The manager's legal handbook

Successfully manage employees while avoiding legal traps

If you supervise employees or independent contractors, The Manager's Legal Handbook is the perfect resource.

Need information about overtime? Want useful ideas on workplace policies? Have a question about trade secrets and need the answer now? This book provides everything you need to stay within the bounds of the law, including information on:
hiring discrimination and harassment wages and hours privacy time off workplace policies, and firing and layoffs.
Designed for managers, business owners, and human resources professionals who need answers on the go, The Manager's Legal Handbook covers the most common issues employers face.

The 9th edition is completely updated to reflect changes to discrimination laws, overtime rules, trade secret laws, and more. It also provides updated information on the laws of each state, including paid sick leave and paid family leave laws.

• Introduction
• Navigating the Maze of Employment Law p. 1
• How to Use This Book p. 2
• Additional Resources p. 3
• 1 Hiring p. 5
• Job Postings p. 6
• Interviews p. 9
• Making Promises p. 12
• Applicants With Disabilities p. 13
• Testing Applicants p. 15
• Background Checks p. 18
• Ordering Consumer Reports p. 21
• Young Workers p. 22
• Offer Letters p. 25
• Written Employment Contracts p. 26
• 2 Compensation and Hours p. 63
• The Fair Labor Standards Act p. 65
• Deciding What to Pay People p. 68
• The Minimum Wage p. 73
• Overtime p. 76
• Meal and Rest Breaks p. 82
• Lactation Breaks p. 83
• Travel Time p. 84
• On-Call Time p. 86
• Flexible Work Schedules p. 87
• Pay Docking and Unpaid Suspensions p. 90
• Garnishments p. 92
• Equal Pay p. 95
• Record-Keeping Requirements p. 97
• 3 Discrimination p. 121
• Antidiscrimination Laws p. 123
• Race and National Origin p. 128
• Age p. 132
• Gender, Pregnancy, and Sexual Harassment p. 135
• Genetic information p. 138
• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity p. 141
• Religion p. 143
• Expression of Religious Beliefs p. 144
• Disability p. 145
• 4 Personnel Basics p. 165
• Personnel Policies and the Law p. 167
• At-Will Employment p. 169
• Employee Handbooks p. 173
• Preventing Workplace Harassment p. 177
• Communicating With Employees Effectively p. 180
• Performance Appraisal p. 185
• Creating and Maintaining Personnel Files p. 188
• Family-Friendly Workplace Policies p. 191
• 5 Time Off p. 203
• Vacation and Sick Leave p. 206
• Family and Medical Leave p. 208
• Pregnancy and Parental Leave p. 213
• Jury Duty and Voting p. 216
• Military Leave p. 217
• Domestic Violence Leave p. 218
• Other Types of Leave p. 220
• 6 Privacy p. 261
• The Right to Privacy p. 263
• Testing Current Employees p. 265
• Internet Monitoring p. 268
• Why Your Company Needs an Email Policy p. 269
• Employee Posts and Social Networking p. 272
• Off-Duty Conduct p. 277
• Workplace Searches p. 280
• 7 Health and Safety p. 285
• Health and Safety Laws p. 286
• Workers' Compensation p. 289
• Affordable Care Act p. 291
• Cell Phones and Driving p. 295
• Smoking p. 297
• Drugs and Alcohol p. 297
• 8 Unions p. 307
• The National Labor Relations Act p. 308
• Representation Elections and Organizing Campaigns p. 312
• Election Statements p. 314
• Shop Talk p. 316
• Protected Concerted Activity p. 317
• Union Shops and Union Dues p. 319
• Collective Bargaining p. 320
• Company Unions and Employee Committees p. 323
• Strikes p. 324
• 9 Independent Contractors p. 331
• Classifying Workers p. 332
• Benefits and Drawbacks of Using Independent Contractors p. 338
• Important Documents When Hiring Independent Contractors p. 342
• Written Agreements With Independent Contractors p. 344
• Copyright Ownership p. 347
• 10 Trade Secrets p. 355
• The Law of Trade Secrets p. 356
• Protecting Trade Secrets p. 360
• Nondisclosure Agreements p. 364
• Noncompete Agreements p. 366
• Nonsolicitation Agreements p. 368
• Hiring From Competitors p. 370
• 11 Handling Workplace Problems p. 375
• Disciplining Workers p. 376
• Investigating Complaints p. 379
• Retaliation p. 382
• Workplace Violence p. 388
• Liability for an Employee's Actions p. 392
• 12 Firing Employees p. 399
• Illegal Reasons for Firing Employees p. 400
• Firing Employees With Employment Contracts p. 403
• Making the Decision to Fire p. 406
• How to Fire p. 409
• 13 Layoffs p. 417
• Before Conducting a Layoff p. 418
• Alternatives to Layoffs p. 422
• Making the Cut p. 425
• Conducting a Layoff p. 427
• Notice Requirements for Layoffs p. 432
• 14 Departing Workers p. 445
• References p. 446
• What to Tell Coworkers When an Employee Leaves p. 449
• Health Insurance p. 450
• Severance p. 451
• Releases p. 453
• Unemployment Benefits p. 455
• Appendix
• Resources p. 481
• Federal Agencies p. 482
• State Labor Departments p. 484
• State Agencies That Enforce Laws Prohibiting Discrimination in Employment p. 488
• Index p. 493