Legal Matters: 9 Employment Law Landmines

1. Have an employee handbook that identifies and communicates all of your employment-related policies. This handbook should be prepared with the assistance of an attorney or, at minimum, reviewed by a qualified attorney.

2. Prepare and adopt an ethics policy that applies to all areas of employment, including hiring, firing, promotions and assignments, and bases employment only on merit, qualifications and competence. This policy also should state that the company will comply with laws pertaining to fair employment practices and that no employee or applicant for employment will be discriminated against because of race, age, sex, religion, color, national origin or ancestry, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, citizenship status or other protected status under federal, state or local law. This policy also should state that the company provides an environment that is free of unlawful harassment of any kind, and on any basis prohibited by law.