In the age of remote work, companies frequently hire employees who live and work in other states. That’s a great way to secure top talent, but it also makes drafting employee handbooks more complicated. When you hire Georgia employees, their employee handbook must comply with Georgia employment laws—and while employers aren’t required to create a handbook, you could expose your company to legal liability if you fail to do so. So how can you make sure your Georgia employee handbook is compliant, without racking up billable hours or doing all the research and drafting from scratch?
“Georgia is one of those states that can trip employers up, not because it has overly complicated laws, but many organizations tend to think of it as a state that doesn’t actively regulate employers,” said Seth Barany, Legal Product Counsel at SixFifty.
“While it’s true Georgia can’t compete with states like California, it has some uncommon twists on common requirements that employers should be aware of, like the Family Care Act, which requires employers to allow employees to use their sick leave to care for an unwell family member,” said Barany.
SixFifty’s Employment Docs platform makes it easy and cost-effective to generate your own state-specific, customized employee handbooks for all 50 states. Here’s what to know about making your own Georgia employee handbook.
Required Georgia employee handbook policies
Georgia requires employers to implement and comply with nine state-specific policies:
- Day of Rest Law (see SixFifty’s Workweek and Work Schedules Policy)
- Equal Employment Opportunity
- Immigration Law Compliance (10 Employees)
- Jury Duty Leave
- Military Service Leave
- Sick Leave Policy
- Voting Leave
- Witness Duty Leave
- Workweek and Work Schedule
If your company has fewer than 10 total employees, you may exclude the immigration policy.
“The Day of Rest policy is one to look out for here,” said Barany. “Georgia requires employers to give employees Saturdays and/or Sundays off if either day is the employee’s preferred day of worship. There are some situations where employers can get around that rule, but Georgia is more protective of employees’ religious freedom than some other states, so make sure you take that into account in building your handbook.”
Optional Georgia employee handbook policies
In addition to Georgia’s required policies, employers are welcome to include any of the following optional policies:
- Affinity Group Policy
- Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy
- Arbitration Policy
- At-Will Employment Policy
- Background Check Policy
- COBRA Policy
- Cell Phone Policy
- Code of Conduct Policy
- Business Expense Policy
- Company Property Policy
- Confidentiality and Trade Secrets Policy
- Desk Hoteling Policy
- Direct Deposit Policy
- Dress Code Policy
- Drug and Alcohol Abuse Policy
- Electronic Devices While Driving Policy
- Employee Benefits Policy
- Employee Classification Policy
- Employee Dating Policy
- Employee References Policy
- Employment of Relatives Policy
- Exit Interview Policy
- Gifts Policy
- Health and Safety Policy
- Home Office Reimbursement Policy
- Job Duties Policy
- Key or Access Card Policy
- Holidays
- Leave Policies, including: Paid Sick Leave; Parental Leave; Bereavement Leave; Organ, Bone Marrow, and Blood Donor Leave; Domestic Violence Leave; Crime Victim Leave; Civil Service Leave; School Activity Leave
- Cannabis Policy
- Off-Duty Use of Facilities
- Outside Employment Policy
- Overtime Policy
- Payment of Wages Policy
- Payroll Deductions Policy
- Performance Review Policy
- Personnel Files Policy
- Pets in the Workplace Policy
- Progressive Discipline Policy
- Public Relations Policy
- Punctuality and Attendance Policy
- Record Retention Policy
- Remote Working Policy
- Salary Pay Policy
- Smoking Policy
- Social Media Policy
- Solicitation and Distribution of Literature Policy
- Technology Systems Policy
- Temporary Relocation Policy
- Timekeeping Policy
- Vacation/Paid Time Off
- Video Conferencing Policy
- Weapons in the Workplace
- Workers’ Compensation Policy
- Workplace Violence Policy
- Workplace Visitor Policy
Employers don’t need to include all of them: the policies you choose to include should factor in the company and employment type and industry. For instance, if your only Georgia workers are working from home, you probably don’t need to include a pets in the workplace or dress code policy—but you will likely include policies regarding telecommuting.
Required federal employee handbook policies
If you create your own Georgia employee handbook, you must also include the following required federal employee handbook policies:
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (15+ Employees)
- Employment and Anti-Discrimination Policy
- Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Policy (50 Employees)
- Jury Duty Leave
- Military Service Leave
- Sexual Harassment Policy
- Lactation Accommodation Policy
- Religious Accommodations Policy
Federal law supersedes state law: these policies remain the same in all 50 states. All of your employee handbooks, regardless of state, should contain these policies (assuming the organization meets the 50-employee requirement for FMLA).
How to create a Georgia employee handbook
Creating your own Georgia employee handbook can be a challenge. Researching Georgia employment laws and drafting a compliant Georgia employee handbook can be time-consuming and difficult, even if you only include the required federal and state policies. Plus, it can be risky: if you accidentally violate federal or state employment laws, your company could be exposed to legal liability.
There are a few different options to create your own state-specific, compliant employee handbook. First, you can hire an attorney to draft the handbook. This is a safe option, but if you plan to hire employees in multiple states, it can quickly become very expensive.
Some companies turn to online templates, or try copying and pasting from existing employee handbooks. The latter could be a copyright violation, and online templates are not guaranteed to include all the required policies and language to protect your organization.
Fortunately, SixFifty has a better way. We know the challenges involved in drafting your own Georgia employee handbooks. Instead of hiring an attorney, researching and drafting your own handbook or using a one-size-fits-all template, we’ve done the hard work for you. Our employee handbook platform is specifically designed to guide employers through every stage of the employment lifecycle, from research and offer letters to separation and offboarding. It’s easier and more cost-effective than ever to create top-tier employment documents. Plus, our legal team monitors changes to employment laws nationwide. If there are any changes, we’ll notify you so that you can regenerate and redistribute your handbooks as necessary.
Ready to learn more? Schedule a demo today! Looking to create an employee handbook for a different state? View our interactive map for required employee handbook policies by state.
