The Essential Guide to Federal Employment Laws

by Lisa Guerin J.D., Sachi Barreiro J.D.

Overview

The ultimate user-friendly Federal employment book!

The Essential Guide to Federal Employment Laws is a plain-English guide to the 20 most important federal laws dealing with employment issues. It provides all the information you need on each of the major federal employment laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and more.

Each chapter covers a separate law, giving readers a digest of the law's most important features. Topics covered include:

which businesses must comply with the law

what each law allows and prohibits

where to find the text of the law

important court decisions about each law

practical tips to stay within the scope of the law

which federal agency enforces each law

resources for further research and information

A must-have resource for reference librarians, human resources professionals and business owners. Readers will find out what is allowed and prohibited, what businesses must comply, practical tips to stay within the scope of the law, which federal agencies enforce the law - and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781413326154
Publisher:	NOLO
Publication date:	04/30/2019
Edition description:	Sixth Edition
Pages:	512
Sales rank:	684,460
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Lisa Guerin is the author or co-author of several Nolo books, including The Manager's Legal Handbook, Dealing with Problem Employees, The Essential Guide to Federal Employment Laws, Workplace Investigations, and Create Your Own Employee Handbook. Guerin has practiced employment law in government, public interest, and private practice where she represented clients at all levels of state and federal courts and in agency proceedings. She is a graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley.

Sachi Barreiro is a legal editor at Nolo specializing in employment law and workers’ compensation law. Before joining Nolo, Sachi practiced law for several years in San Francisco, first representing injured plaintiffs in personal injury lawsuits, then advising businesses on employment and corporate matters. Sachi received her law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she graduated magna cum laude.

Table of Contents

Overview

Which Laws Your Company Must Follow 4

Basic Compliance Tools 17

If You Need More Information 24

Updates 25

1 Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)

Overview of the ADEA 28

How the ADEA Is Enforced 39

Complying With the ADEA 40

Agency Resources 42

State Laws Relating to Age Discrimination 42

2 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

Overview of the ADA 44

How the ADA Is Enforced 61

Complying With the ADA 61

Agency Resources 62

State Laws Relating to Disability Discrimination 64

3 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)

Overview of COBRA 66

How COBRA Is Enforced 87

Complying With COBRA 87

Agency Resources 90

State Laws Relating to Health Coverage Continuation 91

4 Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA)

Overview of the EPPA 107

Major Provisions of the EPPA 112

How the EPPA Is Enforced 127

Complying With the EPPA 128

Agency Resources 131

State Laws Relating to Polygraph Tests 131

5 Equal Pay Act (EPA)

Overview of the EPA 138

How the EPA Is Enforced 145

Complying With the EPA 146

Agency Resources 148

State Laws Relating to Equal Pay 148

6 Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

Overview of the FCRA 150

Major Provisions of the FCRA 155

How the FCRA Is Enforced 166

Agency Enforcement 166

Complying With the FCRA 166

Agency Resources 168

State Laws Relating to Credit Reporting 169

7 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

Overview of the FLSA 172

Major Provisions of the FLSA 179

How the FLSA Is Enforced 191

Complying With the FLSA 193

Agency Resources 195

State Laws Relating to Wages and Hours 196

8 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Overview of the FMLA 216

MajorProvisions of the FMLA 221

How the FMLA Is Enforced 244

Complying With the FMLA 244

Agency Resources 247

State Laws Relating to Family and Medical Leave 248

9 Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)

Overview of GINA 258

Major Provisions of GINA 261

How GINA Is Enforced 267

Complying With GINA 267

Agency Resources 268

State Laws Relating to Genetic Discrimination 268

10 The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)

Overview of IRCA 270

Major Provisions of IRCA 276

How IRCA Is Enforced 284

Complying With IRCA 285

Agency Resources 287

State Laws Relating to Immigration 287

11 National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)

Overview of the NLRA 290

Major Provisions of the NLRA 297

How the NLRA Is Enforced 309

Complying With the NLRA 310

Agency Resources 312

State Right-to-Work Laws 312

12 The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act)

Overview of the OSH Act 316

Major Provisions of the OSH Act 320

How the OSH Act Is Enforced 327

Complying With the OSH Act 328

Agency Resources 330

State Laws Relating to Occupational Safety and Health 331

13 Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)

Overview of OWBPA 334

Major Provisions of OWBPA 338

How OWBPA Is Enforced 351

Complying With OWBPA 352

Agency Resources 352

State Laws Relating to Age Discrimination 353

14 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA)

Overview of PRWORA 356

How PRWORA Is Enforced 361

Complying With PRWORA 362

Agency Resources 363

State Laws Relating to New Hire Reporting 364

15 Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)

