Consistency is not only good business practice — it is also a cornerstone of legal defensibility. In addition to affording the company important legal protections, employee handbooks are powerful tools for shaping company culture. Handbooks also communicate: • Core company values and mission, aligning employees with the company’s vision. • Ethical standards, reinforcing integrity and accountability. • Legal policies memorializing operative state and federal requirements that apply to the dealership’s business to facilitate employees’ adherence to the company’s compliance obligations in the conduct of its business. Unfortunately, too many businesses treat employee handbooks as optional or outdated, or even “cookie-cutter.” There is, however, no one-size-fits-all. In today’s regulatory climate, carefully drafted employee handbooks that incorporate current legal policies and requirements are indispensable. A dealership handbook that does not accurately address an employer’s present policies and practices or the application of current law is a liability. Whether you are a large dealership group with multiple franchises at multiple locations or are a small, single-point dealership, investing in a clear, comprehensive and legally sound employee handbook, and updating your handbook to stay current with the ever-changing myriad of state and federal laws and regulations, is one of the smartest moves you can make. It is not just paperwork — it is protection. Julie A. Cardosi is Principal of the private firm, Law Office of Julie A. Cardosi, P.C., of Springfield, Illinois, and has been practicing law for nearly 40 years, exclusively representing the unique business interests of automobile dealers state-wide for over 30 years. Formerly in-house staff legal counsel for the Illinois Automobile Dealers Association, she concentrates her practice in the areas of dealership ownership transfers (asset purchases and stock acquisitions), mergers and acquisitions, franchise law and franchise issues, factory relations, corporate law, add points, commercial real estate transfers, employment and other issues impacting day-to-day dealership operations. She authored the original versions of IADA’s Employment Policies Manual and Job Description Manual. Dealers may wish to seek the advice of their own counsel on the subject matter of this article. 9 Illinois Automobile Dealer News
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