Shareholder Peter J. Ennis Pens Article about Employment-Related Documents

Peter J. Ennis, Shareholder in Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney’s Labor & Employment Section, recently published an article on the Before It’s News website. In the article, Ennis explains that in many critical employment decisions, human error can play a role – such as when people forget things, interpret situations differently, do not understand what is expected of them or simply lie. In those cases, documents become very important.

"In each of these situations, having documents that are prepared in advance or are recorded contemporaneously with the events can be invaluable to set expectations, help both managers and employees work through a problem in a constructive manner and, if it goes that far, protect the employer against claims that it violated the law," Ennis explains.

Ennis states that any employment-related document should meet at least one of the following objectives:

1. Put the employee on notice of what is expected of him or her.
2. Enhance the ability of the employer to make an effective decision.
3. Enable the employer to act fairly and consistently, given the particular circumstances involved.
4. Enable the employer to comply with its record-keeping requirements under the law.

Read the full article: "Human Resources Handbook: Key Docs Tech Companies Need to Manage Workers" (Before It’s News, March 28, 2013)