LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- James O. Castagnera, J.D., Ph.D., associate provost and associate vice president for academic affairs at Rider University, is co-author of Bisel's Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Lawsource, published recently by the George T. Bisel Company of Philadelphia.

Dr. Castagnera (left), who has written ten law books and one novel, is co-author with Kenneth A. Sprang, J.D., M.A., associate professor of law at the University of Orlando School of Law. Both are long-time members of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

According to Dr. Castagnera, a resident of Havertown, PA, this is the first comprehensive book on the subject of unemployment compensation in Pennsylvania and is for Pennsylvania attorneys and human resource managers.

Readers familiar with Bisel's Lawsource Series will find much that is familiar -- and some things that are unfamiliar -- with this new book. It presents the official statute in its entirety and a number of other official state documents to supplement the statute. What differs is that the usual case squibs and Pennsylvania Code excerpts have been summarized.

"As authors, and as practicing attorneys, we believe that unemployment compensation is a largely-neglected area of Pennsylvania law," Dr. Castagnera said. "For too long, employers and practitioners generally viewed unemployment compensation as a minor distraction in a legal environment dominated by employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, workplace safety, and workers' compensation concerns. Today, primarily because of the unemployment claims' frequently close relationship to these larger legal issues, the lawyer and human resource specialist must understand and appreciate the nuances of this law."

Dr. Castagnera holds a J.D. degree with honors and a Ph.D. degree from Case Western Reserve University. Following a decade in private practice, specializing in labor and employment law with Saul, Ewing, Remick & Saul of Philadelphia, he served on the faculty of Widener University School of Law. He also taught legal studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Castagnera came to Rider in 1996 where, in addition to his administrative duties, he teaches labor and employment law.

Dr. Sprang, also a specialist in labor and employment law, holds a J.D. with honors from Case Western School of Law where he was an associate editor of the Law Review. Besides the University of Orlando, he taught for several years at the Widener University, University of Dayton and University of Detroit Mercy Law Schools. He practiced law with Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, and later served as house counsel to a pair of Fortune 500 corporations and one small entrepreneurial company.