Forums

Using Email to Communicate a Benefits Change to Employees
Legal Forum
Using Email to Communicate a Benefits Change to Employees
Discuss employment-law issues such as family leave, overtime, disabilities law, harassment, immigration and termination.
Can email be the sole source used to communicate a change in a policy/benefit to employees? For example, a change in a workmen's compensation procedure indicating employees have 24 hours to alert thei
0
Cat:Topic ForumsForum:ForumId54
Cat:Topic ForumsForum:ForumId54Discussion:DiscussionId36711

Forums » Topic Forums » Legal Forum » Using Email to Communicate a Benefits Change to Employees

You must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register
 
Forums  »  Topic Forums  »  Legal Forum  »  Using Email to Communicate a Benefits Change to Employees

Using Email to Communicate a Benefits Change to Employees

posted at 9/7/2010 7:45 AM EDT
Posts: 1
First: 9/7/2010
Last: 9/7/2010
Can email be the sole source used to communicate a change in a policy/benefit to employees? For example, a change in a workmen's compensation procedure indicating employees have 24 hours to alert their manager they have been hurt on the job - failure to do so in 24 hours may result in discipline of the employee.
Is there a legal issue with sending the notice out only on email rather than obtaining an employee signature noting they have read and understand the policy change?
New post Reply to this post

Using Email to Communicate a Benefits Change to Employees

posted at 9/7/2010 7:55 AM EDT
Posts: 1771
First: 10/24/2002
Last: 9/14/2011
I don't see any legal issues, however, please understand that only about 20% of your employees are going to actually read this email message. And that you're going to get a lot of flack when one of the other 80% is injured, breaks the unread policy, and gets disciplined. And that this may turn into a big legal problem when the employee hires an attorney to make a claim against your company for disciplining people because they make WCB claims.
New post Reply to this post

Using Email to Communicate a Benefits Change to Employees

posted at 9/13/2010 1:23 PM EDT
Posts: 2442
First: 2/12/2000
Last: 9/14/2011
IMHO this is very problematic.

You would have to be able to demonstrate to a certainty that all of your staff received and opened it.

How would you rebut the argument before a judge who asks "how do you actually know that they received the materials or understand the impact?"

New post Reply to this post

Forums » Topic Forums » Legal Forum » Using Email to Communicate a Benefits Change to Employees

Daily Q&A

How Do We Keep Our Best During Upheaval?

Things are getting scary for us. We recently had to downsize, and since then have lost some of our best people to other jobs. Aside from boosting their pay (which isn't feasible now), what practical steps can we take to keep them from quitting on us?

——Clinging to Hope, talent coordinator, hospitality, Guatemala

Read Answer

Stay Connected

Join our community for unlimited access to the latest tips, news and information in the HR world.

  • Workforce Technology (Bi-weekly)

    Covering the latest technology trends, tools and applications that are shaping the workforce in the 21st century. Delivered the 2nd & 4th Thursday of each month.

  • Dear Workforce (Bi-weekly)

    See what HR professionals are asking, and what Workforce Management experts are saying. Delivered the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month.

  • Workforce Benefits (Weekly)

    Stay current on all aspects of employee benefits, from health care to retirement issues. Delivered on Wednesdays.

  • Workforce Week (Weekly)

    Free weekly update on the trends in HR and new tools added to Workforce.com. Delivered each Tuesday.

  • Workforce Talent (Monthly)

    See the recruiting, talent development and retention strategies of top companies and get the resources for effective talent management. Delivered the 2nd Monday of each month.

  • Workforce Training (Monthly)

    Stay current on the latest strategies and resources for training and developing your workforce talent. Delivered the 3rd Monday of each month.

HR Jobs

View All Job Listings

Search