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The Strongest Links
Human Resources
February 2006
When I first started my research for this column, I was surprised -- and a little bit overwhelmed -- at the breadth of human resources information on the Internet. I was further surprised at how many of these sites provide timely, quality materials to lawyers and HR professionals. As a result, this month's Strongest Links is definitely "link-heavy." Enjoy!
AHI's Employment Law Resource Center -- a product of the Alexander Hamilton Institute, this site features loads of free employment law articles, FAQs, labor law forms, and more. Some of the resources require a free registration, and there's even more information you can purchase.
BNet wants you to "get smarter about what's working at work," and they have a ton of resources to help you. You can view hundreds of white papers on employment issues, including a good selection on HR issues. Also check out the Human Resources Newsletter, as well as HR's Brand New Experience, a blog devoted to HR topics.
Department of Labor -- anybody who reads my newsletter knows how much I love the Department of Labor web site. I think the DOL provides some of the most useful information of any government site. Just a few examples: 1) eLaws provides employment law assistance to workers and small businesses; 2) resources to help employers comply with the employment laws; 3) forms, and 4) e-mail updates. And that's just scratching the surface -- check it out.
Employee Benefit Research Institute -- EBRI's goal is "to contribute to, to encourage, and to enhance the development of sound employee benefit programs," among other things. Here you'll find links to information on retirement, health, social security, and other employee benefits.
Employment Law Information Network -- this site is designed for employment lawyers, in-house employment counsel, and human resource professionals. You'll find articles from lawyers around the country, updated regularly. There are also terrific links to sample HR forms and policies.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -- a simply-designed federal government page. You can view information on the various types of discrimination, with links to the laws, regulations, and compliance manual and policy documents. Information on litigation, statistics, other federal agencies, and even details on filing a charge of discrimination are available.
HR Brief -- the mission here is to "provide human resources professionals with timely information and resources on the latest trends in the HR arena." The links here include HR software, benefits, training, safety, compensation and payroll, and discipline and termination.
HR.com -- dubbed "The Human Resources Portal," this is another site that provides tools and information to help with the effective management of people. The Areas of Interest tab provides great resources on benefits, compensation, outsourcing, performance management, and other topics.
HR Village -- this site is primarily a resource for HR professionals, but anyone interested in the subject will benefit from the information, tools, software, and other items offered here. Particularly helpful are the Human Resource Forms, with suggested policy language for your employee manual.
Labor and Employment Laws -- a basic page provided by Cornell's wonderful Legal Information Institute, this is just a page with links to the labor and employment codes of all fifty states. This is a good bookmark to keep around.
National Human Resources Association -- this organization is focused on advancing the development of human resources management professionals, but there are some good links for lawyers, too. Check the Resource Center link for articles and white papers, Web links, vendor and consultant links, and more.
Society for Human Resources Management -- SHRM is the world's largest association devoted to Human Resources Management. Check out the HR Knowledge Center, with tool kits, HR basics, white papers and articles, research reports, and a whole lot more.
Topix Human Resources News -- the news search engine Topix is currently monitoring "over 360,000 topics," and HR is one of them. Here you'll find the latest news on human resources issues.
Weblogs
It seems that we can't have a Strongest Links column without mentioning a weblog or twelve. But it's true -- many weblogs today offer terrific, focused resources on particular areas of law. And the human resources arena is no exception. The following is a brief listing of employment law blogs, as well as weblogs specifically devoted to human resources.
Employment Law Weblogs
BenefitsBlog -- long-time blogger and Pennsylvania attorney B. Janell Grenier provides this terrific tax, benefits, and ERISA law commentary and news filter.
George's Employment Blawg -- George Lenard has been blogging about labor and employment law, human resources, and other work-related topics for a long time. Now the other members of his firm are joining him in the blogging fun.
Greater Valley Forge HR Law Link -- here's another blog with a reach beyond its geographical name. Although the weblog is published by the Greater Valley Forge Human Resource Association Legislative Committee, it's "devoted to tracking legal developments of interest to HR professionals, consultants, and advisers."
Jottings by an Employer's Lawyer -- can you tell that Austin attorney Michael Fox represents employers? Read his blog, and remove all doubt.
LawMemo blogs -- Ross Kunkel has not one, but two employment law blogs, including Ross' Employment Law Weblog and Ross' Arbitration Blog.
Strategic HR Lawyer -- this is the blog of Diane Pfadenahauer, a New York attorney who's talking about strategic human resources management, workplace investigations, and other employment law issues.
Thoughts from a Management Lawyer -- for you Canadians in the audience, lawyer Michael Fitzgibbon is providing discussion and commentary on Canadian labour and employment law issues.
Human Resources Weblogs
Future of Work Blog -- did you know there's a "Future of Work" community? Well, there is, and they're blogging about the changing nature of work here.
H.R. resources -- the site of HR consultant Ian McKenzie, you'll find some great links to other HR resources here.
HRMDirect Blog -- HRMDirect is a vendor in the recruiting technology field, but the company's blog deals with all kinds of great HR issues.
Resourcing Strategies -- Andrew Marritt is currently working in the field of employment branding, reputation management, and communications, and at Resourcing Strategies he's talking about HR, recruitment, staffing and employment articles.
The HR Blog -- even though this site is from the BostonWorksHiringHub, it is a set of regularly updated links to Human Resources and Recruiting information from around the web. So even if you're not in New England, you're like to find information of use to you here.
Workplace Fairness -- named a "Best of the Web" blog in 2005, Workplace Fairness program director Paula Brantner discusses legal and political information relevant to employee rights and fairness issues in the workplace.
About the Author
Tom Mighell is Senior Counsel and Litigation Technology Support Coordinator a Cowles & Thompson in Dallas. He publishes the Internet legal research and technology weblog Inter Alia , and is the current Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2008. He and Dennis Kennedy talk about legal technology, with a focus on the Internet, in The Kennedy-Mighell Report .