how can an lawyer help an hr department of an it company

An HR management attorney is well-versed with labor law, employment regulations and can interact with HR clients. He/she can defend the company’s interest and its employers and add value to human resources in the organization.

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What is the role of an HR lawyer?

A lawyer planning to enter the HR field should revise her resume. Showcasing her skills with employment regulations, labor law, interaction with HR …

Is Human Resources an easy field for a lawyer to enter?

Knowing how to understand and evaluate what your legal department does is important in making the right decisions for the company. Just like a cardiologist views everything as a heart problem, a lawyer sees everything as a legal problem. So you may want their opinion, but you may not always want to follow their advice. Essentially the role of a company attorney is to minimize risk, …

What key concepts can lawyers transfer from legal services to HR practices?

He/she can defend the company’s interest and its employers and add value to human resources in the organization. Such lawyers can transfer legal services to HR practices that work in the organization’s interests and mitigate the risk in HR decision-making. The attorney will have complete knowledge of specific laws and interpret those correctly, such as those under the …

What specialties should a lawyer specialize in for HR?

Apr 13, 2017 · If any of these happen to you, you should contact a lawyer immediately: Your employer or former employer sues or threatens to sue you; You’re being asked to sign an agreement that you don’t fully understand, especially if it’s a non-compete, confidentiality, arbitration, or employment agreement; You’ve been accused of a crime (contact a ...

How do HR and legal work together?

What is the role of HR in IT company?

How can HR department be improved?

What are the 3 major responsibilities of HR departments?

What are the 5 roles of HR?

What are the 7 functions of HR?

What could HR do better?

What should HR stop doing?

What Every HR department needs?

What is the biggest role and contribution of Human Resource Management in the company?

How can HR help employees?

What is the most important role of HR?

How to work with an employment lawyer?

The best way to work with your employment lawyers or legal department is to develop a good relationship. Talk to them when issues come up, so that you can prevent problems together. And remember, not everything is a legal problem or requires a legal solution. About the author.

What is the role of a company attorney?

Essentially the role of a company attorney is to minimize risk, ensure legal compliance and to draft and/or bless contracts. This role does not always lend itself well to helping and managing people in their jobs and lives.

Why do people consult lawyers?

Often people consult lawyers after the problem has become a crisis that either requires or has resulted in court action. Litigation is bad. It is time-consuming, expensive, exhausting and never solves anything. Litigation is a tool of economic leverage, not a path to truth or justice.

What do employment lawyers think about problems?

Employment lawyers tend to think about problems in one of two ways: 1) whether it violates the contract/rule or not; and 2) whether it could result in litigation or not.

Why do lawyers like to apply rules?

They want the contracts to cover all eventualities. When in doubt, a lawyer will always advise against doing something new, different, or unknown. Lawyers are trained to play it safe and avoid risk.

What to do before consulting with an attorney?

So before you consult with the attorneys, figure out if there is a creative solution to the issue, then ask for the lawyer’s help in implementing it.

What do lawyers tell you?

Lawyers will tell you what you can and can’t do under the contract or the law. They are also very good at giving you the pros, cons, risks and benefits of various possibilities. If you want advice, expect the safest course of action that has the most support in the documents.

What to do if you are thinking about filing a lawsuit?

If you’re thinking about filing suit, you probably want to speak to a lawyer. Confusing claims: There are some employment laws on the books that you might not be aware of, so you might have a case you don’t know about. And there are some laws you think exist, that don’t.

Who should be the sounding board for an employee?

It could be a spouse or partner, a good friend, shop steward, or even a counselor in an employee assistance program (EAP).

Why is it important to consider the answers to the above questions honestly?

Considering the answers to the above questions honestly can help an employee to gather relevant information and weigh it with a level of objectivity. The process will help the employee have confidence that their choice — either way — is the right one for them.”

What does the employee want to achieve?

What does the employee want to achieve? An employee should have a clear idea of what he or she wants to accomplish in resolving the issue. An apology? A denied promotion? Monetary damages? Or to correct a systemic problem? Potentially, an agency action could accomplish all of these things, but if what is being sought is relatively small, an employee may be choosing a very large hammer to put in a very small nail. The bigger the stakes, the more appropriate it is to consider governmental involvement.

What do you sign at a disciplinary meeting?

To attend a disciplinary meeting (take good notes, don’t sign anything except a form acknowledging receipt of the discipline , and sign “as to receipt only, rebuttal to follow); To sign documents you understand, like applications, insurance forms, and tax documents.

When a work situation has reached a level where initiating an agency complaint or process is being considered, should an

When a work situation has reached a level where initiating an agency complaint or process is being considered, an employee should approach the decision as objectively as possible, despite the fact that at such a point the situation likely is very emotionally charged.

Do employers take terminations seriously?

Being taken seriously: Some employers don’t take you seriously unless you have representation.

What is HR responsible for?

HR is usually responsible for handling complaints about employee relations (e.g. , sexual or racial harassment) and ADA accommodation requests (e. g., a special keyboard or computer screen for a partially disabled employee).

What should HR do during the hiring process?

Compliance with Hiring Regulations – The HR team should do everything possible to prevent violations of federal law during the hiring process, including at application, at the interview, and, when applicable, during testing.

Why is HR important?

The reality is that HR performs a vital role in helping the employer ensure compliance with workplace regulations applicable to the business. If you are a business owner or manager, it is important to understand that a well-run HR department can help avoid risk and possibly even prevent legal action from being taken against the business.

What is the Equal Pay Act?

Compliance with Laws Governing Wages and Benefits – Another important law for HR professionals is The Equal Pay Act of 1963, which outlaws pay discrepancies for male and female employees who perform “substantially equal work.”.

Can HR assist departing employees in filing for a continuation of health benefits?

