Author Description

This book is intended for courses on the individual rights of workers in the employment relationship, independent of courses on the law governing collective bargaining or employment discrimination. It can be used for one three-credit survey course on employment law, or for two related courses on employment law and employee benefits, each of two credits. The book covers the full range of employment law subjects from the nature of the employment relationship, the definition of "employee", pre-employment screening, individual employment contracts, the employment at-will doctrine, exceptions to the employment at-will doctrine, obligations of employees, monitoring and control of employees, the regulation of pay and hours of work (FLSA), workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, the regulation of occupational safety and health (OSHA), and the regulation of employee benefits (ERISA). The book has been substantially updated from the last issue. The chapter on who is an employee and who is an employer has been updated to include discussions of the most recent federal rules on these subjects under the FLSA and the NLRA. The chapters on hiring and monitoring employees now include extended discussions of the problems posed by information technology including artificial intelligence. The chapter on discharge now includes updates on the state regulation of employer accommodation of medical marijuana, protection of political speech, the CROWN Act, and employer monitoring of social media. The chapter also now includes an expanded discussion of the due process rights of public employees in discipline and discharge. The chapter on the regulation of wages and hours now includes an expanded discussion of state minimum wage laws in excess of the federal standard, the new federal rule on the EAP exception from overtime coverage, and family and medical leave requirements. Where appropriate, the book presents interdisciplinary discussions of employment law problem