LICINI BROTHERS FOODS COMPANY

Employee Handbook

Contents

Welcome. 

Getting to know our company. 

Employment basics. 

Employment contract types. 

Equal opportunity employment 

Recruitment and selection process. 

Background checks. 

Referrals. 

Attendance. 

Workplace policies. 

Confidentiality and data protection. 

Harassment and violence. 

Workplace harassment 

Workplace violence. 

Workplace safety and health. 

Preventative action. 

Emergency management 

Smoking. 

Drug-free workplace. 

Dress code. 

Cyber security and digital devices. 

Internet usage. 

Cell phone. 

Corporate email 

Social media. 

Conflict of interest 

Employee relationships. 

Fraternization. 

Workplace visitors. 

Solicitation and distribution. 

Compensation status. 

Overtime. 

Payroll 

Performance management 

How we expect managers to lead employees. 

Workers’ compensation. 

Company car 

Parking. 

Working hours. 

Paid time off (PTO) 

Holidays. 

Sick leave. 

Long-term illness. 

Jury duty and voting. 

Parental leave. 

Paternity and maternity leave. 

Progressive discipline. 

Resignation. 

Forced resignation. 

Termination. 

References. 

 

Welcome                                                                                   

Hello and welcome! Thank you for joining Licini Brothers, where we strive to provide the highest quality and service for our specialty food customers. We can’t wait to see what you will achieve with us.

 

This employee handbook defines who we are and how we work together. We will do everything possible to create a fair and productive workplace, but we need your help. We’ve created this handbook to guide you.

 

This handbook isn’t a contract or a guarantee of employment. It’s a collection of our expectations, commitments and responsibilities. Please read this employee handbook carefully and consult it whenever you need to.

 

Getting to know our company

 

Our Original Store, 1980

The Licini adventure started in the 1950s, when the Licini brothers emigrated from Bergamo, Italy to the United States. In 1971, they took their passion for salumi to the next level, by taking over a well-respected salumeria in Union City, New Jersey. For nearly half a century, Licini has celebrated the ancient art of salumi by producing old world specialties with the same care and dedication. Every day, this age-old craft is honored: boning and trimming the finest fresh meat, blending in secret spices, hanging the meats in temperature-controlled rooms for curing. Under the watchful eye of master salumi-makers, salami, guanciale and more are aged to perfection. 

Employment basics

In this section, we explain our employee contract types and define our basic employment policies.

Employment contract types

Full-time employees work at least 35 hours per week.

 

Part-time employees are those who work fewer than 35 hours per week.

 

Full-time and part-time employees can have either temporary or indefinite duration contracts. Full-time employees under an indefinite duration contract are entitled to our company’s full benefits package. We remind you that, in the U.S., employment is “at-will.” This means that you or our company may terminate our employment relationship at any time and for any non-discriminatory reason(s).

 

Equal opportunity employment

Licini Brothers is an equal opportunity employer. We don’t tolerate discrimination against protected characteristics (gender, age, sexual orientation, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, disability, veteran status.) We want all employees (including executives and HR) to treat others with respect and professionalism. In practice, this means that we hire and promote people based on skills, experience or potential and try to reduce bias in every process.

 

Apart from those actions, we commit to penalizing every discriminatory, offensive or inappropriate behavior. To do this properly, we ask you to report any discriminatory action against yourself or your colleagues to HR. Our company will not retaliate against you if you file a complaint or discrimination lawsuit. Any employee who retaliates or discriminates will face disciplinary action.

 

Recruitment and selection process

Our hiring steps might vary across roles, but we always aim for a process that is fair and effective in hiring great people. If we are hiring for an open role, we go through these steps:

 

1. Identify the need for a new job opening.
2. Decide whether to hire externally or internally.

• Review job descriptions and write a job ad.

1. Select appropriate sources (external or internal) to post your job opening.
2. Screen and interview candidates.
3. Run background checks and check references.

• Select the most suitable candidate.
• Make an official offer.

 

Throughout this process, we aim to keep candidates informed, communicate well with each other and give everyone an equal opportunity to work with us. Ask our recruiters for help whenever you need to enhance candidate experience or write an inclusive job description.

Background checks

We do not currently require background checks. If it is determined that a background check is required of a candidate because references cannot be provided, that candidate will be notified verbally or in writing.

