Employment Law for Business 10th Edition Overview
The 10th Edition of Employment Law for Business is the most comprehensive and most up-to-date handbook available for every business that needs to understand the legal landscape of employment law. Employment Law for Business, 10th Edition incorporates all of the developments introduced by the Trump Administration, as well as significant changes in the law. For example, it includes a full discussion of the tax implications of the new tax Bill. It brings the reader up to date with discussion of the Sleep Train and Venture Construction cases (among many others) involving joint employers and the independent contractor standard, and the new trend towards a single standard of employee status based on a rebalancing of the scale on which particular factors play-in determining the issue. The new standards are a welcome balancing of conflicting court and agency policies . No employer can afford to ignore the implications of these decisions. This is bolstered by the extensive discussion of the standards for classifying workers as employees or independent contractors that is incorporated into these sections. And, the book features an expanded discussion of the new CFPB guidance related to the use of background checks.
The 10th Edition of Employment Law for Businesses features comprehensive section "858-891: OSHA". For the first time, this section includes a detailed discussion of the ADAAA and the implications for workplace safety and how the changes in the Agency’s standard of review for safety issues affects employers.
In addition, while maintaining its trademark accessibility, the 10th Edition of Employment Law for Business has been completely revised and reorganized to emphasize both the practical and preventative aspects of the law.
General Principles Discussed
The fifth chapter of the book starts by introducing the reader to two fundamental legal principles that apply to employment law: the difference between an employee and an independent contractor, and the concept of vicarious liability.
Employee or Independent Contractor?
A company may be liable as employer for its employees’ acts, including torts, as well as certain statutory liabilities, including the potential application of statutory health and safety and continuity of employment rights. The nature of the employment relationship with an employee is generally given greater weight than the label which the employer and employee may use. The law will normally respect the aims of the parties having regard to the economic realities of the relationship. In most instances, the contract of employment or other formal document evidencing the economic relationship will not have the legal power to change the true economic nature of that relationship. This chapter offers guidance on identifying whether an individual is an employee or independent contractor over whose actions the principal employer is likely to have at least some level of control. In most instances, the employee is integral to the business and performs the tasks for which the business was founded.
Vicarious Liability and Equal Treatment
In addition to any liability of an individual employee for his own tort (or non-tortious) actions, the employer may be vicariously liable for his acts. It must be established that the wrong was closely connected to what the employee was authorised to do by the employer.
This chapter continues to outline who qualifies as a worker, clarifying the application of equality of treatment and collective agreement principles and the scope of protection from harassment and victimisation.
Key Changes to Employment Law
The 10th edition of Employment Law for Business includes a wide range of developments since the last edition. An updated discussion of Title VII and Fair Labor Standards Act issues offers specific guidance on harassment, discrimination, joint employers and independent contractors, with resources for drawing the appropriate legal lines both in application and implementation. The discussion of immigration and the I-9 issues delves into the impact of recent enforcement measures, while evaluating the future of U.S. immigration practice under the new administration. The revised treatment of the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act addresses legislative and regulatory changes; and the impact of the ADA’s individual coverage rule on state law — offering concrete suggestions for responding to ADA litigation. The update to the NLRB discussion examines the impact of last year’s guidance on social media policies; and how today’s class action waivers impact collective bargaining. The text revision to the section on Background Checks and Drug Testing contains new statistics and recent case law illustrating the effect of E-Verify changes, a wave of new state initiatives and liability risks for companies that use the internet for criminal background checks.
Cases and Examples Highlighted
The case studies included in Employment Law in Practice are alone worth the price of the book, since these help to demonstrates a clear "how to do it" approach rather than the "what you must do" approach that many similar books take. The focus here is more on helping you understand the legal issues and how you should be implementing them in your business.
So that’s not to downplay the value of the discussions, summaries and notes at the bottom of each of the sections, but it’s the case studies that really demonstrate how the law operates and its impact on day-to-day operations.
The first study looks at the equivalent to the HR advice line and highlights the importance of keeping detailed records of calls made to this line in one situation and how a failure to do so meant that the employer could not defend itself against an unfair dismissal claim. This case study underlines two important points: The second case study examines breaches of contract and how these can limit what you can do as well as requiring you to be careful about what is said to employees about their employment . The third case study shows the level of detail that the Courts consider when faced with a payment dispute, comparing the type of information used by the parties to negotiate the arrangement and the extent to which there was even the most basic of checks on the employment status of the individuals involved.
