The League is pleased to announce that it has arranged to offer member credit unions free access to the Husch Blackwell law firm for help with human resources (HR) questions, starting Dec. 1.
As a League-paid membership benefit, the new “HR Legal Line” provides a credit union with up to an hour of free help per month from the law firm’s team of experienced labor & employment law attorneys.
The HR Legal Line is part of The League’s continuing efforts to improve access to employment law services for our credit unions. (Husch Blackwell, which is The League’s outside counsel, also updated The League’s Model Credit Union Employee Handbook for us earlier this year. For details on that handbook, see this March 8 Compliance Courier.)
The service is officially known as “Husch Blackwell’s HR Legal Line: An HR Support Service of The Wisconsin Credit Union League.”
How the HR Legal Line works
Credit unions with labor and employment questions (or any other compliance questions) should always start by contacting The League’s Legal Affairs team at (608) 640-4050 or by email at [email protected]. Our three staff attorneys – John Engel, Paul Guttormsson or Kim Hoppe – can answer certain HR questions, but when more help is needed, they will refer the credit union to the new HR Legal Line. They will provide needed contact information at the time of the referral. Credit unions should only contact the new service after being referred on a particular matter.
The credit union person with the most information on the issue should be the one to contact Husch Blackwell, so that they can efficiently provide all the relevant details and answer any questions that come up.
The credit union will receive up to one hour of free help from Husch Blackwell, which will provide 10 hours of total time to our member credit unions each month via the HR Legal Line.
HR Legal Line assistance is free to WCUL member credit unions; The League covers the cost.
If an inquiry exceeds the one-hour cap, or if a credit union wants to engage Husch Blackwell for assistance in a matter that cannot be completed within the one-hour period, the firm and credit union can choose to enter into a direct legal relationship, and Husch Blackwell will bill that credit union directly for further work.
What’s covered
The new HR Legal Line can assist with all sorts of issues related to employment law:
- Wage and hour advice.
- Employee onboarding, including assistance in reviewing offer letters and employment agreements.
- Assistance in managing employee leave issues, including leave under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Family & Medical Leave Act.
- Guidance on employee documentation and discipline.
- Assistance in reviewing and updating employment related policies and procedures.
- Managing requests from current or former employee for personnel records.
- Questions regarding permissible deductions from final employee compensation.
What’s not covered
Some areas are outside the scope of what the HR Legal Line can help with:
- Employment litigation matters.
- Credit union regulatory questions.
- Drafting of non-routine correspondence and documents.
- Advice that would require the involvement of legal specialists outside of the firm’s labor and employment practice group.
We hope that you will find the HR Legal Line to be a valuable addition to The League’s compliance services. If you have any questions, please contact Paul Guttormsson, SVP & General Counsel for The League.