Employee Handbook - Louisiana

EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK

State of Louisiana

[COMPANY LEGAL NAME]

Effective Date: [MM/DD/YYYY]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Handbook Status and Administration
2. Equal Employment, Pregnancy, and Accommodation
3. Wage, Hour, Payday, Break, and PTO Policies
4. Family, Pregnancy, Court, Political, Safety, and Military Leave
5. Safety, Workers Compensation, Smoke-Free Workplace, and Weapons
6. Records, Confidentiality, and Protected Activity
7. Conduct, Attendance, and Corrective Action
8. Separation of Employment
9. Administration and Acknowledgment

1. HANDBOOK STATUS AND ADMINISTRATION

1.1 Purpose and Scope

This Handbook states the general policies of [Company Legal Name] (the “Company”) for Employees working in Louisiana. It must be completed for the Company's workforce, locations, industry, benefits, and any collective bargaining agreement before distribution.

1.2 Not a Contract; Employment Relationship

This Handbook is not an employment contract, a promise of employment for a fixed term, or a guarantee that any particular corrective-action step will be used. Unless a signed agreement, collective bargaining agreement, or applicable law provides otherwise, either the Employee or the Company may end an indefinite employment relationship at any time. Only [AUTHORIZED TITLE] may sign an agreement changing that relationship.

1.3 Reporting Channels and Anti-Retaliation

An Employee may report a concern orally or in writing to [SUPERVISOR], [HR CONTACT], or [ALTERNATE/ETHICS CONTACT], and may bypass anyone involved in the concern. The Company will respond promptly and impartially and prohibits retaliation for good-faith reports, accommodation requests, wage complaints, protected leave, jury service, political activity protected by law, safety reports, workers compensation activity, participation in an investigation, or other legally protected conduct.

1.4 Definitions, Coverage, and Local-Law Review

“Employee” means an individual employed by the Company, whether full-time, part-time, temporary, or seasonal. A statute or benefit plan may use a different eligibility definition.

“Workweek” means the fixed seven-day period beginning at [DAY/TIME] and ending at [DAY/TIME] for payroll and overtime purposes.

Complete before issue:

• Twenty or more Employees in Louisiana for general Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law review: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• More than twenty-five Employees in Louisiana for Louisiana pregnancy-law review: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Fifteen or more Employees for federal pregnancy-accommodation review: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Fifty or more Employees for FMLA review: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Employees under age sixteen: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Workers compensation coverage secured or lawful exception confirmed: ☐ Yes ☐ No
• Collective bargaining agreement applies: ☐ Yes ☐ No

Human Resources must separately review every parish and municipal ordinance applicable to an Employee's work location. This state template does not substitute for a local overlay.

2. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT, PREGNANCY, AND ACCOMMODATION

2.1 Equal Employment Opportunity

The Company prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition, national origin, military status, natural, protective, or cultural hairstyle, age, disability, protected genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other status protected by Company policy or applicable state, federal, or local law.

Louisiana and federal laws use different protected characteristics, definitions, exceptions, and employer-size thresholds. Human Resources must apply each law that covers the Company and Employee.

2.2 Complaint Procedure

Employees should report discrimination, harassment, retaliation, or an accommodation need to [HR CONTACT] or [ALTERNATE CONTACT]. Reports will be addressed promptly and as confidentially as reasonably possible. Employees may contact a government agency or pursue another protected remedy without first exhausting this internal process.

2.3 Pregnancy, Childbirth, Lactation, and Accommodation

For an employer covered by La. R.S. 23:341-342, pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions are treated as temporary disability subject to the statute's rules. The Company will provide reasonable accommodation for known covered limitations unless it can establish undue hardship, will not force leave when another reasonable accommodation can be provided, and will provide and post the written notice required by La. R.S. 23:342.

