HispanicBusiness

In response to employment law confusion, CalBizCentral recently released a mini-booklet series titled "What Every Manager Needs to Know About." The five-booklet series is designed to educate managers about state and federal employee law and reduce the legal risks of companies.

"It's not enough to have legally compliant policies -- without a training program, businesses can still be sued. Courts have consistently found that printed policies without follow-up training can demonstrate that the company shows disregard for whether the law is followed or not," Jessica Hawthorne, an employment attorney with CalBizCentral, said in a press release.

The book, which was assembled by California's top business and legal experts, covers such topics as hiring, evaluating, and disciplining employees; paying non-exempt employees; and terminating employees. The series includes pages for supervisors to add personal notes and also contains a Frequently Asked Questions section.

"The booklets will help managers manage employees in compliance with state and federal laws and avoid potentially costly litigation," Ms. Hawthorne said. "With better managed employees, comes improved employee morale."

A 2005 Chubb Private Company Risk Survey points to the importance of employment law knowledge. The survey showed that 35 percent of private companies have had an employment law case filed against them in the last five years. Furthermore, court records show that plaintiffs win about 70 percent of employment law cases and awards average $170,000.

"Small businesses generally don't have the capacity to have human resource and legal staffs and can use the series as easy guides. For larger companies, these booklets integrate into existing policies and are easy for managers to use so that all managers understand their responsibilities," Ms. Hawthorne explained.

The set of five booklets is retailing for $25.

CalBizCentral, a provider of human resources and legal information for California businesses, is a division of the California Chamber of Commerce.