Looking for good employment law information that´s easy to understand, detailed and just so happens to be free?  HR.com has found a great site that combines each of the above-mentioned qualities.  Perhaps you´ve already heard of the Alexander Hamilton Institute (AHI).  Established in 1909, AHI has been providing employment law information and resources that are easy to understand and easily applicable to daily workforce practices.

Who are AHI´s publications targeted towards?

AHI´s information is targeted specifically towards "top management, Human Resource directors, Personnel managers, front-line managers, and supervisors at small-to-medium sized firms".  Their information is intended to help keep managers from making costly legal mistakes.

How is AHI´s site organized?

On the left hand nav bar, the main feature listings are presented:

1)     Home

2)     Publications

3)     Employment Law Talk

4)     Free Reports

5)     Problem Solvers

6)     FAQ´s

7)     Other Internet Resources

8)     Contact Us.

Let´s take a look at some of their features...

Publications

This section of the site promotes AHI´s legal products that users can purchase through their site.  This includes:

1)     Newsletters

2)     Executive Briefings

3)     Looseleaf Manuals

4)     Booklets

You can also search this section by topic as AHI has approximately 50 different subject headings from Absenteeism to Wrongful Termination.

Employment Law Talk

Similar to an open forum, this section lets users take advantage of the open message bulletin board to "converse" with others about employment law issues or bounce ideas and suggestions off other users.  AHI allows users to either search subjects through a keyword search or to view messages

Discussions are very recent and users can find a lot of useful feedback and specific information within the discussions.  The forum on this site is a great example of how a successful forum can operate.  Most of the forums have discussions with an average of less than 10 responses.  However, one of them, attendance termination, had 40 responses.

Free Reports

As a researcher, this is the section that has the most value for me.  AHI has over 20 comprehensive reports dealing with topics such as:

-         Discipline Interviews

-         Retention Strategies

-         Unfair Labor Practices: Staying On The Right Side Of The NLRA

-         Stock Options - 21st Century Pay, 20th Century Payroll Problems

-         And many more.

Reports can be downloaded as a PDF file or as an ASCII text file.  You must fill out a personal/company form in order to download the desired documents.

Reports are thorough and value added as they pinpoint pitfalls, important tips to remember, legal ramifications, and recent court cases to support the findings in their reports.   Great resource!

Problem Solvers

This section provides a comprehensive listing of many typical workplace problems such as:

-         AIDS rumors,

-         "Complaint Headaches",

-         Office Politics,

-         Theft of Property,

-         Fighting Fouls Ups and

-         Mental Maladies. 

Users simply select the "problem" of choice and a detailed solution is provided as well as suggested other resources to take a look at that are available onsite.

The solutions provided are specific and tell employers what legal rights they and their employees have citing related legislation and how it will affect this particular case.  Not one-sided, the responses make sure to point out what are an employee´s and employer´s responsibilities and obligations are.

FAQ´s

FAQ´s differs from Problem Solvers in that it is specifically legislation-oriented.  Employers may have questions specifically about how the law affects their workplace and workforce.  Especially when dealing with FMLA, ADA, and Pension and Benefits, there can be a lot of confusion surrounding the specifics of the law.  There are ten main topics covering all areas of employment law.  This section is subsequently categorized into 3-20 subtopics (depending on the main topic) and then further divided by particular question.

This is one of the most useful and practical areas of the site as it provides law-related answers to ambiguous or very specific questions.

An example of some FAQ´s are:

1. Benefits

At our company, we do not pay employees for remaining vacation or sick hours if they leave. If we lump both of these together and call it Paid Time Off (PTO), is there any legal reason why we can't continue this practice?

2.      ADA

Are severe migraine headaches covered under The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?

3.      Hiring

A manager extended a job offer to a current employee, but withdrew the offer a few days later based on anonymous negative comments brought by a third party about the employee. Was this an implied contract which the company can be held liable for?

4.      Termination - Application Falsification

We recently discovered that two employees made false statements on their employment applications. Our policy calls for termination in such a case, but I'm a little worried about any legal actions the employees may take if they're fired. Should I be?

Pricing

The majority of their resources are free.  But, there is also a members-only site where members can receive special online access to:

1)     Manager´s Legal Bulletin

2)     Personnel Legal Alert

3)     Payroll Legal Alert

If you are interested in previewing these features before becoming a member, they have provided sample features that you can download.

Manager´s Legal Bulletin

Personnel Legal Alert

$97 (regularly $129) 24 issues per year

Payroll Legal Alert

$99 (regularly $138), 12 issues per year

Guarantee

100% FULL MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE
AHI states that users can cancel their subscription at any time for any reason, and they will send you a full refund.

Overall Evaluation

If you are looking for answers to general employment law and legal HR questions, AHI´s site is an excellent place to start.  They provide specific answers to practical questions, specifically in the Employment Law Talk, FAQ´s and in the Problem Solvers sections.

If you´re looking for more specific information on a single employment law topic, such as accommodations for disabilities, you might want to check out other legal sites for more information quantity-wise.

One of the best things about their information is the fact that it is categorized into very detailed subtopics.  For example, under each subtopic in FAQ´s, there is a series of questions followed by answers and then example cases to help explain different applicable situations.

They have some links to other websites.  You may want to conduct your own Internet search to find more specific information and sites, as their listing is somewhat limited.

Before rushing off to hire and consult an employer lawyer, you may want to check this site out first as they provide some great, practical, and easy to understand resources supported by court cases to help you get an idea of what your subsequent legal actions should be.

About the company

The Alexander Hamilton Institute has been helping executives manage their companies and their careers since 1909. We currently publish newsletters, booklets, and looseleaf manuals targeted to top management, Human Resource directors, Personnel managers, front-line managers, and supervisors at small-to-medium sized firms.

Our publications deal with all aspects of employment law, and are specifically designed to keep managers and executives from making mistakes that could lead to fines and lawsuits.

Company Contact Information

Alexander Hamilton Institute, Inc.
70 Hilltop Road, Ramsey,

NJ 07446-1119
USA Phone: (800)879-2441, (201) 825-3377

Fax: (201) 825-8696