Hello and Welcome to dbt Labs. We’re thrilled to have you as a member of the team!
This handbook is intended to answer many of the questions you might have after joining, and should serve as a valuable resource throughout your employment at dbt Labs. Read on to learn about important company policies and procedures, as well as the commitments of this company to our employees.
dbt Labs is an equal opportunity employer and does not unlawfully discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on the basis of an individual’s race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status or any other status protected by applicable law. This policy applies to all terms, conditions and privileges of employment, including recruitment, hiring, placement, compensation, promotion, discipline and termination. Whenever possible, the company makes reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities to the extent required by law. Employees who would like to request a reasonable accommodation should contact Meghan Colón (Email: meg@dbtlabs.com or Slack: @meg).
dbt Labs prohibits discrimination or harassment based on race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status or any other status protected by applicable law. Each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and is free from discriminatory practices, including, without limitation, harassment. Consistent with its workplace policy of equal employment opportunity, dbt Labs prohibits and will not tolerate harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status or any other status protected by applicable law. Violations of this policy will not be tolerated.
Discrimination includes, but is not limited to: making any employment decision or employment-related action on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, disability, national origin, marital or veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. Harassment is generally defined as unwelcome verbal or nonverbal conduct, based upon a person’s protected characteristic, that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward the person because of the characteristic, and which affects the person’s employment opportunities or benefits, has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the person’s work performance, or has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.
Harassing conduct includes, but is not limited to: epithets; slurs or negative stereotyping; threatening, intimidating or hostile acts; or denigrating jokes and display or circulation in the workplace of written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group based on their protected characteristic.
Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other verbal, visual or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when:
- Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment;
- Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual; or
- Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.
Examples of sexual harassment include: unwelcome or unsolicited sexual advances; displaying sexually suggestive material; unwelcome sexual flirtations, advances or propositions; suggestive comments; verbal abuse of a sexual nature; sexually-oriented jokes; crude or vulgar language or gestures; graphic or verbal commentaries about an individual’s body; display or distribution of obscene materials; physical contact such as patting, pinching or brushing against someone’s body; or physical assault of a sexual nature.
Any company employee who feels that they have been harassed or discriminated against, or has witnessed or become aware of discrimination or harassment in violation of these policies, should bring the matter to the immediate attention of Meghan Colón (Email: meg@dbtlabs.com or Slack: @meg). The company will promptly investigate all allegations of discrimination and harassment, and take action as appropriate based on the outcome of the investigation. An investigation and its results will be treated as confidential to the extent feasible, and permitted by law, and the company will take appropriate action based on the outcome of the investigation. No employee will be retaliated against for making a complaint in good faith regarding a violation of these policies, or for participating in good faith in an investigation pursuant to these policies. If an employee feels they have been retaliated against, the employee should file a complaint using the procedures set forth above.
dbt Labs has an open-door policy and takes employee concerns and problems seriously. The company values each employee and strives to provide a positive work experience. Employees are encouraged to bring any workplace concerns or problems they might have or know about to one of the designated members of the leadership team.
If dbt Labs determines that a violation has occurred, we will take appropriate disciplinary action against the offending party, which can include counseling, warnings, suspensions, and termination. Employees who report, in good faith, violations of these policies and employees who cooperate with investigations into alleged violations will not be subject to retaliation.
We take our commitment to our employees seriously, and we will not tolerate any breach of these commitments. Failure to abide by these commitments may cause you to lose your job. If you have any questions regarding these commitments, do not hesitate to seek clarification from Meghan Colón.
dbt Labs trusts and respects its employees. With this trust comes flexibility. If you are unsure about appropriate conduct in a given situation, bias towards Doing The Right Thing, or consult your immediate supervisor for clarification.
dbt Labs expects its employees to adhere to a standard of professional conduct and integrity. This ensures that the work environment is safe, comfortable and productive. Employees should be respectful, courteous, and mindful of others’ feelings and needs. General cooperation between coworkers and supervisors is expected. Individuals who act in an unprofessional manner may be subject to disciplinary action.
