Employment law consultants offer small businesses and large corporations a myriad of services related to employee relations and compliance with regional and national employment laws. Services often include legal assistance, arbitration, and document preparation. An employment law lawyer may act as a consultant, but a law degree is not a necessary requirement for consultants. Some employment law consultants are former administrative hearing officers, commissioners, or other government officials. Other consultants have experience in fields such as science, engineering, and human resources.
Disputes between employers and employees can sometimes be avoided when there are adequate procedures and policies in effect at the workplace. Employment law consultants are often called upon to develop and provide advice on the implementation of such procedures and policies as a preventative measure against lawsuits. For example, consultants may recommend guidelines for employees to submit complaints and draft those guidelines for inclusion in an employee handbook. Company owners may also hire consultants to keep abreast of updates to laws or for new laws that require companies to act or refrain from acting in a certain manner as it relates to employee wages and benefits. For example, many companies hired employment law consultants to help understand their obligations under the health care reform law passed in the United States.
Safety and compliance with employment laws, statutes, and regulations that are mandated in that region and nation are often key responsibilities of employment law consultants. They are often hired to investigate or review internal and external practices and to report violations to the employers. Non-compliance with employment laws can be costly to companies and can lead to business failure. When violations are spotted, the consultants will make recommendations for changes, and they may help in making those changes conform to the laws.
There are some services that specifically require the help of an employment law lawyer, who may also act as an employment law consultant. For example, drafting employment contracts and handling lawsuits that may arise often requires that the consultant be an attorney. Some contracts also call for the employees to go to arbitration in lieu of or prior to filing a lawsuit. Arbitrations are hearings outside of court, and a panel of judges gets to decide who wins or loses the case. Although the rules for arbitration are often more relaxed than court hearing rules, employers often want representation from lawyers to arbitrate the case on their behalf.