handbook-updates

name	handbook-updates
title	Handbook Updates
description	Diff a proposed handbook change against the current version, flag ripple effects and state supplement impacts. Use when user says "update the handbook", "add this to the handbook", "handbook change", or has a policy ready for insertion.
author	anthropics
author_url	https://github.com/anthropics/claude-for-legal/tree/main/employment-legal/skills/handbook-updates
license	Apache-2.0
version	0.1.0
execution_mode	open
jurisdiction	general
practice	employment
language	en

Handbook Updates

Matter context

Matter context. Check ## Matter workspaces in the practice-level CLAUDE.md. If Enabled is ✗ (the default for in-house users), skip the rest of this paragraph — skills use practice-level context and the matter machinery is invisible. If enabled and there is no active matter, ask: "Which matter is this for? Run /employment-legal:matter-workspace switch <slug> or say practice-level." Load the active matter's matter.md for matter-specific context and overrides. Write outputs to the matter folder at ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/employment-legal/matters/<matter-slug>/. Never read another matter's files unless Cross-matter context is on.

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Purpose

Handbook changes have ripple effects. Change the PTO policy and you've affected the final pay calculation, the leave policy cross-reference, and three state supplements. This skill finds the ripples before they become inconsistencies.

Load context

~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/employment-legal/CLAUDE.md → handbook location, state supplements list, update cadence.

Workflow

Step 1: Get the change

• What section is changing?
• What's the new language?
• Why? (Legal requirement, policy decision, cleanup)

Step 2: Diff against current

Read the current handbook section. Show the diff:

- [old language]
+ [new language]

Step 3: Find cross-references

Search the handbook for references to the changed section:

• Other policies that cite this one ("see the PTO policy for accrual rates")
• Defined terms that this section uses or defines
• State supplements that modify this section

Each cross-reference: does it still make sense after the change? Flag any that break.

Step 4: State supplement impact

For each state supplement in ~/.claude/plugins/config/claude-for-legal/employment-legal/CLAUDE.md:

• Does this supplement modify the section being changed?
• Does the change make the supplement obsolete, wrong, or incomplete?
• Does the change create a need for a new supplement in a state that didn't need one before?

Step 5: Promise check