A center must develop, maintain, and comply with written personnel policies, approved by the Board of Directors, and procedures for its personnel handbook that standardize the everyday actions and conduct of all employees. All employees must have ongoing access to the personnel handbook and must be notified of new or changed personnel policies. The handbook must address at a minimum the following:
  (1) Contract labor;
  (2) Conflict of interest;
  (3) Domestic violence in the workplace;
  (4) Nepotism;
  (5) Hiring process that is uniform for all candidates for a particular position and includes:
    (A) Job posting;
    (B) Job descriptions with essential job functions;
    (C) Interviewing systems; and
    (D) Reference checking and responding to reference checking;
  (6) Rules of conduct;
  (7) Hours and days of operation;
  (8) Employee benefits, including accrual of leave;
  (9) Employees' right to access their personnel files;
  (10) Written and oral employee orientation, initial training, and employee development;
  (11) Confidentiality requirements of employee records;
  (12) Employee evaluation;
  (13) Involuntary and voluntary termination; and
  (14) Grievances originating from current and former employees.

Source Note: The provisions of this §356.401 adopted to be effective December 23, 2007, 32 TexReg 9328; amended to be effective September 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 4309; transferred effective April 1, 2024, as published in the March 8, 2024, issue of the Texas Register, 49 TexReg 1507