The Complete Guide to Human Resources and the Law will help you navigate complex and potentially costly Human Resources issues. You'll know what to do (and what not to do) to avoid costly mistakes or oversights, confront HR problems - legally and effectively - and understand the rules.

The Complete Guide to Human Resources and the Law offers fast, dependable, plain English legal guidance for HR-related situations from ADA accommodation, diversity training, and privacy issues to hiring and termination, employee benefit plans, compensation, and recordkeeping. It brings you the most up-to-date information as well as practical tips and checklists in a well-organized, easy-to-use resource.

The 2012 Edition provides new and expanded coverage of issues such as:

• Rule-making and guidance about the health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), in the context of ongoing efforts in Congress and the courts to repeal or modify it
• Enactment of several federal statutes dealing with tax and financial matters, such as the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010, Pub. L. 111-192 (PRA); the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010, Pub. L. 111-240 (SBJCA), and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, Pub. L. 111-312 (TRUIRJCA)
• The Making Work Pay credit expired December 31, 2010, but TRUIRJCA takes a different approach to economic stimulus by cutting the employee's FICA rate to 4.2% for one year
• The SEC published the "Say on Pay" rules required by the Dodd-Frank Act, so that shareholders have non-binding votes on issues such as management compensation and golden parachutes
• In November 2010, the SEC issued a 181-page document to implement the Dodd-Frank Act's whistleblower program. Whistleblowers can receive between 10–30% of the fines and settlements resulting from the information they provide to the SEC if their information leads to penalties of over $1 million.
• The Supreme Court ruled that verbal complaints to management about wage and hour issues are protected conduct under the Fair Labor Standards Act's anti-retaliation provision: Kasten v. St. Gobain Performance Plastics, 131 S. Ct. 1325 (2011)
• The Supreme Court permitted use of the "cat's paw" theory of employment discrimination liability, so employers can be liable if an agent of the corporation intentionally causes an adverse employment action by influencing the direct decision-maker: Staub v. Proctor Hospital, 131 S. Ct. 1186 (2011)
• "Association discrimination" is a valid Title VII cause of action. The Supreme Court held that the Title VII ban on retaliation extends to adverse employment actions taken to punish an associate of a person who made a discrimination complaint, such as a family member or other person within the "zone of interests" protected by Title VII: Thompson v. North American Stainless, 131 S. Ct. 863 (2011).
• In a major decision on privacy issues, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the federal government's background check procedure for workers employed by federal contractors, holding that the process is reasonably related to security needs, and inappropriate disclosures are controlled by the Privacy Act: NASA v. Nelson, 131 S. Ct. 746 (2011)
• Another privacy development is the Supreme Court's ruling that a corporation does not have a right of "personal privacy" in the FOIA context: FCC v. AT&T, 131 S. Ct. 1177 (2011)
• The Fifth Circuit, in a case of first impression, held that there is no USERRA cause of action for a hostile work environment: Carder v. Continental Airlines, No. 10-20105 (5th Cir. Mar. 22, 2011)
• Starting in 2011, small employers (with an average of 100 or fewer employees) can offer Simple Cafeteria Plans, a new form of benefit plan
• In October 2010, the IRS issued major final and proposed regulations on hybrid plans, a category that includes cash balance plans
• Final regulations about the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 were published in the Federal Register on March 25, 2011, dealing with the definition of disability. An important change is that the final regulations make "individual with a disability" and "qualified individual" separate terms, and the term "qualified individual with a disability" (QIWD), which occurs frequently in earlier ADA cases, is not used in the regulations.
• The Supreme Court rejected class certification in a massive sex discrimination case brought by past and present female workers at Wal-Mart. The Supreme Court found that the plaintiffs raised millions of individual claims, not a claim about a single discriminatory policy that could properly be challenged in a class action. The Supreme Court also found that the plaintiffs' back pay claim was not properly worded: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011).
• New York passed a law authorizing same-sex marriage, and Delaware and Rhode Island permitted same-sex civil unions
• The Supreme Court ruled that, in case of conflict between SPD and the actual plan document, the plan document will prevail. This case, Amara v. Cigna, 131 S. Ct. 1866 (2011) held that ERISA § 502(a)(1)(B) cannot be used to correct errors in an SPD, and courts do not have the authority to order reformation of the plan (i.e., modification of the plan terms). However, the Supreme Court left open the possibility of getting extensive equitable remedies under another ERISA section, § 502(a)(3).