Referrals

If you know someone who you think would be a good fit for a position at our company, feel free to refer them.

 

Attendance

We expect you to be present during your scheduled working hours. If you face an emergency that prevents you from coming to work one day, contact your manager as soon as possible. We will excuse unreported absences in cases of [serious accidents, acute medical emergencies.] But, whenever possible, we should know when you won’t be coming in.

 

Workplace policies

This section describes policies that apply to everyone at our company: employees, contractors, volunteers, vendors and stakeholders alike. These policies help us build a productive, lawful and pleasant workplace.

Confidentiality and data protection

We want to ensure that private information about clients, employees, partners and our company is well-protected. Examples of confidential information are:

 

• Employee records
• Unpublished financial information
• Data of customers/partners/vendors
• Customer lists (existing and prospective)
• Unpublished goals, forecasts and initiatives marked as confidential

 

As part of our hiring process, we may ask you to sign non-compete and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs.) We are also committed to:

 

• Restrict and monitor access to sensitive data.
• Develop transparent data collection procedures.
• Train employees in online privacy and security measures.
• Build secure networks to protect online data from cyberattacks.
• Establish data protection practices (e.g. secure locks, data encryption, frequent backups, access authorization.)

 

We also expect you to act responsibly when handling confidential information.

 

You must:

• Lock or secure confidential information at all times.
• Shred confidential documents when they’re no longer needed.
• Make sure you view confidential information on secure devices only.
• Only disclose information to other employees when it’s necessary and authorized.
• Keep confidential documents inside our company’s premises unless it’s absolutely necessary to move them.

 

You must not:

• Use confidential information for your personal benefit or profit.
• Disclose confidential information to anyone outside of our company.
• Replicate confidential documents and files and store them on insecure devices.

 

This policy is important for our company’s legality and reputation. We will terminate any employee who breaches our confidentiality guidelines for personal profit.

 

We may also discipline any unintentional breach of this policy depending on its frequency and seriousness. We will terminate employees who repeatedly disregard this policy, even when they do so unintentionally.

Harassment and violence

To build a happy and productive workplace, we need everyone to treat others well and help them feel safe. Each of us should do our part to prevent harassment and workplace violence.

Workplace harassment

Harassment is a broad term and may include seemingly harmless actions, like gossip. We can’t create an exhaustive list, but here are some instances that we consider harassment:

 

• Sabotaging someone’s work on purpose.
• Engaging in frequent or unwanted advances of any nature.
• Commenting derogatorily on a person’s ethnic heritage or religious beliefs.
• Starting or spreading rumors about a person’s personal life.
• Ridiculing someone in front of others or singling them out to perform tasks unrelated to their job (e.g. bringing coffee) against their will.

 

Sexual harassment is illegal and we will seriously investigate relevant reports. If an employee is found guilty of sexual harassment, they will be terminated.

 

If you’re being harassed, whether by a colleague, customer or vendor, you can choose to talk to any of these people:

 

• Offenders. If you suspect that an offender doesn’t realize they are guilty of harassment, you could talk to them directly in an effort to resolve the harassment. This tactic is appropriate for cases of minor harassment (e.g. inappropriate jokes between colleagues.) Avoid using this approach with customers or stakeholders.

 

• Your manager. If customers, stakeholders or team members are involved in your claim, you may reach out to your manager. Your manager will assess your situation and may contact HR if appropriate.

 

Workplace violence

Violence in our workplace is a serious form of harassment. It includes physical and sexual assault, destruction of property, threats to harm a person or property and verbal and psychological abuse. We want to avoid those incidents altogether, but we also want to be ready to respond if needed. Report to HR if you suspect or know that someone is being violent. Your report will be confidential and we will investigate the situation with discretion.

 

We will treat employees who verbally threaten others as high risk and they will receive an appropriate penalty. If HR finds that an employee commits an act of violence, we will terminate that employee and possibly press criminal charges. Employees who damage property deliberately will be solely responsible for paying for it.

 

 

Get help early on

Seek help from others early on to mitigate conflicts. For example:

 

• If you experience conflicts with a colleague, ask your manager for advice before tensions escalate. If these conflicts persist, ask HR whether you could attend conflict resolution seminars with your colleague.

 

• If you are experiencing personal or work troubles, ask for help from a mental health professional. Check with your insurance provider to determine whether they cover any mental health services or ask HR for information on our Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Your discussions will remain confidential.

