Fact is many people in the HR role do not do the job full-time and very often do little or no proactive compliance efforts. One way to begin learning these laws is to watch or read the info generated by the government and lawyers on behalf of employees. For example,  the DOL has just released and employee video education series. Minimum wage, regular pay, overtime, off-the-clock, child labor, independent contractor, migrant worker and how to file a claim videos are presented. We have training on each of these subjects for employers on HR That Works.  A few more:

• OSHA on how they conduct inspections: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/video/oshainspection/video.html
• Resources on workplace violence: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/evaluation.html
• Memos and more on discrimination: http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/index.cfm
• Overtime: http://www.dol.gov/compliance/topics/wages-overtime-pay.htm#.UKErLobNnsk
• The plaintiffs lawyers association: http://www.nela.org/NELA/

Those are just a few examples. Where the government has done a good job of creating materials (like in the health and safety area) we have pointed to those tools on HR That Works too.

Bottom line: Don’t let your employees know more than you do about the law!

Revised regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) take effect on March 15, 2011. The regulations apply to the activities of more than 80,000 units of state and local government and more than seven million places of public accommodation, including stores, restaurants, museums, sporting arenas, movie theaters, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, hotels, jails and prisons, polling places and emergency preparedness shelters.

For more information visit https://www.disability.gov/civil_rights/laws_%26_regulations/americans_with_disabilities_act.