These books are essential for managers, HR professionals and employees who want to know their rights and stop costly lawsuits. Click on the book titles to purchase from Amazon.com.

• Affirmative Action: A Reference Handbook
  by Lynne Eisaguirre (ABC-Clio Inc.)
  
  
• The Art of Happiness at Work
  by The Dalai Lama, Howard C. Cutler (Riverhead)
  
  
• Creating Value Through People: Discussions with Talent Leaders
  by Mercer (Wiley)
  
  
• Defining Moments: When Managers Must Choose Between Right and Right
  by Joseph L., Jr. Badaracco (Harvard Business School Press)
  
  
• Developing Women Leaders: A Guide for Managers and Organizations
  by Anna Marie Valerio (Wiley-Blackwell)
  
  
• The Diversity Toolkit
  by William Sonnenschein (McGraw Hill)
  
  
• The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want
  by David Sirota, Louis A. Mischkind, and Michael Irwin Meltzer (Wharton School Publishing)
  
  
• The Employer's Legal Handbook
  by Attorneys Fred S. Steingold and Amy Delpo (NOLO)
  
  
• The Essential Guide to Federal Employment Laws
  by Lisa Guerin, J.D. (NOLO)
  
  
• Games Mother Never Taught You: Corporate Gamesmanship for Women
  by Betty Lehan Harragan (Grand Central Publishing)
  
  
• Gay Issues in the Workplace
  by Brian McNaught (St. Martin's Press)
  A brief, easy to read and funny overview from a legal, business and personal perspective. I read it on a round-trip plane ride, and both times my seatmates saw the title and shrank away into their seats.
  
  
• How to Say It For Women: Communicating With Confidence and Power Using Language of Success
  by Phyllis Mindell (Penguin Putnam)
  

• The HR Answer Book: An Indispensable Guide for Managers and Human Resources Professionals
  by Shawn Smith, JD and Rebecca Mazin (AMACON)
  

• Implementing Diversity
  by Marilyn Loden (McGraw Hill)
  
  
• The Lie Detection Book (currently unavailable from amazon.com, but may be ordered from Out of Print)
  by William J. Majeski with Ralph Butler (Ballantine)
  If you have to do investigations of anything from sexual harassment to squabbles between your kids, this is a very useful book. It also is a great read, especially for those of you who like crime novels, because it is peppered with stories from the author's experience as a New York City police detective.
  
  
• Love & Profit: The Art of Caring Leadership
  by James A. Autry (Morrow)
  A good introduction to how personal ethics can lead to business success.
  
  
• Making Diversity Work
  by Sondra Thiederman (Dearborn Trade)
  
  
• Managing Across Cultures
  by Susan C. Schneider and Jean-Louise Barsoux (Prentice Hall)
  
  
• A Manager's Guide to Employee Privacy
  by Kurt H. Decker (Wiley)
  Far more than most managers and HR people need to know about privacy aspects of hiring, firing, drugs, smoking and AIDS, but an excellent resource for those who need the information.
  
  
• Moral Courage: Taking Action When Your Values Are Put to the Test
  by Rushworth M. Kidder (William Morrow)
  
  
• The Manager's Legal Handbook
  by Attorneys Lisa Guerin and Amy Delpo (NOLO)
  
  
• The Power of Ethical Managment
  by Ken Blanchard and Dr. Norman Vincent Peale (William Morrow)

• The Power of a Good Fight: How to Embrace Conflict to Drive Productivity, Creativity and Innovation
  by Lynne Eisaguirre (Alpha)
  Conflicts arise even in the best places to work. This book presents real-life solutions for those who want to handle conflict in the most effective manner.
  
  
• Principle-Centered Leadership
  by Steven Covey (Free Press) (also available as audio tapes)
  
  
• Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby
  by Stephen L. Carter (Basic Books)
  A thoughtful analysis of the costs and benefits of affirmative action from a Yale law professor.
  
  
• Rightful Termination: Defensive Strategies for Hiring and Firing in the Lawsuit-Happy 90's
  by James Walsh (Merritt)
  50 pages of forms and checklists make this a very useful book for managers and HR staff covering hiring, managing and firing employees, avoiding workers compensation, handling pensions and stock plans. Some legal advice, but mostly practical information.
  
  
• Sexual Harassment: A Reference Handbook
  by Lynne Eisaguirre (ABC-Clio Inc)
  

• Straight Jobs - Gay Lives
  by Sharon Silverstein (Fireside)
  
  
• Straight Talk About Gays in the Workplace: Creating an Inclusive, Productive Environment for Everyone in Your Organization
  by Liz Winfeld (Routledge)
  
  
• Talking from 9 to 5: Women and Men at Work
  by Deborah Tannen, Ph.D. (Morrow)
  An entertaining look at linguistic research with practical applications for work.

• Understanding & Preventing Sexual Harassment
  by Peter Rutter, M.D. (Bantam)
  

• What to Do When You Don't Want to Call the Cops: A Non-Adversarial Approach to Sexual Harassment
  by Joan Taylor (NYT Press)
  
  
• Winning Legally: How to Use the Law to Create Value, Marshal Resources, and Manage Risk
  by Constance E. Bagley (Harvard Business School Press)
  
  
• Your Rights in the Workplace
  by Barbara Kate Repa, Marcia Stewart (Editor) (NOLO)
  NOLO Press is renown for it's practical books, and this one is excellent. With this information you can enforce your rights, without a lawyer.