 

Our workplace is founded on mutual respect and we won’t allow anyone to compromise this foundation.

Workplace safety and health

Our company is committed to creating a hazard-free workplace. To this end, we will ensure workplace safety through preventative action and emergency management.

 

Preventative action

Preventative actions are any actions we take to avoid injuries or illnesses related to the workplace. We will periodically conduct risk assessments and job hazard analyses to uncover health risks to employees. And we will establish preventative measures to address risks accordingly.

 

At a minimum, we will:

• Train new employees on safety standards and procedures.
• Make sure employees who work in dangerous locations are safe.
• Provide protective gear like gloves, protective uniforms and goggles.

 

We also expect you to take safety seriously. Always use protective equipment and follow standards whenever necessary. If you deliberately disregard our guidelines, we may terminate you for your own and others’ safety.

Emergency management

Emergency management refers to our plan to deal with sudden catastrophes like fire, floods, earthquakes or explosions. Our emergency management provisions include:

• Functional smoke alarms and sprinklers that are regularly inspected.
• Technicians available to repair leakages, damages and blackouts quickly.
• Fire extinguishers and other fire protection equipment that are easily accessible.

 

Smoking

Licini Brothers is a smoke-free workplace. Restrooms, offices, staircases, and warehouses are strictly smoke-free to protect non-smokers.

 

Drug-free workplace

Licini Brothers is a drug-free workplace. Whether you are an employee, contractor or visitor, you must not bring, use, give away or sell any drugs on company premises. If you are caught with illegal drugs, or show that you are under the influence of substances, you will face disciplinary action up to and including termination.

 

2020 Global Pandemic (Coronavirus) Update 01/01/2021

Until employees are further notified or it is removed from this handbook, employees who take leave work with or take time off the following symptoms, MUST have a negative COVID-19 Test before returning to work:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Furthermore, any employee with a known exposure to Coronavirus must quartantine for 14 days before returning to work, except for those who are 1) Asymptomatic and 2) Fully Vaccinated. Even employees who have been vaccinated must quarantine and show a negative COVID Test before returning to work if they have experienced any of the above symptoms.

 

Employees who are out of work due to Coronavirus exposure are entitled to COVID-19 Sick Pay at up to two weeks (40 hours per week) per year at their Regular hourly rate.

 

Alcohol

We prohibit employees from consuming alcohol during working hours, but they may consume alcoholic drinks in moderation at company events.

 

Prescription drugs

If you feel that a prescription drug (e.g. an anxiety mediation) unexpectedly affects your senses, thinking or movement, ask for the rest of your day off. If your manager suspects substance abuse, you may face disciplinary action.

 

You must not use medical marijuana in our workplace. We have the right to terminate you if your off-duty use of medical marijuana makes you unable to complete your job duties correctly.

 

We expect employees who hold safety-sensitive jobs (e.g. machine operators or drivers) to be fully alert and capable of performing their duties at all times. We may terminate you if we conclude your prescription drug use creates severe safety risks. If you need to use prescription drugs for a limited time and you think they may impair your abilities, use your vacation time or sick leave.

 

If your job includes secondary tasks that are safety-sensitive and your prescribed drugs affect your ability to perform these tasks, we can make reasonable accommodations to ensure you and your colleagues’ safety.

 

We won’t tolerate substance addiction that results in violent, offensive or inappropriate behavior.

Employee Code of Conduct

As an employee, all company policies mentioned above apply to you. We have some additional expectations about your behavior at work, which we outline here. We can’t cover every single case of conduct, but we trust you to always use your best judgement. Reach out to your manager or HR if you face any issues or have any questions.

Dress code

Our company’s official dress code is Light Duty or Heavy Duty Workwear. This includes closed shoes, long pants, and three-quarter length or long sleeves. No dangling accessories, no loose hair or hairstyles. We expect you to be clean when coming to work and avoid wearing clothes that are unprofessional.

 

As long as you conform with our guidelines above, we don’t have specific expectations about what types of clothes or accessories you should wear. We also respect and permit grooming styles, clothing and accessories that are dictated by religious beliefs, ethnicity or disability, as long as they are acceptable by our standards for food-service cleanliness.

Cyber security and digital devices

This section deals with all things digital at work. We want to set some guidelines for using computers, phones, our internet connection and social media to ensure security and protect our assets.