HR should also be able to assist departing employees in filing for a continuation of health benefits, if applicable, in accordance with the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA).

Is HR a department?

In many companies, the Human Resources (HR) department may not garner much respect. Perceptions about HR may include feelings that HR is useless or is staffed with rule-obsessed nitpickers. The reality is that HR performs a vital role in helping the employer ensure compliance with workplace regulations applicable to the business.

What does HR manager do?

Your HR manager can often help you map out the path to your ultimate goal. If you want to be the CFO, he or she can help you identify areas where you are weak and areas where you are strong, and help direct you down career paths.

What to do if an employee threatens to sue you?

If you have an employee who threatens to sue you, report it immediately —even if you're sure they are just blowing off steam. Don't let legal problems build. HR has the resources to help guide you, and they know when to call in attorneys.

What to do if you don't need a degree?

If you're not in need of a new degree, but want to improve skills, ask about certification classes or even massive open online courses (MOOCs) that can help you fill your knowledge gaps.

Do HR employees need to succeed?

That means that HR knows that the individual employees also need to succeed. Have a chat and see if they can help you help your career soar.

Does HR help employees?

However, did you know that your HR department can help employees who need career development and help with so much more? Your HR department exists as more than the policing, systematizing arm of management you may have considered them in the past.

Who can provide coaching to managers?

Your HR manager may provide coaching to managers directly, or they may refer you to a management class or consultant. Take the referral. The training class, consulting engagement or MOOC are worth your time.

Can you report a security violation to HR?

But you can always walk in and talk to HR about this as well. You can report anything from safety to securities violations to your HR department. They'll set an investigation in motion .

What does HR know about employees?

It has access to employee data such as age and tenure and can relate these to legal requirements such as notice periods and severance payments. It also knows about the legal requirements and timelines for any major reduction in force (RIF), so just by providing those to the executives, HR allows for a much higher level of transparency on costs and timelines.

What is HR coaching?

Coaching and mentoring of management: HR is the only department within an organization that can provide coaching and mentoring that is based on training, skill and — maybe most importantly — the experience of working together with management. This enables HR to provide very specific coaching and mentoring, tailor-made to the individual manager, their character, their needs and maybe even their anxieties. HR can also provide coaching for the new management to help them to better understand their new reports, and provide them with a cultural map that includes all the pitfalls, swamps and rocky cliffs.

Can HR support mergers?

I strongly believe that HR can provide massive support to any successful merger or acquisition and these three unique selling points of each scenario are only exemplary among many others.

Should HR be a partner in mergers?

HR should already be a valued business partner at the beginning of an acquisition. The department must build even greater trust with management and employees throughout the merger process. HR professionals are people too, and some of them might be the first to be let go when a company is being bought. Leaders should make sure this information is known by HR, so they can make a professional decision about how to help with the merger process.

What happens if you share information about previous lawsuits with your new HR department?

If you share information about previous lawsuits with your new HR department, they are likely to look at you with suspicion or consider you a threat. If you're job searching, employers do discriminate (secretly, as it's illegal) when they know that you have sued employers in the past.

What to think about when sharing a secret with your HR department?

Before you share a secret about yourself or your career with your HR department, think about how it will be perceived by your employer.

What happens if you share medical information?

If you share information about medical concerns before they begin affecting your work, you may box yourself out of transfers, promotions, opportunities, and team leadership positions. Your employer may begin to work around you to protect their productivity and profitability .

What happens if you lie to your employer?

In most cases, if your employer discovers that you lied, termination is an automatic consequence .

What to do if your partner's career changes?

If you know that a change in your partner's career will require you to reduce your hours, job hunt, or move to a new city, you should talk to your employer as soon as possible. But until those changes are certain, don't bring it up.

How to prevent career stalling?

To prevent your career from stalling, don't talk to HR until you've made a decision.

Can you file a lawsuit against a previous employer?

If you filed a lawsuit against a previous employer, it's best not to mention it to your new one. Even ethical HR departments live in fear of lawsuits. And EEOC lawsuits take up time and energy, along with exposing years of employee record keeping to the government and lawyers.

What to do if HR doesn't have your back?

If HR has made it clear that they don't have your back, it's time to start looking for support elsewhere. Fried recommends alerting the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

What does it mean when someone is harassed in the workplace?

Harassment and discrimination in the workplace indicate a certain level of dysfunction on the part of the company. If the situation has progressed to the point where you've found that HR won't even handle sensitive complaints, then it's probably time to move on.

What does Ruettimann say about informal networks?

Ruettimann said that, in the future, informal online networks will inform prospective employees about work culture and environments. She said that companies that tolerate harassers or promote discriminatory environments will be labeled.

Can employees be retaliated against for harassment?

The EEOC mandates that employees cannot be retaliated against for "asserting their rights to be free from employment discrimination including harassment." However, Nelson said it's important to know that not all companies follow the rules regarding retaliation (it's "the most frequently alleged basis of discrimination in the federal sector," according to the EEOC's website ).

Can managers be personally liable for punitive damages?

Fried recommends looking anti-discrimination laws in your state. She said that, in some cases, managers can actually be personally liable for punitive damages: " When managers know that it's going ot come out of their pocket, they stop it."

Should HR place blind trust?

At the end of the day, it's probably a good idea not to place blind trust in any HR department.

Do abuses occur when employees follow the rules?

Hudson said that abuses do occur, even when employees follow the rules and report discriminatory or harassing behavior. "Unfortunately, in many organizations, 'high performers' are given a little more latitude in their leadership behaviors," he said. "If they are bringing a lot of revenue into the company or leading a major innovative team, some organizations tend to look the other way. But, in the cases of discrimination or sexual harassment, these behaviors should never be tolerated, regardless of the person's role in the organization."