For the 2008 edition, material has been added to explain the most frequent Fair Labor Standards Act problems: misclassifying workers as supervisors, failing to pay overtime, and violating child labor provisions, plus an analysis of the expected significant growth of staffing firms, and an extensive review of workplace computer use, including a suggested policy statement of computer use and procedures to monitor such use.

This 2008 revision of the Guide also includes an extensive description of the affirmative action and recordkeeping requirements for federal contractors and subcontractors subject to the Vietnam Era Veteran’s Readjustment Assistance (VEVRA) Act. Also included is full coverage of the Department of Labor’s explanation of the sources of internet applicants and the data recording requirements (including resumes) of information submitted by such applicants, plus suggested strategies to reduce record requirements and an examination of the role and utility of resumes.

Filling vacancies in critical jobs created by employees in National Guard units activated for extensive tours of duty has affected many employers, who must follow the provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Some employers have offered incentives to these individuals to retain their coverage in the Department of Defense healthcare program (Tricare) in lieu of enrollment in the employer’s health plan, shifting healthcare costs from employers to the federal government. This revision of the Guide discusses USERRA requirements plus the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act, effective January 1, 2008, which prohibits this practice for public and private employers with 20 or more employees.

A number of other issues are included in this revision, such as corporate wellness programs, a reorganization and broader discussion of the National Compensation Survey and the Occupational Employment Statistics, an analysis of racial and gender composition of the U. S. labor force, and international HR management issues specifically involving international terrorism.

Comprehensive summaries of all federal and state employment laws and regulations are cross-referenced in a comprehensive index. A glossary with definitions of over 700 terms and summaries of the most significant U.S. Supreme Court decisions involving employment cases. During 2007, three U. S. Supreme Court decisions resulted in several changes important to HR professionals. In National Labor Relations Board v. Kentucky River Community Care, Inc. et al (2001) the Court clarified the definition of a supervisor. In Davenport et al. v. Washington Education Association (2007), the Court upheld a Washington State law requiring unions in the public sector to obtain nonmembers’ consent before using their fees for election-related (as opposed to representational) purposes.  Finally, in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2007), the Court held that allegations of discrimination under Title VII must be filed with 180 days of the “discrete act of discrimination” (as opposed to the “effects of the alleged discriminatory acts”). All of these decisions are discussed more fully in this revision of the Guide.