Louisiana pregnancy leave means six weeks for a normal pregnancy and childbirth or the period of disability caused by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition, but not more than four months. An Employee may use accrued annual leave during that period. Human Resources must also coordinate any greater benefit or protection under Company policy, temporary-disability policy, the FMLA, the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, or other applicable law.

Reasonable accommodation may include more frequent or longer compensated breaks and a private place other than a bathroom stall to express breast milk. Louisiana treats lactation and the need to express breast milk for up to one year after birth as a related medical condition. Federal law also requires covered employers to provide reasonable break time when needed and a private place other than a bathroom, shielded from view and free from intrusion, for one year after birth, subject to its terms and small-employer undue-hardship provision.

3. WAGE, HOUR, PAYDAY, BREAK, AND PTO POLICIES

3.1 Classification and Minimum Wage

Human Resources will classify workers based on actual duties and the working relationship, not labels alone. Salaried status by itself does not establish an overtime exemption.

Covered Employees will receive at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour or any higher applicable federal, local, contractual, or Company rate. A tip credit, youth rate, or exemption may be used only after written payroll and legal review.

3.2 Timekeeping and Overtime

Non-exempt Employees must accurately record all time worked, including authorized or unauthorized work before or after a shift, remote work, compensable travel, training, interrupted meals, and work communications. Working off the clock is prohibited, but all time actually worked must be recorded and paid.

Covered non-exempt Employees will receive one and one-half times the regular rate for hours worked over forty in a Workweek. Overtime should be approved in advance, but lack of approval does not permit unpaid work.

3.3 Wage Notice, Paydays, and Deductions

At hire, the Company will inform Employees of their wage rate, payment method, and payment frequency and will communicate later changes. The designated pay schedule is [WEEKLY / BIWEEKLY / SEMIMONTHLY / OTHER], and payday is [____].

Human Resources must review La. R.S. 23:633 before selecting the schedule. Covered manufacturing, oil-boring, mining, and public-service employers generally must pay non-exempt covered Employees at least twice each calendar month. An employer that does not designate paydays is subject to the statute's first-and-sixteenth default.

The Company will make deductions required by law and other deductions only after Payroll or Human Resources confirms a lawful basis. The Company will not assess or deduct a fine from wages except to the limited extent La. R.S. 23:635 permits recovery of actual damage for specified willful or negligent property damage or theft. Workers compensation premiums will not be charged to Employees.

3.4 Meal and Rest Periods

Louisiana does not impose the youth rule in La. R.S. 23:213 on adult Employees. The Company's adult policy is:

• Meal period: [PAID / UNPAID / LENGTH / ELIGIBILITY]
• Rest periods: [PAID / LENGTH / FREQUENCY]
• Reporting interrupted meals or missed breaks: [METHOD]

A minor under sixteen may not work a five-hour period without a thirty-minute meal interval. The break and any time edit must be documented through the normal timekeeping system as required by La. R.S. 23:213. Human Resources must separately verify all current Louisiana and federal youth-hour and hazardous-duty restrictions before employing a minor.

Short rest periods provided by the Company will be treated as paid time when federal law requires. An unpaid meal period must be duty-free; any work during it must be reported and paid.

3.5 Vacation and General PTO

The Company's written policy is:

• Accrual method: [____]
• Carryover and cap: [____]
• Permitted uses: [____]
• Separation payout rule: [____]
• Scheduling and approval rules: [____]

Vacation pay is due at separation when an Employee has become eligible for and accrued it under the Company's stated policy and has not taken or been paid for it. The policy will not forfeit vacation pay already earned.

4. FAMILY, PREGNANCY, COURT, POLITICAL, SAFETY, AND MILITARY LEAVE

4.1 Federal Family and Medical Leave

The FMLA applies to a private employer with fifty or more Employees for each working day during twenty or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding calendar year and to covered public employers. An Employee generally must have twelve months of service, 1,250 hours worked in the prior twelve months, and fifty Employees within seventy-five miles of the worksite.

