All employees should be asked to sign an “acknowledgment of receipt” form when they receive a copy of the employee handbook. Some policies should be separately acknowledged, such as the policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment. An employee’s express acknowledgment can be an important piece of evidence in litigation to show that the employee was aware or should have been aware, of the employer’s policies. A signed acknowledgment can also prove that an employee understood that his or her employment was at will in the face of employee claims to the contrary.
The acknowledgment-of-receipt form should be read and signed by each employee upon receipt of the handbook, typically on the employee’s first day of employment. If the employee would like additional time to review the written policies and procedures, that time should be granted. The signed acknowledgment form should be retained in the employee’s personnel file.
Employers may benefit from periodically conducting an audit of the personnel files to ensure that current employees have received and acknowledged receipt of the employee handbook. New acknowledgment-of-receipt forms should be signed by employees when a new employee handbook is released, when new policies are...
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