Internet usage

Our corporate internet connection is primarily for business. But, you can occasionally use our connection for personal purposes as long as they don’t interfere with your job responsibilities. Also, we expect you to temporarily halt personal activities that slow down our internet connection (e.g. uploading photos) if you’re asked to.

 

You must not use our internet connection to:

• Download or upload obscene, offensive or illegal material.
• Send confidential information to unauthorized recipients.
• Invade another person’s privacy and gain access to sensitive information.
• Download or upload pirated movies, music, material or software.
• Visit potentially dangerous websites that can compromise our network and computers’ safety.
• Perform unauthorized or illegal actions, like hacking, fraud or buying/selling illegal goods.

Cell phone

We allow use of cell phones at work. But, we also want to ensure that your devices won’t distract you from your work or disrupt our workplace. We ask you to follow a few simple rules:

 

• Keep personal calls brief and use an area away from customer service areas.

 

• No playing games on your phone or texting in customer service areas.

 

• Never use your phone for any reason while driving a company vehicle.

 

• Don’t use your phone to record confidential information.

 

• Don’t download or upload inappropriate, illegal or obscene material using our corporate internet connection.

 

Also, you must not use your phone in areas where cell phone use is explicitly prohibited, such as all customer service areas.

Corporate email

Email is essential to our work. You should use your company email primarily for work, but we allow some uses of your company email for personal reasons.

 

• Work-related use. You can use your corporate email for work-related purposes without limitations. For example, you can sign up for newsletters and online services that will help you in your job or professional growth.

 

• Personal use. You may not use your email for personal reasons.

 

Our general expectations

No matter how you use your corporate email, we expect you to avoid:

• Signing up for illegal, unreliable, disreputable or suspect websites and services.
• Sending unauthorized marketing content or emails.
• Registering for a competitor’s services, unless authorized.
• Sending insulting or discriminatory messages and content.
• Intentionally spamming other people’s emails, including your coworkers.

 

In general, use strong passwords and be vigilant in catching emails that carry malware or phishing attempts.

Social media

We want to provide practical advice to prevent careless use of social media in our workplace.

 

We address two types of social media uses: using personal social media at work and representing our company through social media.

 

Using personal social media at work

You are not permitted to access your personal accounts at work.

 

 

Representing our company through social media

If you handle our social media accounts or speak on our company’s behalf, we expect you to protect our company’s image and reputation. Specifically, you should:

 

• Be respectful, polite and patient.
• Avoid speaking on matters outside your field of expertise when possible.
• Follow our confidentiality and data protection policies and observe laws governing copyrights, trademarks, plagiarism and fair use.
• Avoid deleting or ignoring comments for no reason.
• Correct or remove any misleading or false content as quickly as possible.

Conflict of interest

When you are experiencing a conflict of interest, your personal goals are no longer aligned with your responsibilities towards us. For example, accepting a bribe may benefit you financially, but it is illegal and against our business code of ethics. If we become aware of such behavior, you will lose your job and may face legal trouble.

 

For this reason, conflicts of interest are a serious issue for all of us. We expect you to be vigilant to spot circumstances that create conflicts of interest, either to yourself or for your direct reports. Follow our policies and always act in our company’s best interests. Whenever possible, do not let personal or financial interests get in the way of your job. If you are experiencing an ethical dilemma, talk to your manager or HR and we will try to help you resolve it.

Employee relationships

We want to ensure that relationships between employees are appropriate and harmonious. We outline our guidelines and we ask you to always behave professionally.

Fraternization

Fraternization refers to dating or being friends with your colleagues. In this policy, “dating” equals consensual romantic relationships and sexual relations. Non-consensual relationships constitute sexual violence and we prohibit them explicitly.

 

Dating colleagues

If you start dating a colleague, we expect you to maintain professionalism and keep personal discussions outside of our workplace.

 

You are also obliged to respect your colleagues who date each other. We won’t tolerate sexual jokes, malicious gossip and improper comments. If you witness this kind of behavior, please report it to HR.

 

Dating managers

To avoid accusations of favoritism, abuse of authority and sexual harassment, supervisors must not date their direct reports. This restriction extends to every manager above an employee.

 

Also, if you act as a hiring manager, you aren’t allowed to hire your partner to your team. You can refer them for employment to other teams or departments where you don’t have any managerial or hiring authority.

