Understanding Employment Law, Fourth Edition

Understanding Employment Law (Fourth Edition, Carolina Academic Press, 2025)

Co-authored by Richard A. Bales, Jeffrey M. Hirsch, and Paul M. Secunda, Understanding Employment Law provides a clear and accessible introduction to the broad field of U.S. employment law. Part of the popular Understanding Series, the book balances comprehensiveness with readability, making it suitable for both law students and practitioners seeking a practical yet thorough overview.

The book begins with the foundations of the American employment relationship, including employment at will, contract and tort erosions of at-will employment, wrongful discharge, and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. It then moves to statutory regulation, covering wage and hour protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act, family and medical leave, unemployment insurance, ERISA-governed employee benefits, workplace safety and health under OSHA, and privacy protections. The text also devotes substantial attention to employee free speech, loyalty, restrictive covenants, trade secrets, defamation, and employee inventions, situating these doctrines within the broader balance between employer control and worker rights.

The book’s final chapters address the enforcement of employment rights and the growing role of arbitration in employment disputes. It explains the history of labor and employment arbitration, examines current debates about mandatory arbitration agreements, and evaluates their advantages and disadvantages.

Distinctive features of the Fourth Edition include expanded coverage of gig economy work and independent contractor misclassification, updated discussions of recent Department of Labor rules, and analysis of shifting Supreme Court doctrines. The book integrates both historical context and contemporary controversies, offering readers a nuanced understanding of employment law’s development and its practical application in today’s workplaces.