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New HR How-To Book Series From CCHKnowledgePoint Provides Key Information For Human Resources Professionals

(RIVERWOODS, ILL., October 23, 2002) — What work-life benefits should your firm offer? How can you attract and keep the best talent? Are you classifying your employees correctly? Human resources professionals and consultants now have an authoritative and affordable resource to which they can refer for such vital information — the new HR How-To book series from CCHKnowledgePoint, a provider of comprehensive human resources information and technology solutions.

The first three books of the HR How-To series will be released this month: Work-Life Benefits by Irene Tatara, JD; Employee Retention by Jennifer Carsen, JD; and Wage/Hour by Ronald Miller, JD. Each book costs $39.95 and contains 200–225 pages. (To order, call CCH at 1-800-248-3248 or visit the CCH online store at onlinestore.cch.com.)

The HR How-To series delivers information in a matter-of-fact, conversational style with each book beginning with a quick list of topics and the questions most often asked by HR professionals. "The authors have structured the information in an intuitive way to best meet the day-to-day needs of busy HR professionals," said Tanya Rose, marketing manager.

Readers of the HR How-To series can depend on it for readability, thoroughness and a common-sense format. Each book includes the following sections and features:

• "What you need to know" section — Presents essential issues in a quick fact format with additional content written in plain English and demonstrated through "stories" to help readers apply the concepts to familiar workplace settings.

• "What if?" scenarios — Explore gray areas and provide insights into challenging, real-life situations. Scenarios include best practices information.

• "Worst case" scenarios — Explain what others have done wrong and how to avoid the same situations and results.

• Strategies for communicating information to your workforce — These sections include samples, case studies, graphical representations, mnemonics, and more.

• Checklists — Include information summaries, step-by-step processes, self audits.

• Quizzes — Fun tools for measuring information retention.

Work-life benefits are employer-sponsored benefit programs or initiatives designed to help all employees balance work life with home life, according to HR How-To. Work-life benefits can include employee assistance plans, wellness programs, flextime, telecommuting, child care benefits, and much more. The work-life benefits book, written by HR law analyst, Irene Tatara, JD, provides all of the essential information needed to develop an effective work-life benefits program for your particular workforce. For example, the book helps users determine which benefits to offer, how to build and implement a program, how to get employees’ buy-in and involvement, and how to avoid common pitfalls.

"Each workplace offers a different employee culture with very specific needs and wants," said Tatara. "In developing a work-life program, employers need to understand which benefits would be most appreciated by their workers and tailor the program accordingly."

Especially in a troubled economy, no organization wants to lose its top talent. Along with the loss of intelligence and productivity, replacing employees is expensive — up to 200 percent of an employee’s annual salary and benefits. HR How-To: Employee Retention takes readers through the process of measuring and interpreting a company’s turnover rate, finding and attracting the best talent, rewarding top performance, and retaining a diverse and dynamic workforce.

"Enhancing employee retention can be as simple as fortifying employee-manager relationships and as complex as developing rewards and recognition programs that truly focus on performance and results," said author Jennifer Carsen, employment law analyst. "You have to start at the beginning by recruiting the right individuals, and then you have to manage their performance through training, mentoring and good management practices."

The wage/hour law, also known as the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, was enacted in 1938 and specifies a minimum wage, requires overtime pay and limits child labor. Because of its long history, there are numerous exemptions to the Act and, thus, many pitfalls for employers. Written by employment law analyst Ronald Miller, JD, HR How-To: Wage/Hour covers issues such as classifying employees properly, compensating employees correctly, avoiding child labor violations and performing job analyses.

"FLSA litigation has been rising steadily and, more and more, wage suits are being used by labor unions as part of their organizing strategy," said Miller. "This area of HR is fraught with opportunities for legal blunders that could be dangerously costly to employers."

About the Authors

Irene Tatara, JD, is a senior human resources and benefits law analyst for CCHKnowledgePoint. An attorney, she has written extensively for HR professionals as the author and co-author of a number of books on HR and employee benefits, including Working with Cafeteria Plans and 2002 U.S. Master Pension Guide. She also is a contributing author to numerous books, reports and newsletters on employee benefits. Tatara provides expert insight on a wide range of workplace and benefits issues.

Jennifer Carsen, JD, wrote HR How-To: Employee Retention as a human resources and employment law analyst for CCHKnowledgePoint. An attorney, she wrote for CCH’s Labor and Employment Law Library, including Employment Practices Guide. Additionally, she wrote for labor and employment law attorneys as co-author of a book on employment law topics, the 2002 U.S. Master™ Fair Employment Practices Guide.

Ronald Miller, JD, is a senior human resources and employment law analyst for CCHKnowledgePoint. An attorney, he served as the managing editor of CCH’s Labor and Employment Law Library, including the Labor Law Journal. Additionally, he has written extensively for labor and employment law attorneys as author or co-author of a number of books on labor and wage-hour topics, including the 2002 U.S. Master Wage-Hour Guide. Miller frequently serves as a source on a wide range of employment relations issues.

For more information or to order any or all of the HR How-To books, contact CCH at 1-800-248-3248 or visit the CCH Online Store at onlinestore.cch.com. Single copy price for each book is $39.95 plus applicable tax, shipping and handling. Quantity discounts and school adoption pricing are available.

The next three books in the CCHKnowledgePoint HR-How To series will release next spring and include the following:

• Discipline and Termination;

• Discrimination and Harassment; and

• Safety in the Workplace

The CCHKnowledgePoint brand leverages CCH’s authoritative human resources content and KnowledgePoint’s innovative technology to provide integrated solutions that meet HR professionals and frontline managers’ essential needs. CCH INCORPORATED, a provider of employment law information and software, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer North America, which acquired KnowledgePoint in 2000. For more information about CCHKnowledgePoint products and services, please visit www.cchknowledgepoint.com or call 1-800-339-0104.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Editorial review copies of the HR How-To books are available upon request for members of the press. Contact Sheri Cardo, 800-727-1133 ext. 1334 or scardo@knowledgepoint.com.