The Manager's Guide to HR: Hiring, Firing, Performance Evaluations, Documentation, Benefits, and Everything Else You Need to Know »

Max Muller (Overland Park, KS), an attorney, began his involvement in human resources law in 1976 when he became house counsel for Isis Foods. He has presented thousands of seminars on the topic of human resources, including many for the American Management Association.

If your company has a full-fledged human resources department, consider yourself lucky. But whether it does or not, you as a manager need to be well versed in several critical HR areas. Hav­ing a thorough grasp of basic human resources issues means you can make better decisions—and faster ones—on everything from hiring and firing to performance appraisal to compensation.

A thorough and accessible guide written in plain English, The Manager’s Guide to HR gets right to the point on dozens of major topics, hot-button issues, and common misconceptions. The book provides a litany of dos and don’ts to follow regarding:

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       Hiring. How to write the perfect job description, then recruit, interview, and check the eligibility of candidates.

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       Training. How to make sure your employees have everything they need to do their jobs well, safely, and legally—and how to document it all. Includes information on sexual harassment training.

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       Compensation. How the Fair Labor Standards Act and Equal Pay Act affect your business, how overtime must be calculated, and how to avoid violating these seemingly complex regulations.

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       Benefits. The nuts and bolts of healthcare coverage, life insurance, the Family and Medical Leave Act, COBRA, leave eligibility, and much more.

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       Employment Law. An overview of federal laws, what they protect against, and how they are enforced, and what compensation may be required when they are broken. Includes key information on federal, state, and local protected classes.

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       Sexual Harassment and Workplace Violence. Detailed definitions and case law examples to prevent your company from allowing harass­ment, and necessary precautions, documen­tation, training, and reporting pertaining to violence or the threat of violence.

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       Privacy. What you are and are not entitled to know when conducting background checks, how (and how closely) you can monitor your employees, and what constitutes an invasion of privacy. Plus valuable information on defama­tion, inten­tional provocation, and much more.

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       Performance Evaluation. How to bring your appraisal, the employee’s self-review, and the job description together to create a fair, consistent, and effective evaluation.

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       Termination and Separation. What does at-will employ­ment mean? Right and wrong ways to fire an employee, how to use progressive disci­pline, what you need to know about the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, and much more.

Finally, The Manager’s Guide to HR gives you step-by-step instructions for documenting everything and keeping bulletproof records. You’ll learn the elements of a well-kept and up-to-date personnel file, including what records should not be kept in that file. The book also includes sample docu­ments from OSHA and other regulatory agencies, with thorough explanations of their purpose and value to you, your company, and your employees.

With the priceless information in this book, you’ll be on the same page as your HR department (and your company), and you’ll know that you are treating your employees as they deserve to be treated—and as the law requires.

Max Muller is an attorney who has specialized in human resources law for more than 30 years. Formerly house counsel for Isis Foods and president of Electronic Processing, Inc., he has presented thousands of human resources seminars for premier organizations including the American Management Association. Mr. Muller lives in Overland Park, Kansas.

Chapter 1 Hiring 1

Introduction

Defining the Job

Writing the Job Description

Recruiting

Interviewing

Verifying Employment Eligibility

Chapter 2 Performance Evaluations 35

Introduction

The Job Description

Employee Self-Review

Structured Performance Reviews and Discrimination

Chapter 3 Training 41

Introduction

Strategy

Safety

Sexual Harassment

Trainig Records

Chapter 4 Benefits 51

Introduction: The Family and Medical Leave Act

Covered Entities

The Twelve-Month Period

Notice

Scheduling the Leave

The Workweek

Employee Eligibility

Eligible Reasons for Leave

Unpaid Nature of Leave

Maintaining Health Benefits

Serious Health Conditions

Health-Care Provider

Key Employees

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996-Preexisting Conditions

Chapter 5 Compensation: The Fair Labor Standards Act 87

Introduction

Minimum Wage and Overtime

Compensable Hours

Equal Pay for Men and Women (Equal Pay Act)

Child Labor

Coverage

Benefits and Payroll Practices Not Covered by the FLSA

Exempt vs. Nonexempt Status Under the FLSA

Wage and Hour Violations

Chapter 6 Employment Laws 117

Introduction

Key Federal Employment Laws

Prohibited Acts

Enforcement Mechanisms

Proof of Discrimination

Title VII Remedies

Federally Protected Classes

State and Local Protected Classes

Chapter 7 Hot-Button Issues: Sexual Harassment and Workplace Violence 165

Sexual Harassment: Introduction

Sexual Harassment Defined

The Ellerth/Faragher Defense

The Investigation

Workplace Violence

Chapter 8 Privacy Issues 201

Introduction

BackgroundChecks

Medical Information During the Hiring Process

Monitoring Employees in the Workplace

Invasion of Privacy

Defamation, Libel, and Slander

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress or Outrage

False Imprisonment

Chapter 9 Firing and Separation 231

Introduction

Policy Statements May Alter At-Will Employment

How to Reestablish the At-Will Privilege

Progressive Discipline

The Termination Session

Wrongful Discharge

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act

Chapter 10 Documentation and Records Retention 247

Introduction

Personnel Records in General

Medical Information

Other Documents That Should Not Be Kept in a Personnel File

EEOC Minimum Document Retention Rules Under Title VII

Document Retention Policies

OSHA Record Keeping

Index 287