Useful Links

Legal Information

General Legal Resourves

Cornell University Law School
Legal Information Institute (LII); includes links by legal subjects ("Law About") and "Law by Source"; see also the Library's "Cornell Legal Research Encyclopedia")

Emory University Law School
Look under "Electronic Reference Desk" and "Federal Courts Finder"

FindLaw
This public (free) website contains comprehensive information concerning statutes, regulations, cases, news, and information concerning labor and employment law. The site also provides information about the legal profession and directories of lawyers for referral.

Indiana University Law School maintains the World Wide World Virtual Library for Law.

Law.Com
This public (free) website contains useful information and links to its own employment law center. The site also has a great deal of information about the legal profession along with a directory to lawyers who specialize in labor and employment law.

LawMemo.Com
This website contains useful information, newsletter subscriptions, and links in the areas of labor and employment law as well as alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration.

Library of Congress (home page)
Guide to U.S. Law: Federal
Guide to U.S. Law: States and Territories

Yahoo/Law
This website contains comprehensive information concerning statutes, regulations, cases, news, articles, and information concerning employment law, the legal profession, self-help, and web directories.

University of Chicago Law School

Specific Employment and Labor Relations Links:

American Arbitration Association
The world's leading provider of conflict management and dispute resolution services, the AAA provides a wide variety of materials and services for alternative disputes resolution. The AAA is an independent, not-for-profit organization that makes available arbitrators and mediators needed to resolve labor and employment disputes involving private and public employers. As the world's leading provider of conflict management and dispute resolution services, the AAA has recently established a new specialized labor panel of arbitrators with significant experience handling disputes involving recognition and related representational issues relating to the elections process and voluntary recognition. This specially-formed panel will, upon agreement from the parties, resolve disputes involving card checks, neutrality clauses, affiliation issues, voluntary recognition, accretion, and after-acquired clauses.

American Bar Association
The Mission of the American Bar Association is to be the national representative of the legal profession, serving the public and the profession by promoting justice, professional excellence and respect for the law.

Section of Labor and Employment Law
The ABA's Section of Labor and Employment Law is a link to information related to all perspectives of labor and employment law: employer, union, employee, public, and neutral. Members of the section are committed to a balanced discussion of employment issues in the United States and abroad. The Section publications keep members up-to-date on changes and trends in labor and employment law. The Section publishes a law review, The Labor Lawyer, three times annually, as well as the quarterly Labor and Employment Law Newsletter.

Section of International Law: International Human Rights Committee
The ABA's Human Rights Committee was established to monitor and address the drafting and adoption of international covenants; to advocate for foreign human rights lawyers who have been persecuted for their work; to investigate cases of alleged human rights abuses; and to educate the bar, policy makers and the public at large about human rights issues. As the world's largest professional organization with a membership of over 400,000 lawyers, the ABA speaks with an especially powerful and effective voice in advancing the cause of human rights. Our committee consists of lawyers and advocates from around the world concerned with assaults on human dignity through the oppression of civil and political rights. The Human Rights Committee works within the framework of the ABA and often in consultation with other NGOs to present programs and publications on human rights issues and create and foster legal, business, and cultural systems and institutions that give meaningful protection to human rights. The committee provides technical assistance to outside human rights organization and also nominates individuals for the Section's annual Rule of Law Award. Through our electronic newsletter the committee also serves as a clearinghouse of human right events, job & educational opportunities and human rights news.

D.C. Government
D.C. government offers services through its website for use by citizens and professionals. It includes links to the D.C. Human Rights Commission, which enforced broad reaching anti-discrimination legislation adopted by the D.C. Council.

Federal Labor Relations Authority
The United States independent government regulatory agency responsible for conducting union elections, deciding on unfair labor practice charges involving agencies and departments of the federal government, ruling on negotiability disputes, and resolving contract issues arising in the federal sector labor relations.

Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service
The United States independent government regulatory agency responsible for mediating employment disputes, including labor negotiations and individual employment disputes involving private employers and the federal government.

