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.

• Discussion of the economic recovery measures under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
  
• The PBGC flat-rate premium for single employer plans for 2009 is $34/participant
  
• The requirement of distributing Summary Annual Reports to participants and beneficiaries has been replaced by the requirement of issuing annual funding notices for most benefit plans; DOL issued a model notice and FAQs for implementing the requirement
  
• Courts continued to develop standards under Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Glenn, 128 S. Ct. 2343 (2008), for reviewing claims decisions made by decision-makers (such as plan sponsors and insurers) that have a conflict of interest because they are responsible for paying whatever claims are allowed
  
• The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-3 (CHIPRA), intended to improve coordination between EGHPs and state Medicaid and SCHIP (coverage for uninsured children) plans, caused EGHP and cafeteria plans to be amended "Michelle's Law," Pub. L. 110-381, requires EGHPs to extend coverage to employees' dependent children who are covered as post-secondary students if they have to interrupt their studies for health-related reasons
  
• More states allowed same-sex couples to marry or have legally related domestic partnerships or civil unions - with implications for work-related benefit plans that cover "spouses."
  
• The requirement of benefit parity between mental and physical illnesses was made permanent by EESA
  
• The HITECH Act (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health; part of ARRA) was enacted to strengthen the privacy and security rules under HIPAA, and to promote broader usage of electronic medical records. State Attorneys General now have the power to enforce HIPAA through suits in federal court.
  
• The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (Pub. L. 111-2) was enacted. It increases the number of employment discrimination suits that can be brought by reversing the Supreme Court's decision that the timing rules for lawsuits begin when an allegedly discriminatory practice is adopted.
  
• The Supreme Court extended its string of pro-arbitration cases by ruling in 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, 129 S. Ct. 1456 (4/1/09), that a collective bargaining agreement clause that clearly obligates union members to arbitrate ADEA claims is enforceable.
  
• The Supreme Court held that federal labor law preempts a California law that forbade employers that receive state contracts or other funding to discuss union matters with employees. As long as employers avoid coercion, federal law seeks to promote wide-open debate on labor issues: Chamber of Commerce v. Brown, 128 S. Ct. 2408 (2008).
  
• Another Supreme Court ruling discussed allows unions to charge non-members who pay agency fees in lieu of joining the union amounts representing certain expenses of national litigation: Locke v. Karass, 129 S. Ct. 798 (1/2/09).
  
• The Supreme Court also ruled, in Crawford v. Metropolitan Gov't of Nashville and Davison County, TN, 129 S. Ct. 846 (2009), that it is unlawful to retaliate against employees who answer questions about sexual harassment as part of an internal investigation. Protection against retaliation is not limited to employees who initiate an investigation or volunteer information.
  
• Discussion of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, ADAAA, Pub. L. 110-325, which took effect January 1, 2009, and reverses a number of Supreme Court decisions that narrowed the definition of "disability"
  
• Discussion of the Department of Labor's massive new regulations under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Table of Contents

1. PAY PLANNING
2. TAX ASPECTS OF PAY PLANNING
3. BONUSES AND SEVERANCE PAY
4. BASIC PENSION CONCEPTS
5. DEFINED BENEFIT PLANS
6. DEFINED CONTRIBUTION AND 401(K) PLANS
7. CASH BALANCE PLANS
8. NONQUALIFIED PLANS
9. EARLY RETIREMENT AND RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS
10. ADOPTING AND ADMINISTERING A PLAN
11. COMMUNICATIONS WITH EMPLOYEES AND REGULATORS
12. PLAN DISTRIBUTIONS
13. PROCESSING AND REVIEWING CLAIMS AND APPEALS
14. AMENDING A PLAN
15. ENFORCEMENT AND COMPLIANCE ISSUES FOR QUALIFIED PLANS
16. EFFECT OF CORPORATE TRANSITIONS ON PENSION AND BENEFIT PLANS
17. PLAN TERMINATION
18. EMPLOYEE GROUP HEALTH PLANS (Eghps)
19. HEALTH INSURANCE CONTINUATION AND PORTABILITY (COBRA AND HIPAA)
20. DISABILITY PLANS
21. INSURANCE FRINGE BENEFITS
22. OTHER FRINGE BENEFITS
23. HIRING AND RECRUITMENT
24. RECORDKEEPING
25. CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
26. PRIVACY ISSUES
27. THE ROLE OF THE COMPUTER IN HR
28. WORK-FAMILY ISSUES
29. DIVERSITY IN THE WORKPLACE
30. LABOR LAW
31. OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
32. UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
33. WORKER'S COMPENSATION
34. TITLE VII
35. SEXUAL HARASSMENT
36. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)
37. AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT
38. THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA)
39. WRONGFUL TERMINATION AND AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT
40. ARBITRATION AND ADR
41. EEOC AND STATE ENFORCEMENT OF ANTIDISCRIMINATION LAWS
42. DISCRIMINATION SUITS BY EMPLOYEES: PROCEDURAL ISSUES
43. INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR CLAIMS AGAINST THE EMPLOYER