Definitions in Policy

joannie

O Learned Ones, what is your opinion of including definitions of terms, copied directly from the regs, in your policies? Do you or not? Is it beneficial to avoiding litigation or is it better to let the lawyers refer to the definitions in the regulation?

stilldazed

We do not include definitions, but a class I had a few months back on policy development advised that definitions and sources should be included for each policy. To abbreviate the process and allow for potential changes at the source, I might be willing to compromise in the policy and refer the policy to the source's definition. By that I mean, if I were writing a policy that included "employee," and "employee" needed to be defined. Rather than add in FLSA's definition of "employee," I might include a statement referring the policy reader/interpreter to the FLSA as in, "as defined in Fair Labor Standards Act." That way if the source were ever modified, there would be no update required in your policy definitions.

Stephen B. Page is supposed to be one of the foremost experts on policy/procedure development in the workplace, and he recommends that policies include definitions. His books are available in most online book stores.

best wishes

Cheryl S SPHR

My experience has been that the same word can have different meanings in different regs. That being the case, I like having definitions in policy from a practical standpoint.

joannie

Thanks for the info Cheryl & dazed. It is so nice to have the forum as a resource.

stilldazed

The forum is a great place, given the access to so much practical experience and knowledge.