If you plan to hire employees who live and work in IN, your Indiana employee handbook should comply with both state and federal employment laws. Employers aren’t required to create and distribute employee handbooks, but they offer several advantages: they introduce employees to your organization, set expectations for employees, act as a resource for company policies and procedures, and limit your legal liability. However, if your Indiana employee handbook fails to comply with state-specific laws, you could open your company to legal risk.

We know how time-consuming, expensive and challenging it can be to draft your own state-specific handbooks, especially if you hire workers in more than one state. Our Employment Docs platform empowers employers to generate their own custom employee handbooks in all 50 states. Here’s an overview of what you need to know about creating Indiana employment handbooks.

Required Indiana employee handbook policies

Indiana requires employers to implement and comply with five state-specific policies:

  • Jury Duty Leave
  • Meal and Rest Breaks (minors only)
  • Military Service Leave
  • Volunteer Emergency Responder Leave
  • Witness Duty Leave

Note that the meal and rest breaks policy only applies to companies who hire minors. You may wish to include it, even if you don’t hire minors, in case you do so in the future.

Optional Indiana employee handbook policies

In addition to the five required Indiana employee handbook policies, you’re also free to include optional policies like:

  • Affinity Group Policy
  • Arbitration Policy
  • At-Will Employment Policy
  • Background Check 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
  • Holidays
  • Immigration Law Compliance
  • Lactation Accommodation Policy
  • Leave Policies, including: Paid Sick Leave; Parental Leave; Bereavement Leave; Organ, Bone Marrow, and Blood Donor Leave; Domestic Violence Leave; Crime Victim Leave; Voting Leave; School Activity Leave        
  • Marijuana 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
  • Salary Pay Policy
  • Social Media Policy
  • Solicitation and Distribution of Literature Policy
  • Technology Systems Policy
  • Telecommuting Policy
  • Temporary Relocation Policy
  • Timekeeping Policy
  • Vacation/Paid Time Off
  • Video Conferencing Policy
  • Workers’ Compensation Policy
  • Workplace Violence Policy
  • Workplace Visitor Policy
  • Workweek and Work Schedules Policy

Depending on your company type, employment type, industry and organizational structure, many of these policies may not apply. Don’t feel obligated to include them all.

Required federal employee handbook policies

All employee handbooks, regardless of state, should include the following federal employment law policies:

  • Equal Employment and Anti-Discrimination Policy
  • Americans with Disabilities Act Policy
  • Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Policy (for companies with more than 50 employees)
  • Jury Duty Leave
  • Military Service Leave
  • Sexual Harassment Policy
  • Lactation Accommodation Policy
  • Religious Accommodations Policy

Because federal law supersedes state law, these policies remain the same across the nation. Keep in mind that if your company does not meet the FMLA employee threshold, you do not have to include that policy.

How to create an Indiana employee handbook

Creating your own Indiana employee handbook is a challenge. Researching and drafting each state-specific employee handbook requires careful attention to state and federal employment laws. Failing to draft your handbook in accordance with the law could leave your organization open to significant legal risk.

Some employers choose to hire an attorney to draft their employee handbooks, which is one of the safest options available. However, if you’re hiring in more than one state, those billable hours can add up fast.

Employers might be tempted to turn to online templates in an effort to save time and money, but that can be risky. There’s no guarantee that one-size-fits-all employee handbook templates will include all the required state policies.

That’s why SixFifty has created Employment Docs. Instead of doing the hard work yourself, hiring a lawyer, or relying on a template, you can generate your own customized, state-specific Indiana employee handbooks. Our Employment Docs platform allows employers to generate top-tier employment documents for every stage of the employment life cycle, starting with offer letters and employee handbooks to separation agreements and offboarding documents. Plus, our legal team keeps a close watch over changes to employment legislation across the country. If there are any new developments, we’ll notify you so you can regenerate and redistribute your handbooks as needed.

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