The fourth case study addresses the issue of "acting in bad faith", a concept which applies where an employer has sought to avoid a contractual obligation by not doing something in good faith, something which can have a major impact on awards by the Courts if it is found that the employer has done so. The fifth case study looks at equal pay and the significance of this in both equalising pay where there has been discrimination in the past and in the present. There is a focus in this case study on the detail required of job evaluations. The sixth case study looks again at the use of contract clauses within the context of an insubordinate employee, something which is more common than you would expect and which can occur even with more experienced employees.
The final case study looks at the situation of outsourcing contractors, again a common issue at the moment for many employers and the case study provides some focus on some key items that you should include in such arrangements within the context of UK employment law.
Employers Best Practice Guidance
The most comprehensive part of our book is Chapter 10, "Best Practices for Employers." The chapter presents proven steps you should take to avoid legal exposure. The strategies discussed include executive management and board involvement, developing an HR team, implementing proactive preventative practices, and, when appropriate, the assistance of "outside experts." It also covers discrimination policies, employee manuals, other written policies, and recruitment procedures. Finally, it discusses employee confidentiality, wage management, workplace communication, performance evaluation, properly terminating and separating workers, health and safety, contract formation and breaches, grievance procedures, and alternative dispute resolution.
Various practices for managing compliance with wage and hour laws are discussed, including accurately recording hours worked, determining potential violations, seeking outside assistance when necessary, and properly paying terminated employees. This section also discusses various wage management issues, including overtime pay, minimum wage requirements, compensable time, meal and break periods, and off-the-clock work. Although there are many other wage-related topics that warrant discussion, we present these as representative of the main issues.
We focus on these topics because, despite all the electronic gizmos and automation that have replaced people in many settings, an employer must have people working to make money. The relationship that exists between the people you employ and your business is the subject of employment law. Thus, our first task is to discuss these issues of direct relevance to the employer.
We discuss the nature of employment, including the distinction between an employee and an independent contractor, contingent workers, and interns. This is a crucial concept because the classification of a worker can make all the difference under the law; mistakes in this area are all too common, but particularly relevant right now as businesses seem to be struggling to hire. Perhaps the best way to think about the nature of a worker’s duties is to analyze how your organization actually functions. Does this person work under your guidance or supervision? Where does she work? Is she required to be present at a particular location? How does she learn the job? How is she paid? How do you oversee her work?
Nontraditional employment classifications may be the future of the American workforce, according to some employment law experts. For example, many businesses use temp agencies to source new personnel. But what if a temporary employee files a claim for unpaid wages or discrimination because he or she believes that the company should be responsible for the consequences arising from the worker’s employment? One of the first things lawyers do to defend a case is analyze the relationship—who hired the worker? Did the agency know about the alleged violation? Was it reasonably foreseeable? So consider taking a little time for fact-finding and analysis to establish a clear understanding of your relationship with labor agencies. Include all employees, clients, and customers in this process.
The section also presents examples of how you should not fire a terminated employee. There are some circumstances in which a termination is perfectly defensible and the decision quite easy. However, in all but the simplest cases, the decision to terminate an employment relationship should be made by management after careful deliberation guided by the advice of human resources professionals.
We discuss the importance of having detailed written records of an employee’s performance. Having a well-documented history of the good, the bad, and the ugly, or effort to pursue a performance improvement plan, will do wonders for the accuracy of your defense. We also discuss what happens if the relationship turns litigious, in ways such as being audited by the Department of Labor, responding to an EEOC charge, or defending deposition testimony. Regardless of the type of litigation, no employer will succeed without a thorough knowledge of the facts as well as the law; and the time to create that reservoir of knowledge is before an adverse event occurs.
Finally, we reiterate how certain disciplines, such as hiring and firing, developing procedures for enforcement of company policies, and promoting communication and training among employees, will help minimize exposure to legal liability.
Business Owner Resources
This edition is also significantly enhanced and updated to reflect the new developments in both federal and state employment law. This book comes with additional materials, including a CD-Rom that contains a comprehensive set of model employment law policies, forms and personnel notices. One of the most stringently regulated areas of business is employment . These new 10th edition forms and procedures guide employers through some of the most complex areas of employment law, helping them to avoid expensive and potentially damaging employment-related claims. It also includes other forms and checklists to help businesses effectively manage the complex area of employment law.