 

Friendships at work

Employees who work together may naturally form friendships either in or outside of the workplace. We encourage this relationship between peers, as it can help you communicate and collaborate. But, we expect you to focus on your work and keep personal disputes outside of our workplace.

Workplace visitors

If you want to invite a visitor to our offices, please ask for permission from your manager first. Also, inform your manager of your visitor’s arrival. Visitors may be asked to show identification.

 

When you have visitors, you also have responsibilities. You should:

• Always tend to your visitors (especially when they are underage.)

 

• Keep your visitors away from areas where there are dangerous machines, chemicals, confidential records or sensitive equipment.

 

Anyone who delivers orders, mail or packages for employees should remain at your reception area until otherwise asked to enter or complete their delivery.

Solicitation and distribution

Solicitation is any form of requesting money, support or participation for products, groups, organizations or causes which are unrelated to our company (e.g. religious proselytism, asking for petition signatures.) Distribution means disseminating literature or material for commercial or political purposes.

 

We don’t allow solicitation and distribution by non-employees in our workplace. As an employee, you may solicit from your colleagues only when you want to:

 

• Ask colleagues to help organize events for another employee (e.g. adoption/birth of a child, promotion, retiring.)
• Seek support for a cause, charity or fundraising event sponsored, funded, organized or authorized by our company.
• Invite colleagues to employee activities for an authorized non-business purpose (e.g. recreation, volunteering.)
• Ask colleagues to participate in employment-related activities or groups protected by law (e.g. trade unions.)

 

In all cases, we ask that you do not disturb or distract colleagues from their work.

 

Compensation & development

In this section, we outline our guidelines for compensating employees according to their employment status. We also describe our performance management and employee development policies.

Compensation status

 

There are two types of employees under FLSA guidelines:

 

• Non-exempt employees, who are covered by the FLSA’s minimum wage and overtime provisions.

 

• Exempt employees, who aren’t covered by the FLSA because they meet three exemption criteria: (a) they are paid at least [$23,600] per year ([$455] per week), (b) they are paid on a salary basis, and (c) they perform exempt job duties ("executive," "professional" and "administrative.") Most employees must meet all three criteria to be exempt.

 

If you are unsure as to whether you should be exempt or not, please ask HR to clarify your status.

 

The FLSA excludes some types of jobs (e.g. railroad workers, truck drivers) because they are covered by other federal laws. Some other workers, like outside salespeople, are excluded by definition. Feel free to ask HR for clarifications any time.

Overtime

Occasionally, we may need you to work more than your regular working hours. We will pay for overtime work according to local and national laws.

 

If you are an exempt employee, you are not entitled to overtime pay by federal law.

 

If you are a non-exempt employee, you are entitled to overtime pay of one and a half times your wage. Please record your overtime hours accurately, so we can calculate your pay correctly. We also ask you to work overtime only after it’s authorized by your supervisor to make our record-keeping easier.

Payroll

Hourly employees are paid weekly on Thursdays, with the week running from Thursday to Wednesday. Checks are issued on the last day of the work week.

 

Salaried Employees are paid weekly on Thursdays, one day after the end of their work week (2 days if the Monday is a Federal Holiday.)

 

 If you are an hourly employee, you should be diligent in clocking in and out or verbally reporting your hours so we can accurately calculate your pay.

Performance management

We have built our performance management practices to:

• Ensure you understand your job responsibilities and have specific goals to meet.
• Provide you with actionable and timely feedback on your work.
• Invest in development opportunities that help you grow professionally.
• Recognize and reward your work in financial or non-financial ways (e.g. employee awards.)

 

To meet these objectives, we have:

• Performance reviews are by-request. During these reviews, your manager will fill out your performance evaluation report and arrange a meeting with you to discuss it. Through these discussions, managers aim to recognize employees who are good at their jobs, identify areas of improvement and talk about career moves. Pay increases or bonuses are not guaranteed. There won’t be any forced ranking or other comparison between employees, as our goal is to help all employees improve and develop their careers.

 

How we expect managers to lead employees

If you manage a team, you are responsible for your team members’ performance. To conduct effective regular meetings and performance evaluations, we expect you to:

 

• Set clear objectives. Your team members should know what you expect of them. When you first hire someone to your team, ensure they understand their job duties.

