The plain-English resource every employer, manager and HR professional needs. New laws affect every aspect of being an employer -- from interviewing and hiring, to handling employee benefits to firing. The most complete guide to your legal rights and responsibilities, The Employer's Legal Handbook shows you how to comply with the most recent workplace laws and regulations, run a safe and fair workplace and avoid lawsuits. Learn everything you need to know about: Hiring: Understand the legal guidelines for hiring employees, writing job descriptions, conducting interviews and investigating applicants. Smart personnel practices: What to include in employee personnel files, employee handbooks, performance reviews and references for former employees. Wages & hours: Comply with federal and state overtime and minimum wage requirements. Employee benefits: Learn the ins and outs of wage and hour laws, retirement plans and health insurance. Workplace health and safety: Comply with OSHA requirements, and implement policies on smoking, drugs and alcohol abuse. Discrimination: Prevent sexual harassment and discrimination based on age, race, pregnancy, sexual orientation and national origin. Termination and layoffs: Avoid wrongful termination cases, conduct a final meeting and protect your business information when employees leave. Laws affecting small business practices: Everything you need to know about the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, health and safety issues, employee testing and more. The 7th edition updates the book's easy-to-use legal charts to provide the latest employment laws of your state.

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Introduction Many state and federal laws—as well as countless court decsions—set out legal protocol for every phase of the employment relationship, including the hiring process. If you've correctly sensed that many workers today are well informed about their legal rights and are willing to fight to enforce them, you may be concerned about making costly mistakes during hiring. Fortunately, you can steer clear of most of the legal perils of hiring employees by understanding and following these sensible guidelines: Avoid illegal discrimination. Respect the applicant's privacy rights. Don't imply job security—unless you mean it. Protect against unfair competition. Observe the legal rules for hiring young workers and immigrants. Section A of this chapter discusses these key principles—some of which apply throughout the employment relationship and are discussed elsewhere in this book as well. Sections B through H of this chapter explain how to keep legal risks to a minimum as you write job descriptions, advertise for workers, design job applications, interview applicants, check into their backgrounds, and offer them jobs. Those hiring independent contractors should consult Chapter 12, where you'll find a detailed discussion of the legal and practical issues you'll have to consider. A. Legal Guidelines for Hiring Employees Most large companies maintain human resource departments and in-house lawyers to lead them through the intricacies of employment law. But if you run a small or mid-sized company, this is an unaffordable luxury. More likely, you keep a close eye on legal expenses and call a lawyer only when absolutely necessary. The guidelines discussed here should reduce your need for outside legal help when hiring employees. 1. Avoiding Illegal Discrimination Federal and state laws prohibit all but the smallest employers from discriminating against an employee or applicant because of race, color, gender, religious beliefs, national origin, disability, or age. Also, many states and cities have laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on other criteria, such as marital status or sexual orientation. These antidiscrimination laws—covered in depth in Chapters 8 and 9—apply to all stages of the employment process: preparing job descriptions, writing ads, conducting interviews, deciding whom to hire, setting salaries and job benefits, promoting employees, and disciplining and firing them. These laws apply only to employers who have more than a certain number of employees, which differs for each antidiscrimination law. And, many state laws apply to smaller employers who are not covered by the federal laws. To find out whether your business must comply with these laws, see Chapters 8 and 9. A particular form of discrimination becomes illegal when Congress, a state legislature, or a city council decides that a characteristic—race, for example—bears no legitimate relationship to employment decisions. A law or ordinance is then passed prohibiting workplace discrimination based on that characteristic—making the characteristic protected. Courts get involved, too, by interpreting and applying antidiscrimination laws and ordinances.

 

1. Hiring 2. Personnel Practices 3. Wages and Hours 4. Employee Benefits 5. Taxes 6. Family and Medical Leave 7. Health and Safety 8. Illegal Discrimination 9. Workers With Disabilities 10. Termination 11. Employee Privacy 12. Independent Contractors 13. Unions 14. Lawyers and Legal Research Appendix Index

"A comprehensive guide to the legal rights and obligations of employers."

 

"If you want to know Georgia’s law on health-insurance continuation, Nevada’s rule on family leave, or what constitutes illegal discrimination in Utah, this book is for you."

 

"Belongs on every business owner's bookshelf. It covers everything from discrimination to using independent contractors and is written clearly and concisely. Spend $29.95 on this book and save yourself thousands in potential legal fees."

 

Attorney Fred S. Steingold practices law in Ann Arbor, Michigan. An expert on small business law, he represents and advises many small businesses and frequently leads seminars on how to start and run small businesses. He is the author of Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business Vols. 1 & 2 and The Employer’s Legal Handbook. His monthly column, The Legal Advisor, is carried by trade publications around the country.

 

Employer's Legal Handbook, The by Fred S. Steingold
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