Features of the HR Library

 

Employment laws are modified every year and staying up to date on all the changes can be a full-time job – and is, for human resources professionals and employers.  For the experienced attorneys who write our books, this manual is a way to help businesses stay on the right side of employment law, minimize the risk of litigation, and avoid costly penalties.  This reference has been organized to fit your needs and outfitted with numerous features to help you make sure your policies and business practices are in compliance with the law.

  • The place to start
  • Our goal is to provide you with a useful resource to help you make effective employee handbooks and appropriate policies.  As such, Chapter 2, Introduction, is dedicated to getting you started.  Check out this quick overview before drafting your handbook or updating your policies, and take the HR-audit in Chapter 1, Snapshot, to determe which with fundamental employment laws you should brush up on.
  • The structure
  • To make this book more functional, we’ve displayed many sample policies and forms in text, directly after the topic is addressed.  This is meant to aid you during the process of crafting your handbook.  For instance, the discussion of Job descriptions is followed by a sample Job description.  All the information about a subject is at hand and ready for your use.
  • The content
  • While we’ve worked to make this book as effective as possible – providing efficient ways to find specific content without expecting busy employers to sit down and read the text straight through – we want every chapter to be readable and uncomplicated, letting you know what to do, how to do it, and a little bit of why.  In case you don’t have time to read the whole book, here are some current hot topics we’d like to highlight:
    • Based on the growing trend social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace, a sample social media policy has been included to help you deal with the increased misuse of the Internet during working hours. And be sure to read Social media before updating your own computer usage policy.
    • The DOL’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) forms and certifications expired on 12/31/2011, which means employers need to start using the newly issued forms with an updated 2015 expiration. Check out Family and Medical Leave Act and the samples of the new forms that follow.
  • The connections
  • As there is a lot of information in this book that requires interaction with different professional parties, contact information – including websites, email addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers for many government departments and local organizations – is spread throughout the book.  In-text mentions of external sources are followed by links to make it easier for you to apply our text to your own business.  Look out for sections with prompts for where to download important forms and posters, like Required documentation.  Think of it as the most detailed address book you’ve ever owned!
  • The appendices
  • We’ve tried to make every page of this manual useful, not just the beginning; so don’t dismiss the appendices.  At the end of the book there are a number of valuable resources for your use.  The topics include recordkeeping and posting requirements, both complete with federal and state constraints.  Find the exact information you need, compiled and at hand, ready for your use.
  • HRsimple
  • This publication also comes with a yearlong subscription to Model Policies and Forms for Kansas Employers on HRsimple.com – a website version of the text that provides the same great material in an online format. HRsimple allows you to access the information anywhere there is an Internet connection and includes downloads of all the forms provided in this resource. It’s the HR Library you trust, for the digital era you live in. For more information, please contact us at (855) 477-4675.

So relax – from hiring to firing, this manual will be your personal bookshelf HR manager.