Description
Overview
Updating an employee handbook may seem routine—but small mistakes can create major legal exposure. Poorly drafted policies, outdated language, or well-intentioned changes can unintentionally undermine legal defenses, create enforceable promises, or conflict with actual workplace practices.
This session highlights the most common—and most dangerous—errors employers make when revising employee handbooks. Participants will learn which policies are legally mandated or strongly recommended for 2026, how wording choices can increase liability, and how to avoid handbook updates that turn into legal landmines.
Why you should attend
By participating, you will understand:
- Why handbook updates often create legal problems
- Over‑promising and inflexible policy language
- Mandated and high‑risk policies for 2026
- Disclaimers, acknowledgments, and at‑will statements
- State‑specific considerations and multi‑state employers
- Best practices for legally sound handbook revisions
Who will benefit
- HR professionals
- Business owners and executives
- Managers involved in policy enforcement
- Anyone responsible for drafting, reviewing, or approving employee handbooks
Areas covered
- Identify common handbook mistakes that increase legal risk
- Understand how policy language can create unintended obligations
- Learn which policies are mandated or highly recommended for 2026
- Avoid inconsistencies between policies and actual practices
- Strengthen the handbook as a compliance and risk‑management tool
- Mandated and high-risk policies for 2026
- Disclaimers, acknowledgments, and at-will employment statements
- Avoiding inconsistencies between handbook language and actual practices
- State-specific considerations and challenges for multi-state employers
- Best practices for legally sound and defensible handbook revisions
- Using the handbook as a compliance and risk-management tool.
Meet your speaker
Chris DeVany
Chris DeVany is the founder and president of Pinnacle Performance Improvement Worldwide, a firm which focuses on management and organization development. Pinnacle’s clients include global organizations such as Visa International, Cadence Design Systems, Coca Cola, Sprint, Microsoft, Aviva Insurance, Schlumberger and over 500 other organizations in 22 countries. He also has consulted to government agencies from the United States, the Royal Government of Saudi Arabia, Canada, Cayman Islands and the United Kingdom.
He has published numerous articles in the fields of surviving mergers and acquisitions, surviving change, project management, management, sales, team-building, leadership, ethics, customer service, diversity and work-life balance, in publications ranging from ASTD/Performance In Practice to Customer Service Management. His book, “90 Days to a High-Performance Team”, published by McGraw Hill and often accompanied by in-person, facilitated instruction, has helped and continues to help thousands of executives, managers and team leaders improve performance.
He has appeared hundreds of times on radio and television interview programs to discuss mergers and acquisitions (how to manage and survive them), project management, sales, customer service, effective workplace communication, management, handling rapid personal and organizational change and other topical business issues.
He has served or is currently serving as a board member of the International Association of Facilitators, Sales and Marketing Executives International, American Management Association, American Society of Training and Development, Institute of Management Consultants, American Society of Association Executives, Meeting Professionals International and National Speakers Association. Chris is an award-winning Toastmaster’s International Competition speaker. He recently participated in the Fortune 500 Annual Management Forum as a speaker, panelist and seminar leader.
Chris has distinguished himself professionally by serving multiple corporations as manager and trainer of sales, operations, project management, IT, customer service and marketing professionals. Included among those business leaders are Prudential Insurance, Sprint, BayBank (now part of Bank of America), US Health Care and Marriott Corporation.
He has assisted these organizations in mergers and acquisitions, facilitating post-merger and acquisition integration, developing project management, sales, customer service and marketing strategies, organizing inbound and outbound call center programs, training and development of management and new hires, and fostering corporate growth through creative change and innovation initiatives.
Chris holds degrees in management studies and organizational behavior from Boston University. He has traveled to 22 countries and 47 states in the course of his career.
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