Handbook Drafter
Answer
Handbook Drafter produces a state-specific employee policy manual draft in 30 to 60 seconds, covering leave law, key custody, chemical handling, and anti-harassment requirements calibrated to your workforce size.
- State selection drives leave law compliance; California, New York, and Washington differ substantially from Texas or Florida.
- The 15-employee threshold triggers federal anti-harassment training; California requires it at 5 employees.
- Key custody policy is the most commonly missing section in cleaning company handbooks.
15 to 25 sections in generated policy manual
What it does
Handbook Drafter generates a complete employee policy manual for a commercial cleaning company — tailored to your state, workforce size, and employment classification mix. It covers at-will employment, attendance and punctuality, safety and PPE requirements, anti-harassment, PTO, and cleaning-industry-specific policies like key custody, client site conduct, and chemical handling. Output is in structured prose, ready to have a local employment attorney review before distribution.
When to use it
- Starting your first formal employee handbook — the output gives you a complete first draft, not a skeleton.
- Updating a handbook that hasn't changed since before COVID (leave policies and remote-work addenda changed significantly).
- Adapting a generic HR handbook to cleaning-industry specifics — chemical handling, bonded-site conduct, and client property policies are missing from most off-the-shelf templates.
- Creating a Spanish-language supplement — input the state and request a bilingual output for key sections.
Step-by-step
- Select your state — leave law, at-will exceptions, and anti-harassment training requirements vary by state.
- Enter your company size (number of employees) — determines which federal and state employment law thresholds apply.
- Select the employment mix: W-2 only, 1099 only, or mixed workforce.
- Optionally note any specific policies you want to emphasize or exclude.
- Click Draft my handbook. This is one of the longer tools — expect 30–60 seconds for a full draft.
- Review the generated handbook. Export or save to library.
Tips that change outcomes
- State selection is not optional. Handbook Drafter's most valuable output is state-specific leave law compliance. California, New York, and Washington have substantially different mandatory leave policies than Texas or Florida. An incorrect state selection produces a handbook that could expose you to liability.
- 15-employee threshold triggers federal anti-harassment training requirements. If you're at or above 15 employees, the handbook automatically includes the federally-required anti-harassment policy language. Below 15, state law may still require it — California requires it at 5 employees.
- Key custody policy is the most commonly missing section in cleaning company handbooks. The generated handbook includes a key custody log policy, client key return procedure, and consequences for unauthorized key copying — these are standard BSC contract requirements and missing them creates liability.
- Have an employment attorney review before distributing. The output is a strong first draft calibrated to public legal sources, but state employment law changes frequently. Annual review by a local attorney is the standard for any company with 10+ employees.
Inputs explained
| Input | What it means | Accepted values |
|---|---|---|
| State | Primary state of operations — drives leave law, at-will carve-outs, training mandates | All 50 states + DC |
| Company size | Number of employees — determines which federal/state thresholds apply | 1–4, 5–14, 15–49, 50–99, 100+ |
| Employment mix | Whether workers are W-2, 1099, or both | W-2 only, 1099 only, Mixed |
| Special policies | Optional. Policies to include or exclude (e.g., drug testing, vehicle use, bilingual supplement) | Free text, up to 500 characters |
Outputs explained
- Full policy manual: 15–25 sections covering the full scope of BSC employment policy, state-specific and size-calibrated.
- Section-by-section annotations: Notes on which sections need customization (e.g., "Insert your PTO accrual rate here") or local attorney review before finalizing.
- Acknowledgment form: A one-page employee acknowledgment signature page to include with distribution.
Limits
Anonymous users get 3 free runs per day. Handbook Drafter is the most computationally intensive tool — generation can take 45–60 seconds for large companies or states with complex employment law. See the limits page.
Troubleshooting
- The output timed out before completing.
- Handbook Drafter generates significantly more text than other tools. If the stream stops before all sections complete, resubmit — the tool will resume from the beginning. Save the partial output before resubmitting if sections you've already reviewed are valuable.
- The leave policy section references a law I don't recognize.
- State leave laws are frequently updated. The output cites the controlling statute — look it up directly at your state's Department of Labor website to confirm it's still current before using it. The tool's knowledge base is updated periodically but not in real time.