Michael Corum

Michael Corum is America’s leading author of books for federal supervisors, managers, and HR specialists, and is an authority on dealing with all types of supervisory problems with federal employees. He also conducts seminars for supervisors on all HR management and EEO topics.

In his spare time, he's a member of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Off Road Vehicle Search and Rescue Team (picture from the search and recovery of remains of victims of the Camp Wildfire in Paradise, California in 2018.

If you have any questions or comments about these books, or just want to vent, contact him any time at m.corum[at]comcast.net.

This newly updated handbook on managing federal employees covers, from a supervisor's perspective, every important aspect of human resources management from hiring to firing. This book details the rules, strategies, and tactics that federal supervisors need, including hiring the right people, structuring jobs to best motivate them, managing their performance, maintaining discipline, and managing their time. Each chapter concludes with a summary and checklist for dealing with each issue. (more details)

The First Four Weeks guides new managers on how to effectively transition into their new supervisory role and manage federal employees while still achieving their goals during the crucial first few weeks of tenure. Major topics include what motivates employees, mentally preparing for the supervisory role, negotiating with upper management, defining jobs, starting out right with your new employees, setting rules and performance expectations, and managing time. (more details)

EEO for Federal Management guides federal managers, supervisors, and HR and EEO Staffs through the intricacies of discrimination law and demystifies the potential impact of EEO laws on personnel management decisions. Major topics include nondiscrimination laws governing federal employees; prohibited categories and theories of discrimination; proving discrimination; the complaint process; dealing with complaints of nonselection, disciplinary actions, reprisal, and harassment; handling disability issues; EEO issues in common workplace situations; and settling EEO complaints.(more details)

Written for federal supervisors and managers, a Guide to Ethics, Rules, and Responsibilities details and explains the primary rules governing ethics. Major topics include sources of ethics rules; gifts; financial conflicts; impartiality; seeking employment; misuse of position, property, time, vehicles, information; outside activities; reporting wrongdoing; social media postings; post-employment; supervisory liability; and enforcement. (more details)

This updated and expanded guide is an introductory text to the supervisory actions that employees can challenge, the avenues available for pursuing those challenges, and the tribunals responsible for hearing the challenges. Major topics include the basics of appeals and grievances, internal agency systems, external mechanisms, and actions that employees can challenge. (more details)

Provides instruction on how to resolve employee grievances, appeals, and complaints. Major topics include discussion of EEO settlements, defining settlement interests, creating settlement options, and finalizing the agreement. (more details)

An updated and vastly expanded classic, this instructive text advises supervisors, managers, and HR specialists on how to take sustainable disciplinary actions with case examples, but none of the legal jargon. Major topics include: basic principles, law of the workplace, disciplinary offenses, disciplinary measures, determining penalties, establishing the facts, absenteeism, dishonesty, offenses against government property, off-duty conduct, sexual offenses, workplace violence, alcohol/drug use, offenses by supervisors, performance problems, protected activities, procedures and administrative details, preventive steps, and firing your worst employee.(more details)

Federal Sector Telework
By: Davis
Price: $100.00 $70.00

Federal Sector Telework is an essential handbook on telework for managers, supervisors, HR officials, and representatives of agencies and complainants. Major topics: Telework Enhancement Act of 2010, coverage, eligibility, participation, limitations, and the intersection of telework with EEO and MSPB principles.

Managing Employees’ Time
By: Corum
Price: $100.00 $70.00

Now in its 4th edition, Managing Employees’ Time shows supervisors and managers how to get employees to attend work and optimize employees’ time once at work. Major topics include hours of work, work schedules (tradition and alternative), overtime, dealing with tardiness, leave administration and leave problems, managing telecommuters, and strategies for managing time and controlling absenteeism.

Federal Sector Workers' Compensation
By: Laws
Price: $275.00 $192.50

The new seventh edition offers the most comprehensive reporting and commentary on all aspects of workers’ compensation issues in the federal sector. Major topics include an overview of the FECA, OWCP procedure, hearings, reconsideration, ECAB appeals, fact of injury, performance, causation, emotional conditions, medical evidence, continuation of pay, schedule awards, rehabilitation and reemployment, wage loss compensation, survivors’ benefits, medical benefits, representation and attorney fees, overpayments, third party liability, relationship between FECA and other laws.