Federal Government Information Center
For over 35 years, Americans have been contacting the Federal Information Center, now known as the FCIC's National Contact Center (NCC), to get answers to their questions about their government. The NCC responds to public inquiries about Federal programs, benefits, and services, via a nationwide toll-free telephone number, 1 (800) FED-INFO and by e-mail inquiries through FirstGov.gov. E-mail inquiries are answered within 2 business days. Recorded information on frequently requested subjects is available around the clock.

Merit Systems Protection Board
The United States government independent regulatory agency responsible for administrating the Civil Service Reform Act and resolving federal workplace issues.

Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association
As advocates for employee rights and civil rights, MWELA Members work to protect the rights and privileges of employees in both the private and public sectors of the Washington metropolitan area workforce. We are dedicated to promoting workplace fairness and the right of employees to work in an environment free of discrimination. MWELA provides assistance, support and resources to members throughout the metropolitan area to attain the highest ideals of practice and encourage the sharing of expertise and skills to best serve our clients.

National Labor Relations Board
The United States independent government regulatory agency responsible for conducting union elections and deciding on unfair labor practice charges involving businesses and organizations engaged in the private sector of our economy.

National Whistleblower Center
This useful and free website contains legal and other information concerning acts of reprisal affecting the job status of employees who blow the whistle against their superiors or employer. This organization also makes referrals and provides assistance to individuals who believe that their legal rights have been violated because of their whistle-blowing activities.

New York State School for Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University
The centrality of the workplace in an increasingly complex world is the primary focus at ILR. With its diverse and distinguished faculty, the school leads the way towards new insights about current and future challenges. Faculty expertise ranges across the workplace-related social science disciplines, including economics, sociology, history, psychology, political science, law, and statistical analysis. Cutting-edge research, excellence in teaching, and commitment to outreach remain ILR's defining characteristics.

ILR is the nation's only institution of higher education to offer a four-year undergraduate program focused on the workplace, several types of graduate degrees, programs and workshops for adult learners, and customized services. Programmatic specialties include personnel and human resources management; collective representation, labor law, and labor history; labor economics; organizational behavior; international and comparative labor; and social statistics. From our Ithaca campus and additional offices around the state, ILR connects with the region, the nation, and the world.

The ILR School website provides access to the Catherwood Library and other Research tools.

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The United States independent government regulatory agency responsible for explaining and enforcing the principal federal statutes prohibiting employment discrimination. The Commission publishes a wide variety of useful materials that are routinely referred to by lawyers, human resources professionals, labor leaders, and concerned employees alike.

U.S. Department of Labor
This executive Department of the United States government responsible for enforcing wage and hour laws, safety and heath standards, pension rights, the Family Medical Leave Act, and other federal statutes enacted to protect working people and to regulate commerce.

Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
The Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs for more than 35 years has represented both individuals and groups seeking to vindicate their civil rights. It has handled over 5,000 civil rights cases, in employment, housing, public accommodations, and other aspects of urban life. It represents people with claims of discrimination based on race, gender, national origin, disability, age, religion, and sexual orientation. It assists immigrants seeking asylum and other help. It works for education reform in the DC Public Schools. Leveraging its own broad expertise in discrimination litigation with the resources of Washington, D.C.'s private bar, the Committee's litigation efforts have become nationally known for landmark court victories, record judgments, and precedent-setting consent decrees. Its capacity to mobilize the private bar has made it possible for the Committee to provide its clients more than 50,000 hours of quality legal representation every year.

International Human Rights Links:

International Eurasian Institute for Economic and Political Research
Comprehensive coverage of human rights and democracy developments in Kazakhstan and other Central Asia countries. A joint project of the Information and Analytical Center Eurasia-Internet (United Kingdom) and International Eurasian Institute for Economic and Political Research IEI (USA).

EurasiaNet
EurasiaNet is a website operated by the Central Eurasia Project of the Open Society Institute that provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. The website also offers additional features, including newsmaker interviews, book reviews and a discussion forum.

Based in New York and updated daily, EurasiaNet advocates open and informed discussion of issues that concern countries in the region. The website presents a variety of perspectives on contemporary developments, utilizing a network of correspondents based both in the West and in the region. The aim of EurasiaNet is to promote informed decision making among policy makers, as well as broadening interest in the region among the general public.