Employees at dbt Labs will participate in quarterly reviews and more frequent one-on-ones with their immediate supervisors. These reviews are a good opportunity to discuss employee performance, professional growth, and other big-picture topics.
Employees are encouraged to dress comfortably for work, while also maintaining appropriate attire for a business setting. Please do not wear anything that other employees might find offensive or that might make coworkers uncomfortable. Our goal is to provide a workplace environment that is comfortable and inclusive for all employees.
We expect that your business attire, although casual, will exhibit common sense and professionalism. If you wouldn’t wear it in front of your grandmother, please don’t wear it to work! If you have any questions about what this means in practice, please consult your immediate supervisor.
While employees rarely need to travel for work, it is sometimes required. If you find yourself traveling to meet a client, be sure to ask about the dress code prior to your visit!
Employees are paid semimonthly by direct deposit on the 15th (for work performed the 1st to the 15th) and the last day of the month (for work performed the 16th to the last day). If payday happens to fall on a weekend or holiday, payment will be processed on the previous business day.
Many employees incur expenses over the course of their regular duties. We have two goals with these expense policies: a) make sure that there is accountability when spending company money, and b) make the process of spending money as frictionless as possible, given (a). Given these goals, we've arrived at the following policies.
- For all corporate travel, please refer to these expense guidelines when booking flights and hotels and expensing meals and other incidentals.
- Most non-travel purchases should be able to be made by either a company office administrator or your manager; please feel free to make requests as appropriate via these channels. If you do have other items that you'd like to submit for reimbursement, make sure that you have approval from your manager before doing so, and follow these reimbursement instructions.
- In certain rare cases, if your job requires frequent expenditures of company money, you'll be issued a physical Airbase card to conduct company business. In such a case, your manager will work with you to define specific expectations around what will and will not be charged on this card, as well as a specific budget for these charges. Failure to abide by these expectations may result in disciplinary action, including termination, and in the worst case, criminal proceedings. While we absolutely do not expect this to be an issue, it's important to be clear that misappropriation of our shared resources will be taken extremely seriously.
dbt Labs does not have “required” working hours. There is an expectation that employees are in the office or available to remotely call in to required meetings and scheduled client calls. The company workweek is generally from Monday through Friday, with “normal operating hours” from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Employee’s personal operating hours may vary depending on client time zones and the nature of the projects that you’re working on.
dbt Labs has an unlimited paid vacation policy, allowing employees to take as much time off as they need. We do ask that employees aim for a minimum of 2 weeks off per year. Employees should utilize this benefit in a way that is conducive to their productivity. We understand, appreciate (and encourage!) turning off your brain, traveling, and spending time with friends and family!
Employees are obligated to:
- Communicate and collaborate with their team to ensure everyone takes leave without disrupting operations.
- Notify their supervisor as soon as the absence is scheduled, and no less than one month in advance of a full week of absence.
- Mark the planned time off on their dbt Labs Google calendar as full day events so that other employees can effectively plan events or meetings.
- Request the time off in ADP, for tracking purposes.
- Avoid abusing the policy by taking time off that negatively impacts their job and the company.
dbt Labs observes the following holidays in 2022:
- MLK Day (Monday, January 17, 2022)
- Memorial Day (Monday, May 30, 2022)
- Juneteenth (Observed Monday, June 20, 2022)
- Friday before Independence Day (Friday, July 1, 2022)
- Independence Day (Monday, July 4, 2022)
- Friday before Labor Day (Friday, September 2, 2022)
- Labor Day (Monday, September 5, 2022)
- Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 24, 2022)
- Friday after Thanksgiving (Friday, November 25, 2022)
- Christmas Day (Observed Monday, December 26, 2022)
- Winter Break (Tuesday, December 27, 2022 → Friday, December 30, 2022)
- New Year's Day (Observed Monday, January 2, 2023)
dbt Labs offers anyone (regardless of gender) up to 12 weeks of 100% paid time off during the first year of parenthood. This includes anyone who becomes a parent through childbirth or adoption. The 12-week balance is per birth or adoption event. If you live in a country where a statutory parental leave benefit is available, you will be required to claim statutory parental leave pay (if you are eligible) and we will supplement any gaps.
