Employment Law for Business

Book Synopsis: Bennett-Alexander and Hartman's Employment Law for Business addresses employment law and employment decisions from a managerial perspective. This textbook shows students how to manage effectively and efficiently, with full comprehension of the legal ramifications of their decisions. Students learn to analyze employment law facts using concrete examples of thorny management-related legal dilemmas. The authors illustrate the various methods that can be used to reach a resolution, so that students understand how to make their own business decisions based on legal considerations.

The text discusses the complicated issues today's businesses face, such as whether employers are liable if they didn't know a supervisor was sexually harassing an employee and whether an employer is liable for racial discrimination for terminating a black male who refuses to abide by a "no-beard" policy. These types of questions, which are routinely decided in workplaces every day, can have devastating financial and productivity consequences if mishandled by employers. Yet, few employers or their managers and supervisors are equipped to handle them well.

This ninth edition has been updated to include cases such as the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court pregnancy case, Young v. UPS, and the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court Obergefell decisions prohibiting states from banning gay marriage, as well as current events, such as the 2016 presidential election and its effect on employment decisions. This edition also provides more in-depth coverage of recent issues, including technology and hiring assessment tools, criticisms of drug testing, and gender and age discrimination claims.

New to This Edition

• Updated statistics and new in-text examples, end-of-chapter questions, and cases reflect the most currently available examples. The authors have retained seminal cases, however, as students must be well versed in legal precedent.
• Chapter 3 focuses on the impact the 2016 election has had on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
• Chapter 4 provides the latest data on the use of social media and technology on recruitment, selection, and related activities.
• Chapter 10 features an updated discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Chapter 14 provides extensive updates based on significant advances in technology, information gathering, social media, monitoring, privacy, and the law and their effect on the workplace.