Dear Colleague,

How come the worst employees are the best informed about their legal rights?

It sure seems that way, doesn’t it? Employees who work hard and give you no trouble year in and year out – well, they’re no problem by definition. But the ones who perform badly, who drive you crazy, are the first to shout “I know my rights” or threaten to call a lawyer (or actually do so), if they even think you’ve infringed upon their rights.

Your secret fear: What if those employees are right about their rights? Should you give in? Are you looking down the barrel of a costly lawsuit?

Frankly, you should be worried – if you don’t know the law. But fortunately, employers have many rights as well. Like the right to:

• Fire an employee who is slacking off

• Hire whoever you think is most qualified

• Promote any worker who has earned it

• Deny leave if it’s inconvenient to your company

• Enforce company policies

You’re the employer. You’re in charge. And as long as you treat your employees fairly, you have plenty of legal leeway in what you can do.
Note: You need this guide even if you already have a good handle on employment law. Every year we update the guide to keep you informed about the ever-changing legal and legislative landscape every employer must navigate.

Easy to navigate and written in plain English, the Employer’s Practical Legal Guide gives you access to the authoritative, updated legal information you want. All that’s missing is a law degree to hang on your wall.

Don’t get us wrong. If an employee actually brings a lawsuit against your company, you should consult an attorney. But for everyday application of the law in your workplace, you do NOT have to pay an attorney hundreds of dollars an hour to explain employment law to you.

Instead, let the Employer’s Practical Legal Guide arm you with all the knowledge you need so you can show your employees who’s boss … speak with authority when discussing legal issues … and stop employees in their tracks before a lawsuit happens.

You see, many employment lawyers also have a secret: They keep our handbook on their desks! Even lawyers appreciate having clear information in plain English, and the Guide has 338 pages of it. Logically organized, so it’s easy to find specific, concrete suggestions on how to:

• Prevent costly mistakes while hiring and firing
• Avoid attorney fees and prevent litigation
• Eliminate uncertainty about the law – because you’ll know what to say and do
• Handle exit interviews without fear
• Trim your workers’ comp premiums
• Contest a worker’s unemployment insurance claim
• Set up an arbitration program in your company (another great way to avoid paying for an attorney’s sailboat)
• Fend off a union-organizing campaign – legally
• Know when you can test for drugs (but not alcohol)
• And much, much more …

Why does the Employer’s Practical Legal Guide need 300-plus pages? Because there’s so much employment law out there, and you need be armed with the knowledge to deal with it.

Are there far too many employment laws? We think so, and we bet you’d agree. But there’s no use getting mad about it. Instead, get even by making sure you have the knowledge to cope with:
With all those federal acts, it’s a good thing the Guide is ready to help you handle any issue that comes up, such as:

• Screening and hiring. A minority job applicant has a substantial arrest record, so you’re wary of hiring her. Can you be accused of discrimination if you base your decision solely on the arrests? Must you also take convictions into account, and the nature of the underlying offenses? Can you refuse to hire a convicted burglar for an office job if it involves no handling of money? The Guide gets that specific.

• Father knows best – or do you? Since an employee took his paternity leave, you’ve made layoffs. He says you have to take him back. What do you say? See section 13 of the Guide.

• Downsizing without ending up in court. You have to cut staff. Performance-wise, you know who should go. Legal-wise? Not so easy. Two are older than 65, three are immigrants and one was out for most of last year on disability. How can you let them go without spending weeks in court and thousands on attorneys? Better get the Guide.

There’s so much more. How to deal with video résumés. Disposal of records that could enable identity theft. Your liability when hiring subcontractors who hire illegal immigrants. Accommodating legal marijuana. When English-only language policies are okay (for example, on oil rigs because people have to communicate) and when they are not (for a retailer who says customers don’t like to hear employees speaking Spanish).

It’s a minor miracle the Guide is only 338 pages. But that’s because the writing is clear, concise and well-organized. We know you don’t read this stuff for entertainment. You want to find the right info, read it quickly, understand it and know your rights. Done.