Eligible Employees may receive up to twelve workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying family, medical, and military-exigency reasons and up to twenty-six workweeks in a single twelve-month period for qualifying military-caregiver leave. A separate FMLA policy and required notices control administration.

4.2 Louisiana Pregnancy Leave

Pregnancy leave and accommodation will be administered under Section 2.3. Human Resources must coordinate Louisiana pregnancy leave with the FMLA, paid leave, disability benefits, and any law or policy providing greater protection without requiring leave when another required reasonable accommodation can be provided.

4.3 Jury Service

An Employee must notify [CONTACT] within a reasonable time after receiving a jury summons and before appearing for jury duty. The Company will not discharge or otherwise subject an Employee to an adverse employment action without cause because the Employee was called for or is serving jury duty.

A person regularly employed in Louisiana who is called or subpoenaed for a state petit jury, grand jury, or central jury pool will receive up to one day of leave for the time required for jury duty without loss of wages or sick, emergency, personal leave, or another benefit. Additional jury leave is [PAID / UNPAID] under Company policy, subject to any other applicable pay rule.

4.4 Voting and Political Activity

The Company's voting-time policy is [PAID / UNPAID / AMOUNT / NOTICE]. La. R.S. 23:961 is not a two-hour paid-voting-leave rule. For an employer regularly employing twenty or more Employees, it restricts employer rules, threats, and coercion that forbid, control, or influence protected political participation and affiliation.

4.5 Company Safety Leave

The Company provides the following confidential safety leave or schedule adjustment for an Employee affected by domestic abuse, sexual assault, stalking, or another safety threat: [ELIGIBILITY / AMOUNT / PAID OR UNPAID / NOTICE / CONTACT]. This Company policy must be administered consistently. Human Resources must separately evaluate FMLA, disability or pregnancy accommodation, subpoena or court obligations, local law, and other applicable protections.

4.6 Bone-Marrow and Living-Organ Donor Leave

Under current La. R.S. 40:1263.4, an employer with twenty or more Employees at at least one site must provide up to forty work hours of paid leave, unless the employer agrees to more, to a covered Employee who averages twenty or more work hours per week and seeks to donate bone marrow. The Company may require physician verification of purpose and length and will not retaliate for a protected request or leave.

Effective August 1, 2026: Act 506 adds La. R.S. 40:1264.1-1264.2. The Act defines a private employer as a listed private entity with one or more Employees and directs private employers to provide written-request unpaid leave for living-organ or bone-marrow donation. It also establishes paid living-organ-donor leave for qualifying full-time state-agency Employees.

Act 506 defines “Employee” as a qualifying full-time state-agency Employee even though its private-employer provision uses that defined term, and its private-leave duration clause says the length is “equal to the time requested by the employee or thirty consecutive calendar days” without stating which controls. Human Resources must have Louisiana counsel determine private-sector eligibility, duration, pay status, and concurrency after August 1 and coordinate Act 506 with the existing paid bone-marrow rule.

4.7 Military Leave

The Company will provide nondiscrimination, leave, benefit, and reemployment rights required by USERRA. Employees should notify [CONTACT] of service obligations when notice is possible. Human Resources must separately review any Louisiana public-employer, National Guard, emergency-service, or military-leave rule applicable to the Company or Employee.

4.8 Company Leave

5. SAFETY, WORKERS COMPENSATION, SMOKE-FREE WORKPLACE, AND WEAPONS

5.1 Workplace Safety

Employees must follow safety rules, use required protective equipment, and promptly report hazards, injuries, and illnesses to [CONTACT]. The Company prohibits retaliation for a good-faith safety or injury report.

5.2 Workers Compensation

The Louisiana Workers' Compensation Act broadly covers Employees performing services in the course of their own or the employer's trade, business, or occupation, subject to the elections and exceptions in La. R.S. 23:1035. The Company will secure compensation through authorized insurance, an approved fund or agency, or authorized self-insurance as required by La. R.S. 23:1168.

