Reference Document

2026-Personnel-Manual-Review

Refuge House, Inc.
Last updated: July 24, 2026 · Source: personnel-hr/2026-Personnel-Manual-Review.md

2026 Personnel Manual & HR Handbook — Review Memo

Companion to: Personnel-Manual-and-HR-Handbook.md Review date: June 2026 (first pass) Prepared as: a working review record — changes already applied to the manual, plus recommendations still open for decision.

Not legal advice. This memo reflects standard HR/handbook protocols and known federal/Texas frameworks. The items under "Flag for employment counsel" should be reviewed by a licensed Texas employment attorney before they are considered final.

A. Changes applied in this pass

These edits are already in the manual.

  1. Dating / currency. Manual re-dated to the June 2026 annual review (header and footer). Promised "in 2025" revision dates in Workplace Search, Attendance, Termination, Remote Work (Sept 2025 → Sept 2026), and Timekeeping were refreshed to 2026/annual-review language; the Timekeeping "launching Q2 2025 / changes coming in 2025" statements were reworded to "in progress / planned."

  2. Christian ethical foundation. Added an "Our Ethical Foundation" subsection (under Our Company) establishing Refuge House's Christian ethical framework as the standard for personal conduct — framed to govern conduct for everyone of all faiths/backgrounds, and explicitly consistent with EEO/non-discrimination. Short KJV principles were woven into the personal-interaction policies:

    • Professional Communication Standards — Ephesians 4:29 (edifying speech).
    • Sexual Harassment — God-given dignity of every person.
    • Workplace Violence — Ephesians 4:31–32 (put away wrath; be kind).
    • Code of Conduct, Purpose — Matthew 7:12 (the Golden Rule).
    • Code of Conduct, Professional Conduct with Children & Families — 1 Corinthians 13:4 (charity suffereth long, and is kind). (Translation used: KJV, public domain. Confirm tone/placement to your preference.)

  3. Payroll / Texas Payday Law. Added a note clarifying that under Texas Labor Code §61.011, exempt employees may be paid monthly while non-exempt employees must be paid at least twice monthly; stated explicitly that all current Refuge House employees are exempt, so the monthly schedule is compliant; reserved the non-exempt provisions for future use and flagged the move to semi-monthly if non-exempt staff are hired. Removed the two bracketed [specify…] placeholders in that paragraph.

  4. FMLA applicability. Added an applicability note explaining that FMLA applies only to employers with 50+ employees, that Refuge House is under that threshold and not FMLA-covered, and that the agency benefit is discretionary — with a future-review flag to convert to full FMLA (12 weeks; 12-month/1,250-hour eligibility) if the agency approaches 50 employees.

  5. Lactation accommodation. Added a Nursing Mothers / Lactation Accommodation policy (federal PUMP Act): reasonable break time and a private non-bathroom space.

  6. Pregnancy accommodations. Added a minimum Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) clause (reasonable accommodations + interactive process + no forced leave + non-retaliation).

  7. Employee classifications. Changed Full-time to 40 hours/week (with a note that the ACA 30-hour definition governs only Applicable Large Employers at 50+ FTEs, to be revisited near that threshold). Added two new classifications — Invoicing / Unit-Based Employee and Contracted Specialist / Contracting Entity (RN, LCSW, LPC, etc.) — and a new Work Logging and Allowable Activities subsection requiring time/units to be logged to allowable, case-specific activities under the T3C model.

  8. EEO consolidation. Merged the two overlapping policies (Equal Opportunity + EEO/ADA) into a single Equal Employment Opportunity, Non-Discrimination, and ADA Compliance Policy, retaining all substance (added religious-accommodation + interactive-process language). Table of Contents updated.

  9. Vacation eligibility. Inserted an in-document "Under review (2026)" note flagging the gap between "eligible after one year" and a schedule that starts at "2–4 years" (see B-1).

B. Open items — recommend deciding next

Quick internal decisions (no counsel needed)

  1. Vacation eligibility (years 1–2). Decide the entitlement for employees between their 1st and 2nd anniversary and align the eligibility sentence with the accrual table. (Flagged in-doc.)
  2. Pay-advance notice period. Set to five (5) business days as a placeholder — confirm or adjust.
  3. Bereavement leave. Minor: the list includes parent-in-law but not other in-laws — tidy for consistency.
  4. Scripture integration sign-off. Confirm the tone, placement, and KJV translation are what you want before this version is finalized.

Gaps vs. a standard handbook (recommend adding)

  1. Standalone general anti-harassment / anti-bullying policy (beyond sexual harassment + workplace violence).
  2. Reasonable-accommodation / interactive-process procedure — a short standalone procedure (ADA + religious + pregnancy) operationalizing the steps. (Interactive-process language was added to the EEO and PWFA sections; a dedicated procedure is still worth adding.)
  3. Non-retaliation / open-door / whistleblower — a consolidated standalone statement (currently spread across grievance and code-of-conduct fragments).

Flag for employment counsel

  1. Mandatory arbitration in the handbook. The employee Grievance Procedure ends in binding arbitration with split costs, while the manual states it is "not a contract." Arbitration agreements are contractual and are usually executed as a separate signed document — have counsel confirm enforceability and placement.
  2. "24 months of continuous service" eligibility for Medical Leave, Family/Medical Leave, and Pregnancy/Parental Leave — more restrictive than federal FMLA eligibility; re-examine (especially if/when FMLA-covered).
  3. Final-pay deductions (advanced sick leave; outstanding advances/debts) — confirm written-authorization practices satisfy the Texas Payday Law.

Future-threshold triggers (revisit as the agency grows)

  1. At/near 50 employees: convert FMLA benefit to full compliance; reconsider the ACA 30-hour full-time definition; COBRA already references the 20-employee trigger.
  2. If any non-exempt staff are hired: move them to at least semi-monthly pay; set the reserved pay-period dates and timesheet deadline; verify overtime tracking.

C. Suggested cadence

Adopt a documented annual review (this memo can be the template). Next scheduled review: June 2027, or sooner if (a) headcount approaches 50, (b) the agency hires non-exempt staff, or (c) Chapter 749 / T3C / employment-law changes warrant it.

© 2026 Refuge House, Inc. · This is a controlled document. Always refer to the current version.