The Employer’s Practical Legal Guide does more than inform you about the law. It gives you dozens of checklists and self-audit questionnaires to help target your company’s weak spots and correct them before you end up in an attorney’s office – or in court.

What good is knowledge if you don’t apply it? The Guide ensures you can put your newfound legal smarts to work immediately, thanks to more than 80 actionable checklists and questionnaires.

For example, the Personnel Practices Audit on Job Applications helps you red-flag any dangerous questions your people may be asking when hiring. They probably know not to ask about sexual orientation, but what about transportation plans, garnishment records and memberships in organizations? Get the Guide to avoid such legal landmines.

Another great example: the checklist of acceptable documents for the I-9 form required by the Department of Homeland Security. Actually, the Guide gives you three checklists: two for identity or employment eligibility, and one for identity and employment eligibility. Confusing? Not when you have the Guide in front of you to unravel those DHS regs.


Do you really need the Employer’s Practical Legal Guide? Should you even think about skating through another year without it? In fact, you need the Guide more than ever today. The EEOC is on track to top 100,000 job discrimination claims next year, and they’ve beefed up their investigative force by 33%. The risks just keep growing.

Don’t wait for an employee to get in your face about a legal issue – or bring in an attorney. Know the law. Know your rights. Get the Guide. 


Sincerely,



Phillip A. Ash
Publisher

P.S. Remember, you have absolutely zero risk. If you don’t find the answers to your stickiest legal questions in the Employer’s Practical Legal Guide, we’ll refund your entire purchase price – no questions asked.

P.P.S. Still wondering if ALL your legal questions will be answered? Here’s the table of contents from the Guide. Judge for yourself.

Screening/Hiring
Job Descriptions
Advertising a Position
Recruiting/Screening Practices
The Job Application
Personnel Practices Audit: Job Applications
New Trend: Video Résumés
Interviews
Personnel Practices Audit: Interviews
EEO-1 Reports
Testing
Reference/Background Checks
“Protected” Candidates
IRCA: Hiring Immigrants
Acceptable Documents for I-9
Personnel Practices Audit: Screening Foreign-Born Applicants
Disabled Applicants
Personnel Practices Audit: Disabled Applicants
Negligent Hiring
Personnel Practices Audit: Negligent Hiring
Employment Contracts
Personnel Practices Audit: Implied Contracts
English-Only Policies

Employee Conduct/Performance
Performance Reviews
Personnel Practices Audit: What to Include in Employee Logs
Privacy Issues
E-Mail/Internet Use
Rules on Electronic Recordkeeping
Off-Duty Behavior
Personnel Practices Audit: Regulating Off-Duty Behavior
Anti-Theft Policies
Dress Code
Personnel Practices Audit: Preventing Company Theft
Trade Secrets

Employee Handbooks
Protect Your At-Will Status
The 10 Most Common Mistakes
A Dangerous Book
What the Courts Consider
Your Handbook and the Union
Employee Handbook Essentials
Audit Your Handbook
Personnel Practices Audit: Your Company Handbook
Alternative Dispute Resolution

Fair Labor Standards Act
Hours of Work
Travel Time
Sleeping Time
Training Programs and Lectures
Other Work-Related Activities
Civic and Charitable Work
Minimum-Wage Compliance
Difficult Calculations
Payroll Deductions
Computing Overtime
Special Types of Payments
Exclusions From Base-Rate Formulas
Child Labor Rules
Record-Keeping Requirements
Exempt vs. Nonexempt Status
Salary Basis
Nonexempt: Blue-Collar Workers, First Responders
Duties Tests
“Highly Compensated Worker” Exemption
“Fee Basis”
Classifying Workers
Audit: Test Your Compliance

Independent Contractors
The IRS Test
Watch State Regulations
Legislatures Turning Up the Heat
The IRS’s New Attitude
Section 530 relief
Form SS-8: Inviting a ruling
The IRS on Patrol
Compliance Check or Audit?
Form 1099: Handle With Care
Preventive Steps
Contracts: Your Most Important Protection
Personnel Practices Audit: Independent Contractors
Contractors Can Sue for Discrimination
Liable for Contractor’s Actions

