A thrilling and timely account of ten moments in history when labor challenged the very nature of power in America, by the author called “a brilliant historian” by The Progressive magazinePowerful and accessible, A History of America in Ten Strikes challenges all of our contemporary assumptions around labor, unions, and American workers. In this brilliant book, labor historian Erik Loomis recounts ten critical workers’ strikes in American labor history that everyone needs to know about (and then provides an annotated list of the 150 most important moments in American labor history in the appendix). From the Lowell Mill Girls strike in the 1830s to Justice for Janitors in 1990, these labor uprisings do not just reflect the times in which they occurred, but speak directly to the present moment.For example, we often think that Lincoln ended slavery by proclaiming the slaves emancipated, but Loomis shows that they freed themselves during the Civil War by simply withdrawing their labor. He shows how the hopes and aspirations of a generation were made into demands at a GM plant in Lordstown in 1972. And he takes us to the forests of the Pacific Northwest in the early nineteenth century where the radical organizers known as the Wobblies made their biggest inroads against the power of bosses. But there were also moments when the movement was crushed by corporations and the government; Loomis helps us understand the present perilous condition of American workers and draws lessons from both the victories and defeats of the past.In crystalline narratives, labor historian Erik Loomis lifts the curtain on workers’ struggles, giving us a fresh perspective on American history from the boots up.Strikes include:Lowell Mill Girls Strike (Massachusetts, 1830-40)Slaves on Strike (The Confederacy, 1861-65)The Eight-Hour Day Strikes (Chicago, 1886)The Anthracite Strike (Pennsylvania, 1902)The Bread and Roses Strike (Massachusetts, 1912)The Flint Sit-Down Strike (Michigan, 1937)The Oakland General Strike (California, 1946)Lordstown (Ohio, 1972)Air Traffic Controllers (1981)Justice for Janitors (Los Angeles, 1990) Read more

Handle employment decisions with confidence, whether your employees are onsite or remoteEmployment laws change often. Staying on top of them is essential to running an efficient, fair workplace—and heading off expensive lawsuits. Use this must-have desk reference to find answers to workplace questions, quickly and easily. The Employer’s Legal Handbook is the go-to guide for business owners and managers. It covers the most common and current employment law issues you need to know about, including•  applications, interviews, and hiring•  must-have personnel policies•  wage and hour laws•  employee discipline and performance reviews•  health insurance and other employee benefits•  employee taxes and payroll•  family and medical leave•  employee privacy•  illegal harassment and discrimination, and•  terminations, downsizing, and layoffs.The 16th edition provides updated 50-state legal information and explains the latest developments in employment law, including the rise of the remote workforce. Read more

Learn how whistleblowers have saved lives, stopped frauds, protected their jobs, and earned million-dollar rewards for doing the right thing in Rules for Whistleblowers, Stephen Martin Kohn’s seventh book on whistleblowing. This book is a fully updated and expanded revision of The Whistleblower’s Handbook,the first-ever comprehensive consumer guide to exposing workplace wrongdoing. Kohn’s thirty-seven rules highlight the “traps” facing whistleblowers today and address how to file anonymous cases and qualify for multi-million-dollar rewards. Kohn carefully explains complex rules and laws governing whistleblowing including the Dodd-Frank, IRS, and False Claims Acts, as well as detailed strategies for fighting retaliation. He also covers controversial issues such as taping, removing documents, and ignoring nondisclosure agreements.Modernized laws have revolutionized the rights of employees both in the United States and internationally, enabling whistleblowers to be paid over $10 billion in rewards for doing the right thing. No employee should blow the whistle without knowing their rights. Too much is at stake. Read more

The goal of this Field Book is to help provide new and experienced Union Stewards with the most important information they will need to fulfill their daily duties administrating their Collective Bargaining Agreements, dealing with Management, and handling employee grievances, all in a compact pocket sized format that they can keep on hand and reference quickly while on the job.This book also contains downloadable links to a collection of PDF Forms created to help Stewards in common tasks like handling grievances and requesting information.(Author's Note: In Previous copies of the paperback book the font used made the links for the downloadable forms hard to read, this could lead to the url links being incorrectly typed, particularly the number 1 looking like a capital letter i. This has been corrected in newer copies by changing the font used in that section of the book.) Read more

An employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is a tax-favored employee benefit plan through which employees can become owners in their companies at no cost to themselves, at the same time that the company and its owners receive major tax benefits. In the right situation and with proper structuring, it can provide advantages for everyone involved. An ESOP can be used for many purposes, including to use tax-deductible corporate earnings to buy out the owner(s) of a closely held business; to allow shareholders to sell gradually and ease out of the business; to finance corporate acquisitions through the loan that buys stock for a leveraged ESOP; to enhance corporate performance through creating a corporate culture of ownership; and to reward employees with a benefit tied to corporate performance while providing the company with tax benefits. Thousands of U.S. companies have an ESOP and millions of employees participate in them, but many businesspeople are still unfamiliar with them. Even those who have some familiarity with ESOPs often have misconceptions about them. This concise book is designed to educate anyone who is interested or involved in ESOPs about what they are, what their history is, how they work, and what their benefits are to both the employer and the employee-participants. The 21st edition has been heavily revised and expanded for 2025, including dozens of updates and additions to the text, a new infographic, and a new chapter on ESOP sustainability. Read more

Learn how to conduct a full and fair workplace investigation Workplace complaints carry serious legal and financial risks to a company, so it’s essential to act fast when you receive an employee complaint. But an ineffective or poorly handled investigation can land your company in even more trouble than not performing one at all. It’s more important than ever to ensure your investigation is complete, impartial, and timely. The Essential Guide to Workplace Investigations shows you how to legally and successfully investigate and resolve any type of complaint or problem. It covers common issues such as harassment, discrimination, violence, drug and alcohol use, and employee theft. This edition has updated sections on sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination and handling problems in the remote workplace. The book guides you through each step of an effective investigation, including: deciding whether to investigate planning an investigation interviewing witnesses gathering and evaluating evidence documenting the investigation and more. With Downloadable Forms You can download all the forms you need, including sample policies, checklists, templates, and resources at Nolo. Read more

A bottom-up investigation of the broken system of professional licensing, affecting everyone from hairdressers and morticians to doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, and those who rely on their services.Tens of millions of US workers are required by law to have a license to do their jobs―about twice as many as are in unions. The requirements are set by over 1,500 industry-specific licensing boards, staffed mainly by volunteers from the industries they regulate. These boards have enormous power to shape the economy and the lives of individuals. As consumers, we rely on licensing boards to maintain standards of hygiene, skill, and ethics. But their decisions can be maddeningly arbitrary, creating unnecessary barriers to work. And where boards could be useful, curbing harms and ensuring professionalism, their performance is profoundly disappointing.When Rebecca Haw Allensworth began attending board meetings, she discovered a thicket of self-dealing and ineptitude. Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews with board members and applicants, The Licensing Racket goes behind the scenes to show how boards protect insiders from competition and turn a blind eye to unethical behavior. Even where there is the will to discipline bad actors, boards lack the resources needed to investigate serious cases. The consequences range from the infuriatingly banal―a hairdresser prevented from working―to the deeply shocking, with medical licensing boards bearing considerable blame for the opioid crisis and for staffing shortages during the COVID epidemic. Meanwhile, unethical lawyers who are allowed to keep their licenses are overrepresented among advocates working with the most vulnerable groups in society.If licensing is in many arenas a pointless obstacle to employment, in others it is as important as it is ineffective. Allensworth argues for abolition where appropriate and outlines an agenda for reform where it is most needed. Read more

Quick answers to questions about 21 Key Employment LawsThis book explains, in plain English, the 21 most important federal employment laws that come up in the workplace. You can look up what each law allows and prohibits, which businesses must comply, and how to fulfill record-keeping, posting, and reporting requirements. Each chapter covers one law, including:Americans with Disabilities ActAge Discrimination in Employment ActFair Labor Standards ActFamily and Medical Leave ActImmigration Reform and Control ActFair Credit Reporting ActPregnancy Discrimination ActEqual Pay ActTitle VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964Older Workers Benefit Protection ActUniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, andPregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)This 8th edition covers numerous legal changes, such as a new salary threshold for exempt employees, new PWFA law requiring U.S. employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with limitations due to pregnancy or childbirth, higher fines and penalties for employers that fail to comply with IRCA, new federal laws protecting employees with sexual harassment or sexual assault claims, and more. Read more