 

• Provide useful feedback. During scheduled meetings with your team members, give them both guidance and praise, as appropriate. Be fair and specific to help them understand and implement your feedback.

 

• Keep your team members involved. There should be two-way communication between you and your team. Make your expectations clear, but always take your team members’ motivations and aspirations into account. Discuss training and development opportunities that may interest your team members.

 

• Keep logs with important incidents about each one of your team members. These logs help you evaluate your team, but may also prove useful when rewarding, promoting or terminating your team members.

Benefits and perks

Workers’ compensation

We strive to keep our workplace safe, but accidents may happen occasionally. Employees who are injured at work (by accident or disease) can receive wage replacement, medical care and rehabilitation benefits according to workers’ compensation laws, when appropriate. Please inform us of your injury as soon as possible. Ask HR for forms that you need to file a claim or contact your state agency for workers’ compensation.

 

Our company has a workers’ compensation policy according to guidelines of the states (or countries) we operate in. Coverage is held by THE HARTFORD

Workers' Compensation Policy
12 WEC AS6UYH

Company car

You may drive our company cars, vans or trucks if you:

 

• Need it as an indispensable part of your job (e.g. truck drivers and delivery drivers.)
• Receive it as a benefit attached to your job.

 

Either way, your car belongs to our company. You may use your company vehicle for personal reasons as our policy permits. You will get reimbursed only for approved, business-related expenses.

 

To use a company vehicle, you should have a valid driver’s license and a clean driving record for at least two years. Drive safe and sober and respect traffic laws and fellow motorists. You should also check your car regularly to ensure gas, tire pressure and all car fluids are at appropriate levels.

 

We expect you to avoid:

• Smoking in a company car.
• Leasing, selling or lending a company car.
• Using a company car to teach someone how to drive.
• Leaving your company car unlocked, unattended or parked in dangerous areas.
• Allowing unauthorized people to drive a company car, unless an emergency mandates it.

 

On our part, we will ensure that our cars are safe and in good condition, as well as appropriately insured.

 

Accidents

If you are involved in an accident with a company car, contact our HR department immediately, so we can get in touch with our insurance provider. You shouldn’t accept responsibility or guarantee payment to another person without authorization.

 

Follow this policy’s guidelines to avoid disciplinary action. For minor offenses, like allowing unauthorized people to drive a company car, we will reprimand you or reclaim your car. But for more serious offenses, like causing an accident while intoxicated, we may terminate you.

Parking

For locations with on-site parking, we prioritize parking space assignments for our customers. We will then allocate our remaining parking spaces on a first-come, first-served basis.  We expect you to keep our parking lot clean and use only your assigned space. Please behave responsibly to avoid causing damage, injury or loss of property.

 

We will not assume any liability for theft, vandalism, fire or damage regarding an employee’s vehicle in our parking lot.

Time

In this section, we explain our provisions for your working hours and time off. We include [five] types of leave and holidays.

Working hours

Our company hours vary with the open hours of your specific location. The office is available 8am to 7pm weekdays.

Paid time off (PTO)

Employees receive 5 days of Paid Time Off (PTO) per calendar year. You can take your PTO at any time after your first year with us, but you may use time off you haven’t accrued yet with your manager’s approval.

 

You cannot transfer any remaining PTO to the next year. We encourage you to use your time off throughout the year.

 

Holidays

Our company observes the following holidays:

 

• New Year’s Day
• Christmas Day
• Any other day when the location is required to be closed by the landlord

 

Holiday pay

• Full-time employees are entitled to their normal compensation without any deductions.
• Part-time employees do not receive holiday pay.

 

Sick leave

You can take sick leave to recover from short-term illness, injuries, mental issues other indisposition or to care for a family member suffering from any of the above. If you have the flu or other contagious disease, please use your sick days.

 

Occasionally, we may ask you to submit a physician’s note or other medical certification if you are absent for more than three days of sick leave.

 

 

Jury duty and voting

If you are called for jury duty and you are a Full Time exempt employee, you can take one day off without deduction from your salary. If local law stipulates more days of paid jury duty leave, we will follow the law.

 

We ask you to bring us a copy of your summons for jury duty and a document that proves you served before you can be paid.

Parental leave

Paternity and maternity leave

Our company does not offer paid maternity and paternity leave. You are encouraged to file for short-term disability, unemployment insurance and to use FML. Your job will be help for you for the length of your disability, FML, or a combination of both if you choose to use them. If local or national law stipulates longer leave, we will follow the law.