Freedom House
Freedom House is an independent non-governmental organization that supports the expansion of freedom in the world. Freedom is possible only in democratic political systems in which the governments are accountable to their own people; the rule of law prevails; and freedoms of expression, association, belief and respect for the rights of minorities and women are guaranteed.

Freedom House is a leading advocate of the world's young democracies that are coping with the debilitating legacies of tyranny, dictatorship, and political repression. We conduct an array of advocacy, education, and training initiatives that promote human rights, democracy, free market economics, the rule of law, independent media, and US engagement in international affairs.

Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch produces research reports on perceived human rights violations. This is intended to draw international attention to perceived abuses and to put pressure on certain governments and international organizations to reform. Researchers conduct fact-finding missions to investigate suspect situations and generate coverage in local and international media. Issues raised by Human Rights Watch in its reports include social and gender discrimination, torture, military use of children, political corruption, and abuses in criminal justice systems. Human Rights Watch documents and reports perceived violations of the laws of war and international humanitarian law.

Human Rights Watch was founded under the name Helsinki Watch in 1978 to monitor the former Soviet Union's compliance with the Helsinki Accords. As the organization grew, it formed other ’watch committees’ to cover other regions of the world. In 1988, all of the committees were united under one umbrella to form Human Rights Watch.

International League for Human Rights
The International League for Human Rights has worked to keep human rights at the forefront of international affairs and to give meaning and effect to the human rights values enshrined in international human rights treaties and conventions. The League's special mission for 62 years has been defending individual human rights advocates who have risked their lives to promote the ideals of a just and civil society in their homelands. Based in New York, with representation in Geneva and dozens of affiliates and partners around the world, the League is a non-governmental, non-profit organization now in its 62nd year. The League has special consultative status at the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the International Labor Organization, and also contributes to the Africa Commission and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). With the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights as its platform, the League raises human rights issues and cases before the UN and other intergovernmental regional organizations in partnership with our colleagues abroad, helping to amplify their voices and coordinate strategies for effective human rights protection.

Open Society Institute
The Open Society Institute (OSI), a private operating and grantmaking foundation, aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI works to build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as combating corruption and rights abuses.

The Soros Foundation-Kazakhstan seeks to respond to the political changes within the country while continuing to promote international standards for civil society, good governance, and a more democratic state. Policymaking, arts and culture for youth, public health, women's issues, and education have been priorities for the foundation as it moves towards developing a more open society. (http://www.soros.kz/)

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
The OSCE is a primary instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation in its area. It has 19 missions or field operations in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The Organization deals with three dimensions of security - the politico-military, the economic and environmental, and the human dimension. It therefore addresses a wide range of security-related concerns, including arms control, confidence- and security-building measures, human rights, national minorities, democratization, policing strategies, counter-terrorism and economic and environmental activities. All 56 participating States enjoy equal status, and decisions are taken by consensus on a politically, but not legally binding basis.

The OSCE's human rights activities focus on such priorities as freedom of movement and religion, preventing torture and trafficking in persons.

The OSCE monitors and reports on the human rights situation in each of its participating States, particularly in the areas of freedom of assembly and association, the right to liberty and to a fair trial, and in the use of the death penalty. It provides training and education across the field of human rights, including for government officials, law-enforcement officers, rights defenders and students.

Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights is based in Warsaw, Poland. It is active throughout the OSCE area in the fields of election observation, democratic development, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination, and rule of law.

The OSCE considers security more than merely the absence of war. Instead, it was the intention of the OSCE participating States to create a comprehensive framework for peace and stability in Europe.

The Helsinki Final Act acknowledges as one of its 10 guiding principles the ’respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief’.

This constitutes a milestone in the history of human-rights protection. For the first time, human-rights principles were included as an explicit and integral element of a regional security framework on the same basis as politico-military and economic issues.

In OSCE terminology, the term human dimension is used to describe the set of norms and activities related to human rights and democracy that are regarded within the OSCE as one of three dimensions of security, together with the politico-military and the economic and environmental dimensions. The term also indicates that the OSCE norms in this field cover a wider area than traditional human rights law.