A behind-the-scenes look at how digital surveillance is affecting the trucking way of lifeLong-haul truckers are the backbone of the American economy, transporting goods under grueling conditions and immense economic pressure. Truckers have long valued the day-to-day independence of their work, sharing a strong occupational identity rooted in a tradition of autonomy. Yet these workers increasingly find themselves under many watchful eyes. Data Driven examines how digital surveillance is upending life and work on the open road, and raises crucial questions about the role of data collection in broader systems of social control.Karen Levy takes readers inside a world few ever see, painting a bracing portrait of one of the last great American frontiers. Federal regulations now require truckers to buy and install digital monitors that capture data about their locations and behaviors. Intended to address the pervasive problem of trucker fatigue by regulating the number of hours driven each day, these devices support additional surveillance by trucking firms and other companies. Traveling from industry trade shows to law offices and truck-stop bars, Levy reveals how these invasive technologies are reconfiguring industry relationships and providing new tools for managerial and legal control—and how truckers are challenging and resisting them.Data Driven contributes to an emerging conversation about how technology affects our work, institutions, and personal lives, and helps to guide our thinking about how to protect public interests and safeguard human dignity in the digital age. Read more

This Nutshell provides an overview of individual employee rights and responsibilities. It addresses a number of areas, including establishing and ending the employment relationship, protection of employee privacy and reputation, discrimination, regulation of wages and hours, employee physical safety, fringe benefits, and employee duties of loyalty. This edition includes a discussion of the many changes in harassment law and the impact of the #MeToo movement, a look at the recent Supreme Court case law extending employment discrimination protections to sexual orientation and transgender status, an examination of the trend toward a more virtual economy and platform-based work, and a description of the changes in how employees work, and the terms of that work, in the face of an ongoing health pandemic. Read more

1,000 challenging practice questions to prepare for the PHR and SPHR exams!PHR/SPHR Professional in Human Resources Certification Practice Tests is the ideal complement to the PHR/SPHR Study Guide, Fifth Edition, PHR/SPHR Deluxe Study Guide, Second Edition, and Review Guide. These self-study guides are intended for HR professionals seeking to validate their skills and knowledge acquired through years of practical experience, or for relative newcomers to the HR field looking to strengthen their resume. These Practice Tests were developed to help certification candidates prepare for these challenging exams, especially for those needing more practice to review or refresh their knowledge right before exam day. The book aligns with A Guide to the Human Resource Body of Knowledge™ (HRBoK™), which details the responsibilities of and knowledge needed by today's HR professionals. Practice Tests reflect the critical HR topics that you need to understand as you prepare for the PHR and SPHRexams.•          Business Management and Strategy •          Workforce Planning and Employment •          Human Resource Development •          Risk Management and morePlus, you’ll get a year of FREE access to the interactive online learning environment and test bank, which includes full-length tests and practice exams―1,000 practice questions total! Read more

This Understanding treatise examines the multifaceted and complex law of private-sector Labor Law. Because Understanding Labor Law focuses on relations between management and labor in the private sector, it deals primarily with the National Labor Relations Act, as amended, and its interpretation and application by the federal courts and the National Labor Relations Board. The book is organized in a format that is consistent with the organization of most Labor Law courses. At the end of each chapter is a section titled "Chapter Highlights," summarizing some of the major doctrines discussed in the chapter. Read more

"Compelling." —Reni Eddo-Lodge, author, Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About RaceDiscover the truth about the billion-dollar online economy that made the internet's best known stars More than one fifth of children want to become influencers and it's easy to understand why. What if you could escape economic uncertainty by winning the internet's attention? What if you could turn the adoration of your social media followers into a lucrative livelihood? But as Symeon Brown explores in this searing exposé, the reality is much murkier. From IRL streamers in LA to Brazilian butt lifts, from sex workers on OnlyFans to fraudulent cryptocurrency schemes, these are the incredible stories that lurk behind the filtered selfies and gleaming smiles. Exposing the fraud, exploitation, bribery, and dishonesty at the core of the influencer model, Get Rich or Lie Trying asks if our digital rat race is costing us too much. Revealing a broken economy resembling a pyramid scheme, this incredible blend of reportage and analysis will captivate and horrify you in equal measure. Read more

