Federal Human Resources Manual

Welcome to the Federal Human Resources Manual. This guide contains details to help you (a small business owner, a bookkeeper, a Human Resources manager or just sort of fell into HR) comply with federal employment laws. Please note that there are also many state laws and ordinances related to managing your employees – if you are looking for a complete guide to state and federal laws and regulations, visit our resources page to find the what is available in your state. Our state-specific Human Resources Manuals provide a complete resource for all of the employment-related laws affecting your business operations.

Chapter 01: Recruiting and hiring

Chapter 02: Background checks

Chapter 03: Immigration

Chapter 04: Temporary and leased employees, interns and volunteers

Chapter 05: Independent contractors

Chapter 06: Restrictive covenants and trade secrets

Chapter 07: Policies and procedures manuals

Chapter 08: Wages and hours

Chapter 09: Child labor

Chapter 10: Discrimination

Chapter 11: Disabilities and reasonable accommodations

Chapter 12: Workplace harassment

Chapter 13: Benefits

Chapter 14: Health insurance reform

Chapter 15: Family and medical leave

Chapter 16: Military leave

Chapter 17: Other types of leave

Chapter 18: Performance evaluations

Chapter 19: Personnel files

Chapter 20: Workplace investigations

Chapter 21: Discipline

Chapter 22: Termination

Chapter 23: Plant closings and mass layoffs

Chapter 24: Health insurance continuation coverage

Chapter 25: Whistleblower protections

Chapter 26: Privacy rights

Chapter 27: Health insurance portability and privacy

Chapter 28: Employment in the Internet age

Chapter 29: Social media

Chapter 30: Safety and health

Chapter 31: Workplace violence

Chapter 32: Politics in the workplace

Chapter 33: Celebrations in the workplace

Chapter 34: Federal contractors and affirmative action

Chapter 35: Public employers

Chapter 36: Unions

Chapter 37: Drugs and alcohol

Chapter 38: Telecommuting

Chapter 39: Diversity in the workplace

Chapter 40: International employment law

Chapter 41: Employment practices liability insurance

Chapter 42: Disaster planning

Chapter 43: Pandemic outbreaks

Appendix A: Federal recordkeeping requirements

Appendix B: Posting requirements