Working rights.

How can you tell when workplace events go from unpleasant to illegal? The book, Your Rights at the Workplace--The Things Your Boss Won't Tell You, shows how to identify on-the-job discrimination or harassment and offers legal suggestions for dealing with it.

Author and practicing civil rights attorney Leo James Terrell examines workplace situations that include an African American engineer whose complaints of verbal harassment by co-workers and supervisors are ignored by management; and a highly qualified registered nurse who's passed over for a promotion in favor of a colleague involved with the boss. Through case studies like these, Terrell illustrates the "snares, traps and pitfalls your employer can use to oppress and otherwise shatter your life at work."

The importance of knowing your "objective job guidelines," or job description, at the onset of employment is also emphasized. Without this information it may be difficult, if not impossible, to prove that certain treatment was unjust or not part of your job requirements.

The book devotes a section to easy-to-understand explanations of the various congressional acts created to safeguard employees in the workplace. Overall, the book is an invaluable tool for those experiencing harassment or discrimination, as well as anyone trying to avoid it. Ultimately, says Terrell, your best protection against injustice is knowledge.

Your Rights at the Workplace--The Things Your Boss Won't Tell You by Leo James Terrell, Leo Terrell Enterprises, $24.99. To order, call BooksNow! At 800-Books-Now or visit www.BooksNow.com/ BlackEnterprise.