The Workplace today is governed by a multitude of Federal and State regulations regarding Owner-Employee conduct. The personnel regulations are to keep Owners from becoming heavy-handed in their business relations with their Employees. The regulations also protect the Owner from Employees who take advantage of the Owner’s trust in them. It is to the benefit of both parties to have a set of policies that clearly establish a codified set of rules that are within the Federal and State boundaries.

For example, it is common to have policies governing the following topics:

• • Company property and resources
• • Computer Use
• • Finances
• • Internet Use
• • Personal Conduct
• • Personnel hiring and firing
• • Security

Should an Employee have a grievance with the Owner, that Employee has the right to have the Texas Work Commission (TWC) decide which party has taken the correct action. The key as to how the TWC will rule entirely depends on if there is a Company policy in place.

The Employee must have signed a paper (kept in their Personnel File) that they received a set of the current Company policies when they were hired, all questions have been responded to, and most importantly, that the Employee understands the policies.

The TWC will find for the Employee if the Owner has imposed a penalty where there is no written Company policy, even though the appropriate Employee conduct would be obvious to the most casual observer.