Coverage or a lawful exception has been confirmed: ☐ Yes. Employees should report a work-related injury or illness immediately to [CONTACT] so the Company can meet insurance, notice, recordkeeping, and reporting duties.

5.3 Smoke-Free Workplace

Smoking is prohibited in enclosed areas within the workplace, and the Company will not knowingly permit it, subject to the exceptions in La. R.S. 40:1291.11. The Company prohibits retaliation for a complaint or information concerning a violation. Human Resources must separately review stricter local smoke-free ordinances.

5.4 Drug, Alcohol, Violence, and Weapons

The Company policy is [NO TESTING / SEPARATE TESTING POLICY ATTACHED]. This Handbook alone does not establish a drug-testing program. Employees may not work while impaired in a manner that prevents safe performance. Threats and violence are prohibited.

The Company may prohibit weapons in Company buildings, work areas, and Company-owned or leased vehicles to the extent permitted by law. A person who lawfully possesses a firearm may generally transport or store it in a locked, privately owned motor vehicle in a designated parking area. The Company may require the firearm to be hidden from plain view or kept in a locked case or container within the vehicle. Human Resources must review the statutory exceptions for legally prohibited locations, employer vehicles, and access-restricted parking before applying this policy.

6. RECORDS, CONFIDENTIALITY, AND PROTECTED ACTIVITY

6.1 Confidential Information and Lawful Disclosures

Employees must protect legitimate confidential information, trade secrets, customer information, and personal data learned through work. This policy does not prohibit an Employee from reporting suspected unlawful conduct to a government agency or attorney, cooperating in an investigation, discussing wages or working conditions where protected, engaging in protected concerted activity, or exercising another legally protected right.

6.2 Company Systems and Social Media

Company systems and equipment are provided primarily for business use and may be accessed, preserved, or monitored to the extent permitted by applicable law and Company policy. Employees must not disclose protected confidential information or engage in unlawful harassment or threats through Company systems or social media.

This policy does not prohibit protected discussion of wages, hours, or working conditions, lawful political activity, government reporting, or other activity protected by law. Human Resources must review a proposed disciplinary action based on online activity before it is imposed.

6.3 Separate Agreements

Any restrictive covenant, invention assignment, confidentiality agreement, commission plan, bonus plan, arbitration agreement, or drug-testing program must be separately drafted and reviewed under current Louisiana and federal law. This Handbook itself does not assign all Employee inventions or create an arbitration obligation.

7. CONDUCT, ATTENDANCE, AND CORRECTIVE ACTION

7.1 Expected Conduct

Employees must perform assigned duties safely and honestly; comply with lawful policies; accurately record time and business records; protect Company, customer, and coworker property; avoid unlawful harassment, threats, or violence; and disclose actual conflicts of interest to [HR/COMPLIANCE].

7.2 Attendance and Call-In

Employees unable to report as scheduled must notify [CONTACT] by [METHOD] at least [____] before the shift when practicable. This policy will be administered consistently with accommodation, FMLA, pregnancy, donor, jury, military, workers compensation, and other protected-absence laws.

7.3 Corrective Action

The Company may use coaching, verbal warning, written warning, final warning, suspension, or termination. It may select or skip steps based on the circumstances. This policy does not create a contract or authorize action for a protected reason.

8. SEPARATION OF EMPLOYMENT

8.1 Notice and Return of Property

Employees are requested, but not required by this Handbook, to provide [____] days' resignation notice. At separation, Employees must return Company property and records. The Company will not delay final wages because property is missing and will not deduct a fine or disputed amount unless Payroll or Human Resources confirms that current law permits the deduction.

8.2 Final Pay and Benefits

Upon discharge, earned wages will be paid on or before the next regular payday or no later than fifteen days after discharge, whichever occurs first. Upon resignation, earned wages will be paid on or before the next regular payday for the pay cycle in which the Employee worked at separation or no later than fifteen days after resignation, whichever occurs first. If the amount due is disputed, the undisputed portion will be timely paid.