Overview of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act 366

How the Pregnancy Discrimination Act Is Enforced 372

Complying With the Pregnancy Discrimination Act 372

Agency Resources 373

State Laws Relating to Pregnancy Discrimination 373

16 The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX)

Overview of SOX 376

How SOX Is Enforced 384

Complying With SOX 386

Agency Resources 387

State Laws Relating to Whistleblowers 388

17 Civil Rights Act of 1866 (Section 1981)

Overview of Section 1981 390

How Section 1981 Is Enforced 397

Complying With Section 1981 398

State Laws Relating to Race Discrimination 399

18 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)

Overview of Title VII 402

How Title VII Is Enforced 414

Complying With Title VII 415

Agency Resources 416

State Antidiscrimination Laws 417

19 Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)

Overview of USERRA 432

Major Provisions of USERRA 438

How USERRA Is Enforced 450

Complying With USERRA 451

Agency Resources 452

State Laws Relating to Military Service 453

20 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)

Overview of WARN 464

How WARN Is Enforced 473

Complying With WARN 474

Agency Resources 475

State Laws Relating to Plant Closings 475

A Appendix A Federal and State Agencies

Federal Agencies 486

State Agencies 490

B Appendix B SHRM and Nolo Resources

SHRM and Nolo Resources 502

SHRM Resources 502

Nolo Resources 506

Index

What People are Saying About This

"Compliance sections in each chapter help employers understand what they must report, the records they must keep, and what penalties might befall them if they fail to comply." Library Journal"[This] clear, informative condensation of this vast and complex subject is probably the best available..." American Reference Books Annual
"A very thorough, very usable handbook for HR. " Attorney Maria Greco Danaher,Chair, Employment and Labor Law Group,Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, PC

Interviews

Navigating an employer’s obligations under federal employments laws can be confusing and overwhelming. The FMLA, ADA, FLSA, NLRA – it can be difficult just to keep the acronyms straight! This book will help managers, HR professionals, business owners, and others understand how the most important national employment laws work. It breaks down 20 key laws, chapter by chapter, and points out differences in state laws with 50-state charts.

Editorial Reviews

"Nolo is a pioneer in both consumer and self-help books and software."

Los Angeles Times

Nolo's successful formula for creating law books for lay audiences combines user-friendly formatting and attorney authors with intuitive organizational schemes. Nolo books include information on variances in the laws from state to state, and readers can go to the publisher's web site to learn about changes in the law. Typically, there are abundant lists of additional resources and appendixes or accompanying CD-ROMs with self-help forms or checklists. These three new titles exemplify these traits. With Divorce, attorney and mediator Doskow covers the before, during, and after of divorce, counseling readers on the types of divorces, how to make decisions about living arrangements and the division of property, and how custody decisions are made. She advocates minimizing conflict but includes sections on domestic violence and kidnapping if the worst happens. Appendixes contain state-to-state grounds for divorce and financial inventory forms. Federal Employment Laws, published in cooperation with the Society for Human Resource Management, is designed as a tool for human resources officers. Organized in chapters by the 20 most important federal employment laws, it covers such issues as discrimination, disabilities, workplace safety, and equal pay. Employment law specialists Guerin and DelPo provide an overview of the intent and application of each statute and explain how it is enforced. Compliance sections in each chapter help employers understand what they must report, the records they must keep, and what penalties might befall them if they fail to comply. There are extensive lists of contacts for applicable government agencies. In Finding Great Tenants, landlord/tenant lawyer Portman pairs business and legal advice for those who own or manage rental property. She helps readers with everything from conducting an open house to screening tenants without engaging in discrimination. Portman covers the legalities involved in obtaining credit, criminal background, and Megan's Law reports. Her advice on negotiating with tenants and evaluating applications and credit reports will be particularly useful to new landlords. An accompanying CD-ROM includes 40 common forms of agreement or correspondence. All three titles are available as e-books and are recommended for public libraries.-Joan Pedzich, Harris Beach, PLLC, Rochester, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Author comment: "Navigating an employer’s obligations under federal employments laws can be confusing and overwhelming. The FMLA, ADA, FLSA, NLRA – it can be difficult just to keep the acronyms straight! This book will help managers, HR professionals, business owners, and others understand how the most important national employment laws work. It breaks down 20 key laws, chapter by chapter, and points out differences in state laws with 50-state charts."

"Compliance sections in each chapter help employers understand what they must report, the records they must keep, and what penalties might befall them if they fail to comply." Library Journal

"[This] clear, informative condensation of this vast and complex subject is probably the best available..." American Reference Books Annual

"A very thorough, very usable handbook for HR. " Attorney Maria Greco Danaher,Chair, Employment and Labor Law Group,Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, PC

"Guerin and Barreiro present readers with a comprehensive examination of twenty key federal employment laws. Over twenty chapters, the authors cover twenty laws. Each chapter is devoted to one law. Laws examined include the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Immigration Reform and Control Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, the Equal Pay Act, and many others. Lisa Guerin and Sachi Barreiro are both former attorneys now devoting their time to writing legal texts." Eithne O'Leyne Editor, ProtoView

From the Publisher

[This] clear, informative condensation of this vast and complex subject is probably the best available...

American Reference Books Annual