There is no doubt that we are a technology driven society – we send emails, scan, (fax…?), tweet, chat, connect, like – we do a lot. And companies have had to adopt technology as a part of the internal business process for not only efficiency, but to remain relevant and to keep up with competition on the information super-highway.
But there are definitely reasons why good ole’ paper is still required. Particularly when you are making policies changes that have to do with legal rights and obligations. ALWAYS acknowledge that your employees have received and read the policy change.
Why? Well way back in 2000 (ha…technology was no where near the level it is now in terms of use, but I digress), General Dynamics Government Systems Corporation was sued by an employee for disability discrimination. They disputed the lawsuit, saying the employee wasn’t allowed to sue and had to arbitrate the case out of court, based on a lengthy policy change they disseminated via email months before as a mandatory policy, and, they argued that the email counted as a valid agreement to waive the employee’s right to sue. Hmmmm…so what do you think the courts said to that? You’re right, they said, “no way”…and the employee claimed he never received that email. So, the case went to court. The court ruled that important policies, such as this, should be held to a higher standard and should required acknowledgment of receipt and confirmation of agreement, neither of which happened in this case.
And the moral of this story (case)? When in doubt, print it out. Policy info sent out that doesn’t require waiving of rights and obligations are “ok” to send via email, but there should be some record of the employee having received it and read it. (Psst..use the technology we have called, “Read/Receipt” available in the email software – just a thought :)).
For more information about this case, click here.
If your business is in need of policy/procedure development and implementation, contact HRPro4You, LLC for a complementary consultation.
