. (2) Making oral promises. (3) Terminating an employee just before the employee is to be vested. (4) Discharging an employee for failing to take a polygraph test. (5) Creating intolerable working conditions to force an employee to resign. (6) Discharging an employee for refusing to violate public policy. (7) Failure to evaluate employees honestly and put the evaluations in writing.

To have or not to have a handbook: The legal effect of employee handbooks on law enforcement agencies

This article analyzes recent state and federal court decisions on the effect of police department employee handbooks. Specifically, the questions of whether and when such manuals create an employment contract enforceable by the employee are discussed. The legal status of at-will employment doctrines in states and their interrelation with certain federal civil rights actions are examined. The situations in which police employee manuals have been used as bases for such actions are explored, along with factors considered by courts when deciding such suits. Trends in this area of law are identified, and steps the police executive can take to avoid adverse outcomes when drafting such manuals are suggested.

Facet Importance and Job Satisfaction: Two Experimental Tests of Locke's Range of Affect Hypothesis

Two 2×2 (Facet Importance × Facet Amount) factorial experiments tested Locke's (1969, 1976) hypothesis that facet importance moderates the range of affective reactions. Written excerpts from letters, interview transcripts, and employee handbooks were used to create scenarios which manipulated the importance and current amount of two target job facets: freedom to do things one's own way on the job, and amount of face‐to‐face contact with customers/clients. As predicted, significant Facet Importance × Facet Amount interactions showed that facet satisfaction was influenced more strongly by differences in facet amount when the facet was high in importance than when it was low in importance. Subjects in the high‐importance condition, relative to subjects in the low‐importance condition, were more satisfied with high facet amounts and more dissatisfied with low facet amounts. Discussion focused on the convergence of results from research using different methods to test the range of affect hypothesis.

Corporate language and the law: avoiding liability in corporate communications

It is argued that, although corporate writers recognize the power of language as a marketing tool, they often fail to realize the legal implications of their words. Liability issues have become a prime concern in four areas where language plays a major part: investment information, goods and services marketing, safety information, and employee handbooks. It is concluded that understanding the legal problems attendant to these areas will allow corporate writers to better avoid language that risks litigation.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Employment-At-Will: the Doctrine and Its Implications for Human Resource Practices in the Hospitality Industry

The purpose of this paper is to outline the history and the definition of the employment-at-will doctrine and to discuss the implications of this doctrine for the hospitality industry. Many of the documents in the employment process could be used as evidence in a lawsuit regarding employee termination if these documents are not carefully written. A survey of restaurant employee handbooks indicated that they contained information that 1) was contractual in nature and 2) did not contain an employment-at-will disclaimer.

Employee handbooks—promises and other pitfalls

Employment Relations TodayVolume 15, Issue 1 p. 31-35 Article Employee handbooks—promises and other pitfalls Michael W. Sculnick, Michael W. Sculnick Michael W. Sculnick: is a member of the firm of Vedder, Price, Kaufman, Kammholz & Day in New York.Search for more papers by this author Michael W. Sculnick, Michael W. Sculnick Michael W. Sculnick: is a member of the firm of Vedder, Price, Kaufman, Kammholz & Day in New York.Search for more papers by this author First published: Spring 1988 https://doi.org/10.1002/ert.3910150106 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume15, Issue1Spring 1988Pages 31-35 RelatedInformation

STATE COURT DISPARITY ON EMPLOYMENT AT‐WILL

State courts have produced three major exceptions to the employment at‐will doctrine: (1) violation of public policy, (2) breach of an implied contract (including written policies, oral promises, and implied covenants of good faith and fair dealing), and (3) commitment of a tort of emotional distress, defamation, or third‐party interference with a contractual relationship. We analyzed state appellate court decisions to identify judicial philosophies and to determine which states have accepted or rejected the various exceptions to employment at‐will. Our results show that the states vary considerably. The most commonly accepted arguments against employment at‐will are violations of public policy, breaches of implied contracts in employee handbooks, and torts of outrageous emotional distress. Overall, this research highlights the need for statewide consistency with regard to the at‐will issue.

Employee handbooks: A positive tool for employers

Employee handbooks: A positive tool for employers

Employee Handbooks and Employment-at-Will Contracts

Employee Handbooks and Employment-at-Will Contracts

New York joins the states overturning the employment‐at‐will doctrine: Employee handbooks are the key

New York joins the states overturning the employment‐at‐will doctrine: Employee handbooks are the key

READABILITY CHANGES IN EMPLOYEE HANDBOOKS OF IDENTICAL COMPANIES DURING A FIFTEEN‐YEAR PERIOD

This study, by a well-known student of the subject, presents a comparison of the readability changes in employee handbooks since Flescli first heightened interest in the subject in 1949. It appears that there has been some improvement in the read ability of employee handbooks, although much is still left to be desired. Interestingly, the firms which had the most read able handbooks in 1949 also had the most readable ones in 1964.This article is printed with the permission of Personnel Psychology, in which it will appear this Winter.

Readability Changes in Employee Handbooks of Identical Companies During a Fifteen-Year Period

This study, by a well-known student of the subject, presents a comparison of the readability changes in employee handbooks since Flescli first heightened interest in the subject in 1949. It appears that there has been some improvement in the read ability of employee handbooks, although much is still left to be desired. Interestingly, the firms which had the most read able handbooks in 1949 also had the most readable ones in 1964. This article is printed with the permission of Personnel Psychology, in which it will appear this Winter.

In‐Service Training Program of the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company

are devoted annually to some kind of training in American industrial concerns. The programs involved vary from the use of employee handbooks and other printed matter to the installation of the equivalent of full scale college curricula. At least two industrial programs are even chartered to grant academic degrees. During the years of the depression, the utility worker was the envy of the employment field. He had steady employment and few, if any, reductions in salary, whereas practically all other classes of workmen felt the real pinch of those troubled times.

How Readable are Employee Handbooks?

Personnel PsychologyVolume 4, Issue 4 p. 383-395 How Readable are Employee Handbooks? Cosimo Carlucci, Cosimo Carlucci Queens CollegeSearch for more papers by this authorWilliam J. E. Crissy, William J. E. Crissy Queens College and Fordham UniversitySearch for more papers by this author Cosimo Carlucci, Cosimo Carlucci Queens CollegeSearch for more papers by this authorWilliam J. E. Crissy, William J. E. Crissy Queens College and Fordham UniversitySearch for more papers by this author First published: December 1951 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1951.tb00979.xCitations: 4AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Citing Literature Volume4, Issue4December 1951Pages 383-395 RelatedInformation

Readability of Employee Handbooks

Readability of Employee Handbooks