Employee Handbooks and employment

[cilantro]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I have been employed with my current employer for 2 years now, and recently they updated the company employee handbook with a lot of new guidelines. For instance, there is a paragraph in there that you must tell them if you are doing any work outside you engage in outside the office hours you normally work for them.

It states that the employee handbook is a not a contract for employment and all positions are at-will. My understanding of At-Will means they can terminate me for no reason at all whenever they choose. If this is the case, why sign an employee handbook because whether I do or not they can terminate me? Am I under any obligation to do sign as I'm already employed and signed a different one before I first started?

Thanks

 

[ecmst12]

Your signature is merely acknowledgement that you received the document. If you refuse, that's insubordination and they can fire you for that. There is no advantage to not signing.

 

[pattytx]

And they want you to acknowledge receipt of the handbook so that you can't come back later and whine "Nobody ever told me...". Not signing does not relieve you of the obligation to comply with the employer's policies and procedures that may be contained therein.

 

[Hot Topic]

It's perfectly reasonable for your company to know that you're not working for a competitor on weekends, for example, or not completing assignments from that company on their time.

I once temped at a company with another temp who was using the company's telephone and time to sell Avon products. She was asked to stop but ignored the request. The company told the employment agency not to send her anymore.