We encourage parents to take the time they need. dbt Labs team-members will be encouraged to decide for themselves the appropriate amount of time to take and how to take it. For many reasons, a team member may require more time off for parental leave. Some countries have longer standard parental leaves, occasionally births have complications, and sometimes 12 weeks just isn't enough. Any dbt Labs team member can request additional unpaid parental leave, up to 8 weeks. We are happy to address anyone with additional leave requests on a one-on-one basis. All of the parental leave should be taken in the first year. There is no tenure requirement to be eligible for leave.
If applicable, commissions are paid while on parental leave at 100% of plan. On the day you return from leave and going forward, your commissions will be based on current performance only. If your country of employment has specific laws regarding the payout of commissions when on leave, those would supersede our policy.
We understand that exact timing can't always be planned so, as early as possible, please start working with your manager and your team to plan for your leave. This includes:
- Planning projects to wrap up ahead of leave and avoiding taking on new large projects right before.
- Assigning owners for your day to day work and beginning to train and hand-off work as needed.
- Documenting as much as possible to set your team up for success while you're gone.
- You should also email People Ops with an estimated leave timeframe so they can keep track.
You are more than welcome to slack or email People Ops (@Meg or meghan@fishtownanalytics.com) if you have any questions about taking Parental Leave.
dbt Labs is concerned about the safety of its team members and about maintaining appropriate controls to ensure that assets of dbt Labs and our customer relationships and information are protected. To reduce these risks, we will obtain and review background information of covered prospective, and, as applicable, current employees.
dbt Labs has contracted with Checkr (https://checkr.com/) to perform these background checks for US based employees, which will cover criminal history for the last 7 years, sex offender search, SSN trace and Global Watchlist search. For all non-US employees, we use GoodHire (https://www.goodhire.com/). dbt Labs may use the returned background check information to make decisions regarding employment. For certain positions where the candidates financial history is relevant to the position, we may also run a check in the federal database for any financial related offenses.
All candidates who make it to the offer stage with dbt Labs must undergo a background screening according to this policy as part of the employment screening process. All contracts will state that employment is subject to obtaining results from an approved background screening that are satisfactory to dbt Labs. If a candidate is unwilling to follow this process we are unable to proceed with their candidacy for any position at dbt Labs. In the event the background check is not available at the time of hire (switching vendors or delays in processing), dbt Labs will run the background check as soon as possible. The same adjudication guidelines will apply to current employees as they do with prospective employees.
Candidates (as applicable, employees) will receive an email to fill out the background check application. The application will ask for personal and professional information. The application process includes signing a disclosure and a consent form which explains the rights of an individual undergoing a background examination. The application process is designed to take less than fifteen minutes to complete.
Occasionally, Checkr or GoodHire will reach out to the candidate to retrieve additional information, such as backup documentation to act as proof of previous employment or picture IDs. Proof of employment can typically be provided in various ways, such as tax returns (e.g. W2s), pay stubs, LLC documentation, official company registrations, etc.
Background checks will act as an additional mechanism of transparency and will help to build trust with our clients.
Once the background check is completed, company administrators will review the report and determine if any negative information has a direct connection with an applicant’s ability to fulfill the job duties with competence and integrity. Criminal convictions that would raise a concern are job-related offenses, including but not limited to: embezzlement, extortion, computer/internet crime, fraud, tax evasion, and violent crimes. In addition, the report should be reviewed for omissions or inaccuracies contained in the employment application or made during the interview process.