Workers’ Safety/Health
Occupational Safety and Health Act
Keep Workers Informed
Personnel Practices Audit: Complying With OSHA
OSHA Penalties
Ergonomics
Whistle-Blower Program
Wellness Programs
AIDS Programs
Workers’ Compensation
Who’s Covered
How Rates Are Set
Benefit Awards
State Administration
Keeping Down Your Costs
Don’t Retaliate Against Employees
No Insurance? A Cautionary Tale

Terminations/Layoffs
Firing at Will
Personnel Practices Audit: Terminations
Minimize Your Risk
Progressive Discipline
Constructive Discharge
Model for Progressive Discipline
Noncompete Clauses
Personnel Practices Audit: Noncompete Clauses
Severance Pay
Providing References
Personnel Practices Audit: Reference Inquiries
Layoffs: The WARN Act
Your COBRA Obligations
Health Insurance Portability
Unemployment Insurance
Federal Tax Set by Law
How States Determine Your Taxable Wage Base
Setting Your Tax Rate
Charges Against Your Account
Reporting Requirements
Exit Interviews
Documentation: Do’s and Don’ts
Prepare for the Worst
Ease Fear of Retaliation
What Should You Ask?
Using Exit Interview Forms

Alcohol/Drug Testing
Tread Cautiously
Cut Insurance Costs
Protect Employees’ Privacy
Accommodating Legal Pot

Gender/Age Discrimination
Gender Issues
Equal Pay Act
Personnel Practices Audit: Complying With the Equal Pay Act
Pregnancy Discrimination Act
Sex Discrimination
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Age Discrimination in Employment Act
Personnel Practices Audit: Complying With the ADEA
Youth-Bias Claims

Civil Rights Act
Hostile Environment
Disparate Impact
Mixed-Motive Discrimination
Affirmative Action
Your Burden of Proof
Section 1981: New Avenue for Claims
Screening Tests
Race Norming of Employment Tests
“Systemic Discrimination”
Damages and Jury Trials

Sexual Harassment
Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment
Employer Liability Increases
Shielding Your Company
Sample Policy
The EEOC Reporting Process

Americans with Disabilities Act
ADA Compliance
Who’s Covered
Definition of a Disability
Drug and Alcohol Addiction
AIDS and HIV
Mental Disabilities: EEOC Guidelines
Guidance for Specific Disabilities
Hiring Practices and the ADA
Essential Functions
Interview Do’s and Don’ts
Disability Questions
Reasonable Accommodation
Performance and Conduct Standards
Financial and Technical Assistance
Recent Settlements, Litigation

FMLA Leave, Military Leave
Family and Medical Leave Act
Compliance Regulations
Employee Eligibility
Summary: Revised FMLA Regulations
Leave Time
Who Is Considered Family?
Caregiver Discrimination
“Serious Health Condition” Defined
Health Care Providers
Notice Requirements
Notifying Employee of FMLA Leave
Key Employees
Undue Disruption
Intermittent Leave
Paid vs. Unpaid Leave
Benefits
When a Worker Returns
Refusing to Reinstate an Employee
Recordkeeping at a Minimum
Other Laws Apply
Military Family Leave Under the FMLA
Military Leave: USERRA

Your Rights in a Union Situation
Scope of Unions Today
Employee Free Choice Act
NLRA and the Taft-Hartley Act
More Information About Unions
National Labor Relations Board
If You’re Targeted by a Union
Your Rights in a Union-Organizing Campaign
What You Can’t Do
What You Can Do
Why Employees Should Not Want a Union
If You’re a Unionized Employer

ERISA
Application of ERISA
Fiduciary Duties
Pension Benefits
Defined Benefit Plans
Defined Contribution Plans
Hybrid Plans
ERISA Requirements
Pension Plan Changes Likely
Reporting and Disclosure
Reporting: Form 5500
Paying Claims: Remedies

Appendix A: State Labor Authorities
Appendix B: Federal Agencies and Other Resources