The question in employment disputes is rarely whether a rule existed. It's whether the rule was applied consistently. Policies are the evidence of that consistency — and without them, every management decision looks arbitrary in hindsight.

The overtime math seems simple until a plaintiff's attorney reconstructs three years of payroll records and reframes a calculation error as a pattern of willful underpayment. Add liquidated damages and fee-shifting, and a clerical compliance failure becomes a six-figure collective action.