Employees will have access to an employer-sponsored 401K plan. Immediately upon hire, dbt Labs will contribute 3% of employee’s monthly salary into the retirement account on a monthly basis. Employees can additionally opt to contribute up to the federal maximum to their retirement account. dbt Labs will contribute to the retirement account regardless of any supplemental employee contributions.
dbt Labs provides medical, dental and vision benefits to employees and their dependents as well as FSA, DCFSA, and HSA options. Health benefits are paid in part by the company. The remainder of the costs is the employee’s responsibility. Please login to ADP for additional information about available benefits.
dbt Labs provides long term and short term disability as well as life insurance coverage to all US-based employees at no cost. Voluntary, additional, life insurance coverage for employees and dependants is available at the expense of the employee.
Some employees at dbt Labs will be granted stock options as a part of their compensation package. Please ask your direct manager or Tristan if you have any questions about this topic.
There are many advantages to building a remote-first culture. One of the more practical advantages is the savings on overhead costs (office space, furniture, etc.) for each employee. That being said, we understand that the cost of some of those things can, in turn, become a burden on the employee that now needs to set up a home office that is conducive to their work. This policy is to help mitigate some of that burden and pass our savings onto those team members.
Upon starting with dbt Labs, we will provide you with a MacBook Pro. In addition to the computer, each team member will be able to expense up to $1,500 towards their office set up. Items to be reimbursed could include:
- Monitor
- Mouse
- Keyboard
- Desk
- Chair
- Headphones
- Laptop stand
- Webcam/microphone
- Monitor privacy filter
- White board
- Printer
- Exercise ball to sit on
- Office supplies (pens, paper, printer cartridges)
- Monitor riser
- Standing desk topper
- Adapter/cords to connect the above items to your laptop computer
- Lighting
This list is not-exhaustive and could include anything that will help make your office experience a comfortable and productive environment where you can do your best work. We will not reimburse ipad or cell phones as part of this policy.
Who is eligible? All employees.
Process to expense Employees should follow these reimbursement instructions. Expenses will be reimbursed through direct deposit within 30 days.
For each subsequent year, all remote employees will receive an annual reimbursement budget of $400 to make improvements to your working and office environment, this could include anything from the above as well as updating old or broken accessories.
Who is eligible? All employees
Process to expense Employees should follow these reimbursement instructions. Expenses will be reimbursed through direct deposit within 30 days.
At dbt Labs we believe in moving up the stack. We encourage our team to seek out learning opportunities and will reimburse up to $500 per employee per year on learning and development expenses including, but not limited to:
- Subscriptions
- Books
- Software
- Courses
- Certifications
- Professional membership fees
Does it need to be related to my role?
It doesn’t; but it does need to be considered professional development as it relates to the career you have or the career you want. This can be defined in two ways:
- Core Training: "On the job" learning, training of core skills, experience levels growth, area training, deepening expertise in one's domain.
- Stretch Learning: Outside of the role's scope, bridging the gaps between departments, change careers, or better general context.
What if I want to take a course or attend a conference that costs more than $500?
Occasionally, expenses beyond the initial $500 will be reimbursed with prior manager approval. This is most relevant as it relates to in person conferences (fees, travel and expenses). We don't expect much of this in 2021 and we will expand the program as needed in 2022.
Can you give me some examples as a jumping off point?
- Courses using online platforms like:
- Udemy – Online courses with a range of topics
- Skillshare – Online courses for creators
- Highbrow – Get 5-minute lessons delivered to your inbox every morning
- Datacamp – Learn Data Science online
- Treehouse – Learn Web Design, Coding, and more
- Books to learn more about a subject or to dive into how other companies do things; for People Ops this may look like:
- Measure What Matters (OKRs)
- Powerful (Netflix Culture)
- Work Rules! (Google Culture)
- Certifications or Professional memberships:
- People Ops Society Membership
- CPA Renewal
Follow these reimbursement instructions, include "professional development" and what the item is in the description (example: "Professional Development - Book about Python").