A. This project began 15 years ago (1998) when I was
practicing labor and employment law in Massachusetts.
I felt that labor and employment law was beginning to sound
very complicated to employers. I felt that employers were
becoming too fearful—more fearful than they need to be—of
lawsuits. They were becoming afraid to terminate or discipline any
employee, even an employee for whom termination or discipline was clearly justified. I wanted to calm these employers down and
explain to them that the law is not too complicated and that common sense and decency will usually (not always, but usually) equate
with legal compliance. I wrote 10 rules for employers. Like many authors who come up with 10 rules, I thought a cute title for
them would be the biblical term “Ten Commandments”: “Ten Commandments for Employers” was the title I had in mind. I
included my “Ten Commandments for Employers” in a book I was writing. I called the book Understanding and Preventing
Employee Lawsuits in Massachusetts. I included a little saying to begin each chapter, a saying that I felt captured the essence of my message in that chapter. I found some of the best sayings in The Bible. This surprised me a little because some people think the
Bible causes discrimination, not prohibits discrimination. I concluded that these biblical sayings are very consistent with state and
federal law in the United States. Moreover, I learned, the Bible also tells employers how to operate a profitable, efficient business.
I learned that the Bible is as fair to employers as to employees.

Understanding and Preventing Employee Lawsuits in Massachusetts was published (actually self-published; as the internet became widespread in the late 1990s, self-publishing became a viable way to sell a book) in 1999. Many employers who read it enjoyed not just the legal and practical tips but also the biblical sayings. These employers suggested I write a national version, not just a Massachusetts version, and get it published by a national publisher.

So I wrote a national version. It was unique: a law book that contained some religious quotes. I submitted it to publishers. Some
traditional (non-religious) publishers rejected it because they did not want to insert religion in a how-to legal compliance guide. Some religious publishers rejected it because I am not a theologian and because the religious aspects of the book comprised only about 5%
of the book. To make a long story short, a Christian book publisher, Paulist Press, offered to publish my book. I accepted the offer.
We entitled the book A Legal and Ethical Handbook for Ending Discrimination in the Workplace. Paulist Press published it in 2003.
It sold moderately well but not as well as Paulist Press and I had hoped. In 2008, Paulist Press and I both decided to end our efforts
to sell the book. We both felt that sales were inadequate to justify further effort. I held the copyright, and for a small additional fee
I purchased any remaining rights in the book that Paulist Press owned. Therefore, I had the right to get the book published by another
publisher if I wanted to. But I had basically given up on the project at that point.

By the summer of 2012, this project, which I thought ended in 2008, was the furthest thing from my mind. Then, in the summer of 2012, I was approached by WestBow Press, a new division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., the world’s largest Christian book publisher. WestBow Press offered to publish the book if I completely updated the book and rewrote parts of it. I accepted the offer. I rewrote the book, updated it, and gave it a new title. The result, published by WestBow Press on October 26, 2012, is Some Tips to Prevent Employment Discrimination Lawsuits: A Faith-Based Legal Guide for Managers.

In late 2012 and early 2013, some employers who read Some Tips told me that although they enjoyed it very much, they were a little reluctant to buy copies for their managers to read. They didn’t want to “impose religion” on their managers. I assured them that Some
Tips does not “impose religion” on anyone. Some Tips is for any manager who, at least occasionally, thinks about God and religion
when managing employees. But some employers told me that the legal and practical tips in the book are so good that the religious
aspects of the book are unnecessary. They suggested I write a version that deletes the religious parts, and offer both versions to the
public. An executive, manager, or student can then choose whichever version he or she wants. So I did. The result, published April 12, 2013, by Archway Publishing, a collaboration between Simon & Schuster and Author Solutions, Inc., is Workplace Discrimination Prevention Manual: Tips for Executives, Managers, and Students to Increase Productivity and Reduce Litigation.
 
Both books are now available. They have different titles and covers, but approximately 95% of the text is the same in each
book. Workplace Discrimination Prevention Manual is the same book as Some Tips to Prevent Employment Lawsuits, minus
the religion. Workplace Discrimination Prevention Manual is for all managers, and also serves as an excellent, inexpensive,
supplemental textbook for use in courses in state universities and private, nonsectarian universities. Some Tips is, likewise, for
anyone who wants it, and is particularly well-suited for courses and managers at Catholic and other Christian or church-related
universities and organizations.