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Indiana Employee Handbook Requirements: A 1-Year Test for Continuation Coverage
Indiana has no sourced state law requiring a written anti-harassment policy. What matters more for the handbook is a wage and hour law that applies to employers with just 2 or more employees, and a mini-COBRA continuation law with an eligibility test most other states do not attach: a full year of employment plus 90 days of coverage.
Indiana catches small employers off guard in two directions at once: state wage and hour law reaches companies with as few as 2 employees, while the state continuation of coverage law is more restrictive than most, gated behind a full year of employment.
Wage and hour coverage starts at 2 employees, not a higher line
Indiana wage and hour law applies to employers with 2 or more employees, a threshold low enough that a business built around a we are too small for this assumption is carrying real exposure. A handbook copied from a company that assumed a higher headcount trigger will under-describe Indiana coverage for a genuinely small employer.
Mini-COBRA here has a tenure test most states do not attach
Indiana Small Employer Group Health Insurance law lets an eligible employee continue coverage for up to 12 months, but only if that employee was employed by the same small employer for at least 1 year and continuously covered under the plan for at least 90 days. Qualifying events track federal COBRA: termination, reduced hours, divorce, or a dependent aging out of eligibility. A newer employee who has not cleared the 1-year mark does not get this right, which a generic continuation-of-coverage paragraph will not capture.
A poster with a stated minimum size, and one with no Spanish requirement
The IOSHA Safety and Health, It's the Law poster carries a stated minimum print size of 8.5 by 14 inches, a physical specification most state poster pages do not bother to include. The unemployment insurance poster, required under IC 22-4-17-1(e), IC 22-4-9-6 and 646 IAC 5-2-16, has the opposite quirk: neither federal nor Indiana law requires it in Spanish, unlike several neighboring states that do.
Indiana's wage and hour sources are silent on a state-specific at-will disclaimer rule, leaving the general framework in the handbook fundamentals guide as the correct template rather than a manufactured Indiana clause.
Federal coverage runs on a different threshold than state wage law
EEOC coverage layers on top of the 2-employee state wage threshold rather than replacing it: Title VII and ADA protections apply at 15 or more employees, and the ADEA applies at 20. A small Indiana employer can be covered by state wage law well before federal discrimination law reaches it, and a handbook should not collapse the two thresholds into a single number.
What Indiana specifically adds, with sources
Nothing here is legal advice. Handbook obligations change, so confirm before publishing a revision.
| Minimum wage | $7.25 |
|---|---|
| Overtime | Weekly over 40 |
| Paid sick leave policy | Indiana mandates none, so whatever the handbook promises becomes the enforceable rule. Silence is safer than a generous sentence nobody intended to honour. |
| Family and medical leave | No state programme. Federal FMLA applies at 50 or more employees, unpaid, and the handbook should not imply a paid state entitlement exists. |
| Harassment training | No statewide sexual-harassment-training mandate for private employers today; federal EEOC guidance still applies. [source] |
| Other state training duties | Indiana operates an OSHA-approved State Plan (IOSHA) with its own documented safety-training requirements. [source] |
| Continuation coverage | Below the federal 20-employee COBRA threshold, Indiana has its own continuation law, Indiana Small Employer Group Health Insurance - Continuing Coverage, running up to 12 months. The handbook should name it, because employees below that threshold often assume they have no coverage rights at all. [Ind. Code section 27-8-15-31.1 (Continuing coverage), within the Small Employer Group Health Insurance chapter (IC 27-8-15)] |
Policies Indiana employers commonly get wrong
- Assuming a small headcount means no state wage law. The 2-employee threshold says otherwise.
- Promising mini-COBRA to every departing employee. The 1-year and 90-day tests exclude newer hires from the state continuation right.
- Printing the IOSHA poster undersized. The 8.5 by 14 minimum is a specific, checkable requirement, not a suggestion.
- Never revisiting the handbook after crossing 2 employees. A handbook written for a two-person shop needs a second look once that threshold is crossed.
- Letting the 1-year tenure test slip past payroll. BEG's managed payroll flags mini-COBRA eligibility the moment an employee clears the 90-day and 1-year marks.
An Indiana Handbook That Gets the Tenure Test Right.
Certified HR professionals write the 2-employee coverage line and the mini-COBRA eligibility test into an Indiana supplement on the Expert plan, two states included, powered by isolved.
For the at-will language, federal baseline, and revision triggers common to all fifty states, see the handbook fundamentals guide. Indiana's own additions are narrower: a 2-employee coverage line, a poster print-size rule, and a mini-COBRA tenure test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Indiana require a written anti-harassment policy?
No state mandate is sourced for private employers. Federal EEOC coverage applies at 15 or more employees, and the Know Your Rights poster is required regardless of any separate state mandate.
What employer size triggers Indiana wage and hour law?
Employers with 2 or more employees, a lower threshold than the federal standard alone would suggest, which catches small businesses that assume state law only reaches larger companies.
Does Indiana have a mini-COBRA continuation of coverage law?
Yes, with a real eligibility test. An employee must have worked for the same small employer for at least 1 year and been continuously covered for at least 90 days before continuation runs for up to 12 months.
What is unusual about the Indiana IOSHA poster?
It has a stated minimum print size of 8.5 by 14 inches, a physical formatting requirement most states do not spell out on the poster page itself.
Does Indiana require the unemployment insurance poster in Spanish?
No. Indiana Code and administrative rule require the unemployment insurance poster, but neither federal nor Indiana law requires a Spanish-language version, unlike several neighboring states.
Does Indiana require paid sick leave or paid family leave?
No. Indiana has no statewide paid sick leave mandate and no state paid family or medical leave program in the sourced data.
What overtime rule applies in Indiana?
Indiana calculates overtime on a weekly basis over 40 hours, matching the federal approach, with no separate state daily threshold.
Is there an Indiana-specific at-will disclaimer rule?
No Indiana-specific rule is sourced beyond general common-law at-will doctrine. Use the framework in the handbook fundamentals guide instead of an invented state-specific clause.
Is BEG a PEO?
No. There is no co-employment and no employer-of-record change. Your company stays the employer; the HR professionals support your team. Powered by isolved.
Anthony leads HR outsourcing strategy at Business Executive Group, a national HR outsourcing firm serving employers across every state. BEG HR outsourcing is powered by isolved, with certified HR professionals tracking Indiana tenure tests as new employees become eligible.
Sources: Indiana Department of Labor, publications and posters; Ind. Code 27-8-15-31.1. General information, not legal advice.
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