Contact: Peter Cook at (207) 581-3756 [email protected]
UMAINE BUREAU OF LABOR EDUCATION RELEASES GUIDE TO EMPLOYMENT LAW
ORONO -- The University of Maine's Bureau of Labor Education has released "A National Guide to Employment Law," a user-friendly guide to the multitude of laws that cover American workplaces.
The UMaine Bureau of Labor Education was chosen by the National Institute of Standards and Technologies, an office of the U.S. Department of Commerce, to write the new publication, which was printed by the University of Maine Printing Services.
"This publication was made possible through the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST). They approached us because they were familiar with a book we've done for 26 years about Maine state employment law," says John Hanson, director of the Bureau of Labor Education. "In a sense, they commissioned us to do this book and make it useful for national consumption."
Hanson says the book is a summary of the important laws that affect workers across the country. The book is divided into six chapters, each of which covers a different area of law. The areas covered in the first five chapters are: employment discrimination, occupational health and safety, work-related injuries and diseases, unemployment compensation and collective bargaining. The last chapter covers general employment laws, such as drug and alcohol testing or the Family and Medical Leave Act, that do not fall into any specific category.
The main body of the book is written in a question-answer format, and uses plain language to explain the often perplexing world of employment law.
There are also five appendixes that provide additional information on general employment law, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and an overview of worker's compensation and unemployment compensation in the U.S.
"This book is intended for the non-professional, the person that doesn't know a lot about which public policies govern the workplace but want and need to know more," says Hanson. "In no way is this publication intended to make experts out of anyone, but it is, as the title suggests, a guide so they get some sense of the policies and know where to go for more information."
Hanson says the book can also be a useful resource for small employers that simply do not have the resources to keep up with all of the changes that take place in employment law.
"One of the most exciting aspects of employment law is that because it's part of the political process, it's always changing," says William Murphy, assistant director of the Bureau of Labor Education. "This guide can be an effective resource for directing people to the appropriate agency of government and seeking competent legal help from attorneys and others."
The issues of workplace discrimination and workplace safety are discussed in the first two chapters, says Hanson, because these are two issues that American workers are particularly concerned about.
"These two issues tend to be hot button issues," says Hanson. "Just from our experience here and in conversations we've had with our colleagues around the country, they occupy a greater proportion of time and attention than other issues."
Hanson says it is a credit to the state and its leadership that NIST picked a department of the University of Maine to write this book.
"We take heart in the fact that the government could have gone anywhere to do this and they came to Maine," says Hanson. "We often think of Maine as being the tail that is constantly being wagged by the national dog. The reality is that the nation has looked to the state as a leader for presenting a usable book on employment policies and practices and on the whole area of labor-management relations."
Copies of "A National Guide to Employment Law" cost $8 and are available from the Bureau of Labor Education. Call (207)581-4124 or [email protected] to order a copy of the book.
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