U.S. Employer’s Guide, 18th Ed.
A Handbook of Employment Laws and Regulations
   

ISBN: 9781599592718
Format: Looseleaf in Binder
Updated: August 2011
   
Do you work in a position where you must hire, manage or supervise employees? If so, Blue Gavel Press Employer’s Guides can provide you with a solid foundation of knowledge regarding employment law. These books are vital tools for business owners, supervisors, managers, and human resources professionals nationwide.
    
Not only does the U.S. Employer’s Guide cover federal employment laws, but it also provides an overview of state regulations on key topics. Here you will find clear, plain-English explanations of complex laws, regulations, and court decisions. Hyperlinks at the end of each chapter will lead you to additional online information.
  
The following concerns are covered in this new edition of the U.S. Employer's Guide:

1. Hiring:

· New state laws addressing medical marijuana use.

· Federal immigration laws, including verification of Social Security numbers, verifying employment eligibility, sanctions for hiring undocumented workers, types of visas and the labor certification process for hiring foreign workers.

· Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding arbitration agreements.

2. Managing employees and personnel costs:

· Investigation of employee misconduct.

· Liability for employee actions.

3. Termination of employment:

· Changes in federal unemployment taxes.

· Recent court cases involving wrongful discharge, defamation, and notice of layoffs under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

4. Health and safety:

· New state laws addressing workplace bullying.

· The new Severe Violator Enforcement Program from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which penalizes employers for willful, repeated, or failure-to-abate violations.

5. Employment discrimination:

· New regulations clarifying the meaning of the term “disability” under the ADA Amendments Act.

· New state laws addressing religious discrimination.

· Recent court cases addressing employment discrimination.

6. Wages, hours, and child labor:

· New state laws addressing unclaimed wages and wage theft.

· New federal law requiring employers to provide break time and a quiet place for nursing mothers to express breast milk.

· Changes in federal income taxes (FICA), including computation and reporting requirements.

· Recent court cases involving exemptions from overtime pay and tip pools.

7. Employee benefits and leave:

· New regulations implementing the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

· New laws affecting employee retirement plans, including the Pension Relief Act of 2010, which provides funding relief for certain plans.

· New rollover provisions for 401(k) plans under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.

· Regulations providing guidance on hybrid defined benefit plans.

· Proposed regulations concerning fiduciaries and exemptions from prohibited transaction rules under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
  

8. Personnel records:

· Recent court cases involving access to personnel records.

9. Workplace privacy:

· Recent court cases involving workplace privacy.

· Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding employee privacy and electronic communications.

10. Unions and government contractors:

· New federal immigration laws, including special requirements for government contractors.

· Proposed amendments to the National Labor Relations Act, which could change the way unions are recognized and impose additional notice and posting requirements.

Doing business in today's world becomes more complicated with each passing year. Not only is it necessary to keep up with employment laws as they are enacted, but it is also important to anticipate changes in these legal arenas that might be forthcoming. Helping small businesses to keep up with these changes is what Blue Gavel Press is all about.