 

2020 Global Pandemic (Coronavirus) Update 01/01/2021

Any employee with a known exposure to Coronavirus must quarantine for 14 days before returning to work, except for those who are 1) Asymptomatic and 2) Fully Vaccinated. Even employees who have been vaccinated must quarantine and show a negative COVID Test before returning to work if they have experienced any of the above symptoms.

 

Employees who are out of work due to Coronavirus exposure are entitled to COVID-19 Sick Pay at up to two weeks (40 hours per week) per year at their Regular hourly rate (no overtime).

 

 

 

 

Leaving our company

In this section, we describe our procedures regarding resignation and termination of our employees. We also refer to our progressive discipline process that may sometimes result in termination.

 

We remind you that in the U.S. employment is “at-will.” This means that you or our company may terminate our employment relationship at any time and for any non-discriminatory reason.

Progressive discipline

Here we outline steps we will take to address employee misconduct. We want to give employees a chance to correct their behavior when possible and assist them in doing so. We also want to ensure that we thoroughly investigate and handle serious offenses.

 

Our progressive discipline process has six steps of increasing severity. These steps are:

1. Verbal warning
2. Informal meeting with supervisor

• Formal reprimand

1. Termination

 

Different offenses correspond to different steps in our disciplinary process. For example, minor, one-time offenses (e.g. breach of our dress code policy) will trigger Step 1. More severe violations (sexual harassment, drug use at work) will trigger step 5.

 

Managers may skip or repeat steps at their discretion. Our company may treat circumstances differently from that described in this policy. But, we are always obliged to act fairly and lawfully and document every stage of our progressive discipline process.

 

Keep in mind that our company isn’t obliged to follow the steps of our progressive discipline process. As you are employed “at-will” in the U.S, we may terminate you directly without launching a progressive discipline process. For serious offenses (e.g. sexual harassment), we may terminate you without warning.

Resignation

You resign when you voluntarily inform HR or your manager that you will stop working for our company. We also consider you resigned if you don’t come to work for [three] consecutive days without notice.

 

You are not obliged to give us advance notice before resigning. But, for efficiency’s sake, and to make sure our workplace runs smoothly, we ask that you give at least 10 day notice, if possible. If you hold a highly specialized or executive position, we ask that you give us at least three week notice, when possible.

 

We accept verbal resignations. Whether you want to announce your resignation to your team is up to you, but we encourage you to be open.

Forced resignation

You can resign anytime at your own free will and nobody should force you into resignation. Forcing someone into resigning (directly or indirectly) is constructive dismissal and we won’t tolerate it. Specifically, we prohibit employees from:

• Creating a hostile or unpleasant environment.
• Demanding or coaxing an employee to resign.
• Victimizing, harassing or retaliating against an employee.
• Forcing an employee to resign by taking unofficial adverse actions (e.g. demotions, increased workload).

Termination

Terminating an employee is always unpleasant but sometimes necessary. If that happens, we want to ensure we act lawfully and respectfully.

 

We may terminate an employee either for cause or without cause.

• For cause termination is justified when an employee breaches their contract, engages in illegal activities (e.g. embezzlement), disrupts our workplace (e.g. harasses colleagues), performs below acceptable standards or causes damage or financial loss to our company.

 

• Without cause termination refers to redundancies or layoffs that may be necessary if we cease some of our operations or re-assign job duties within teams. We will follow applicable laws regarding notice and payouts.

 

 

If you manage team members, avoid wrongful dismissal. When you terminate an employee for cause, we expect you to be certain you made the right choice and keep accurate performance and/or disciplinary records to support your decision.

References

When we terminate employees, we may provide references for those who leave in good standing. This means that employees shouldn’t have been terminated for cause. If you are laid off, you may receive references. Please ask your manager.

 

If you resign, you may ask for references and your manager has a right to oblige or refuse.

Policy revision

We will always strive for fairness and equal opportunity and penalize offensive and illegal behaviors. But, as laws and our environment change, we may revise and modify some of our policies.

 

We have established an annual revision of our handbook to bring it up to date with legislation and employment trends. We also ask you to contact HR if you spot any inconsistencies or mistakes. And, if you have any ideas about how to improve our workplace, we are happy to hear them.