Now in its 4th edition, Managing Employees’ Time shows supervisors and managers how to get employees to attend work and optimize employees’ time once at work. Major topics include hours of work, work schedules (tradition and alternative), overtime, dealing with tardiness, leave administration and leave problems, managing telecommuters, and strategies for managing time and controlling absenteeism. (more details)

Federal supervisors face disruptive problems in the workplace ranging from simple unsettling acts, offensive behavior, and harassment, to workplace violence. This book provides step-by-step guidance on sorting through, identifying the behaviors, and then taking the right practical and legal measures required to resolve them. (more details)

This book provides federal managers and supervisors who are new to federal civil service an overview of the structure and dynamics of federal civil service. It includes the rights and responsibilities of the federal manager and how to exert their authority within the system. Also covered are the five phases of managing federal employees: job structuring, hiring, managing performance, maintaining discipline, and managing leave and attendance. And concludes with the issues of EEO and labor relations.(more details)

This book helps federal supervisors to understand not just the legal requirements, but the practicalities of dealing with employees and their representatives—the federal unions. Guidance provided will give supervisors not only the knowledge necessary to help them stay out of trouble, but also practical guidance for dealing with the unionized environment. (more details)

This new book will give federal supervisors and managers clear guidance on employee disability issues and other medical issues that require close and immediate supervisory involvement, focusing on the legalities, practicalities, strategies, and tactics for handling those medical issues that qualify as disabilities under the Rehabilitation Act and ADA regulations. The book also covers medical problems that do not qualify as disabilities, medical issues in hiring, medical-related disciplinary and performance actions, and related OWCP issues. (more details)

The Federal Supervisor’s Guide to Ethics, Rules, and Responsibilities
By: Corum
Price: $100.00 $60

Written for federal supervisors and managers, a Guide to Ethics, Rules, and Responsibilities details and explains the primary rules governing ethics. Major topics include sources of ethics rules, a chapter detailing the principal ethics rules, and enforcement.

The First Four Weeks
By: Corum
Price: $100.00 $60.00

The First Four Weeks instructs new managers on how to effectively transition into their new supervisory role and manage federal employees while still achieving their goals during the crucial first few weeks of tenure. Major topics include what motivates employees, mentally preparing for the supervisory role, negotiating with upper management, defining jobs, setting rules and performance expectations, and managing time..

A Dewey classic, now in its second edition, Managing Employee Performance offers detailed, practical, and effective strategies for managing employee performance. Major topics include the principles of performance management, how to set performance standards and monitor performance, when and how to provide feedback and appraisals, rewarding performance, managing performance under a paybanding systems, distinguishing performance problems from conduct problems, isolating the performance issue, counseling the employee, and the two options for dealing with performance problems. (more details)

This how-to text instructs supervisors and managers on how to handle performance, attendance, and misconduct-related issues offering strategies, proven tactics, and practical advice. How to identify and deal with workplace problems caused by troublesome employees is featured. Major topics include the different types of and tools for dealing with problem employees, disciplinary actions, strategies and tactics for dealing with problem employees, how to identify “non-problems,” and strategies for dealing with internal forces. (more details)

This thorough but concise handbook offers supervisors and personnel specialists an easy-to-read, step-by-step, practical approach to taking adverse and performance-based actions. The subject matter is not complicated by legalese. Major topics include the legal framework of adverse actions, jurisdiction, adverse action causes, penalties, proving the case, adverse action procedures, performance based actions, and adverse action appeals. (more details)

This how-to handbook traces the EEO counselor’s responsibilities through the complaint process, including assembling information and interacting with the complainant and managers. Major topics include an overview of EEO laws, regulations and prohibited forms of discrimination; the complaint process; the initial interview; the inquiry; presentation and resolution; report writing; appeals and grievances; and sexual harassment. (more details)

This concise yet comprehensive handbook coaches managers, supervisors, and agency officials on how to prepare for and effectively testify in defense of their case before the MSPB, EEOC, in arbitration and other adjudicatory proceedings. Major topics include a review of the tribunals, standards and burdens, the seven classic mistakes, and testifying. (more details)