Don’t let harassment and discrimination claims disrupt your workplaceDiscrimination and harassment can poison the work environment, undermine employee morale, and lead to costly investigations and lawsuits. It’s critical to take steps to prevent harassment and discrimination, as well as to appropriately respond when incidents do happen.Protect your company and employees from harassment and discrimination claims using the information and strategies in this updated edition. You’ll learn how to:develop policies prohibiting harassment and discriminationtrain employees and supervisorshandle employee complaints and investigate claims thoroughlydocument your company’s responsetake action against wrongdoersprevent illegal retaliation, andrespond to agency complaints, investigations, and lawsuits.The legal principles, strategies, and tactics discussed in this book apply to remote workers and on-site staff. Read more

Quick answers to questions about 20 Key Employment Laws This book explains, in plain English, the 20 most important federal employment laws that come up in the workplace. You can look up what each law allows and prohibits, which businesses must comply, and how to fulfill record-keeping, posting, and reporting requirements. Each chapter covers one law, including: Americans with Disabilities Act Age Discrimination in Employment Act Fair Labor Standards Act Family and Medical Leave Act Immigration Reform and Control Act Fair Credit Reporting Act Pregnancy Discrimination Act Equal Pay Act Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, and Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The 7th edition includes COVID-19 guidance for employers as well as the latest Supreme Court cases, government regulations, and state laws. Read more

Trade unionist and Marxist politician William Z. Foster explains the organization and failure of the steel strike in 1919, an action which saw much of America's metal industry grind to a halt.The metal industries had, owing to great leaps in technological advancement, shed many jobs during the early 20th century. This precarious situation, plus the fact that unions had been curbed after a number of violent actions in the 1890s, led to the situation of laborers becoming unbearable. Shortly after Armistice Day marked the end of World War I, a surge of discontentment was accompanied by organization of labor and strike action.Although successful for a number of weeks, to the point where President Woodrow Wilson had to intervene and placate the workers on strike, the owners of the mills mounted an effective campaign which eroded public support for the strikers. Police brutality against striking steelworkers was recorded, with several such incidents being unprovoked. The Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers was unable to counter this opposition, and in January of 1920 the strike collapsed.Foster offers a clear and frank narration of the strike from the perspective of a man strongly in favor of the laborers. In the wake of the 1919 strike, continuing advances in steelmaking obsoleted the need for labor in the creation of raw steel; in the 1920s and 1930s quantities of steel produced rose, while the numbers of workers in the industry continued to plummet. Read more

SHRM-CP/SCP Exam Prep 2025: The Most Comprehensive Study Guide & 1063 Practice Questions with Detailed ExplanationsPrepare with confidence for the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP exams with our most updated and revised edition yet! This all-in-one 2025 study guide is designed to help HR professionals master the exam with a structured, easy-to-follow approach.Inside, you’ll find:✅ Comprehensive Study Guide – Covers all exam domains with the latest HR principles, strategies, and best practices.✅ 1063 Challenging Practice Questions – Sharpen your skills with high-quality questions that mirror the real exam.✅ Detailed Answer Explanations – Understand the rationale behind each answer, reinforcing key concepts.✅ Updated for 2025 – Reflects the latest SHRM Body of Competency & Knowledge (BoCK) to ensure accuracy.Whether you’re taking the SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP, this guide equips you with everything you need to pass—and take your HR career to the next level. Be fully prepared for exam day—start studying today! Read more

If the phrase “in other words” is your favorite part of class, then this is the book for you. This book takes the complicated subject of Employment Discrimination and breaks it down to easily understood pieces. The Big Three statutes! The theories of liability! Defenses! Remedies! Procedures! It’s all here with a summary at the end of each section and a comparison of the different theories of liability. You’ll be a happier student by the end of the book. Read more

This volume of selected statutes accompanies the casebook by Willborn et al., Employment Law: Cases and Materials, Sixth Edition (2017). Read more

This text is designed to assist students—both law and undergraduate—to achieve a basic understanding of this complex area of the law, and provide an up to date review for the practitioner. The focus is upon Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (race, national origin, sex, and religious discrimination), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act as applied to the workplace. The book addresses the method of proving violations, both disparate treatment and disparate impact analysis, including a brief primer of statistical proof, as well as the defenses to the express use of proscribed classifications. Finally, the book provides a quick reference to the complex procedural and remedial provisions of the statutes. Read more