Earned vacation, commissions, incentive pay, bonuses, severance, expenses, and benefits will be handled under La. R.S. 23:631, the governing written policy, plan, or agreement, and other applicable law. The limited statutory exclusion for certain partnership profits interests must not be generalized to ordinary wages or earned compensation.

9. ADMINISTRATION AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

9.1 Policy Administration

The Company may prospectively revise policies in writing, subject to applicable law, earned wages and leave, contracts, and collective bargaining agreements. If a policy conflicts with controlling law, the law controls and the policy will be administered as closely as possible to its lawful purpose.

9.2 No Mandatory Internal Exhaustion

Employees are encouraged to use internal reporting channels, but nothing in this Handbook requires an Employee to waive or delay a right to contact a government agency, file a charge, report a crime, seek emergency assistance, consult counsel, discuss wages or working conditions where protected, or pursue another protected remedy.

9.3 No Risk-Shifting Terms

This Handbook does not impose arbitration, a jury waiver, employee indemnity, a damages cap, attorney-fee shifting, an exclusive court forum, a pre-claim notice-and-cure period, or a force-majeure excuse from wage, leave, safety, or insurance obligations.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT

I, [EMPLOYEE NAME], acknowledge that I received the [Company Legal Name] Employee Handbook effective [MM/DD/YYYY] and understand that I am expected to follow its lawful policies. I understand that this acknowledgment and the Handbook are not employment contracts and do not promise employment for a fixed term.

Sources and References

• Louisiana Civil Code article 2747 — Indefinite Employment Relationship
• La. R.S. 23:302 — Employment Discrimination Definitions and Coverage
• La. R.S. 23:312 — Age Discrimination
• La. R.S. 23:332 — Intentional Employment Discrimination
• La. R.S. 23:341 — Pregnancy-Law Coverage
• La. R.S. 23:341.1 — Pregnancy-Accommodation Definitions
• La. R.S. 23:342 — Pregnancy Leave and Accommodation
• La. R.S. 23:368 — Genetic Information
• La. R.S. 23:631 — Final Pay and Earned Vacation
• La. R.S. 23:632 — Wage-Payment Liability
• La. R.S. 23:633 — Wage Notice and Paydays
• La. R.S. 23:634 — Wage-Forfeiture Contracts
• La. R.S. 23:635 — Fines and Wage Deductions
• La. R.S. 23:213 — Meal Periods for Minors Under Sixteen
• La. R.S. 23:961 — Employee Political Rights
• La. R.S. 23:965 — Jury Service
• La. R.S. 40:1263.4 — Paid Bone-Marrow-Donor Leave
• 2026 La. Acts No. 506 — Living-Organ and Bone-Marrow Donor Leave
• Louisiana Legislature — SB 409 / Act 506 Status and August 1, 2026 Effective Date
• La. R.S. 23:1035 — Workers Compensation Coverage
• La. R.S. 23:1168 — Securing Workers Compensation
• La. R.S. 32:292.1 — Firearms in Locked Private Vehicles
• La. R.S. 40:1291.11 — Smoke-Free Enclosed Workplaces
• 29 U.S.C. § 157 — Protected Concerted Activity
• 29 U.S.C. § 206 — Federal Minimum Wage
• 29 U.S.C. § 207 — Federal Overtime
• 29 U.S.C. § 218d — Lactation Breaks and Space
• 29 U.S.C. §§ 2611-2612 and 2614 — FMLA Eligibility, Leave, and Restoration
• 29 C.F.R. § 785.11 — Work Not Requested but Suffered or Permitted
• 29 C.F.R. §§ 785.18-785.19 — Rest and Meal Periods
• 38 U.S.C. §§ 4311-4312 — USERRA Nondiscrimination and Reemployment
• 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000gg to 2000gg-1 — Pregnant Workers Fairness Act