Mitchell Hamline School of Law is expanding its professional legal education program with a new certificate in Human Resources Compliance. Enrollment is under way, and courses begin in February 2017.
The 12-week online course is aimed at HR and compliance professionals, business owners, and attorneys. The program will include intensive, practice-based training to identify and evaluate compliance requirements and to effectively implement compliance programs within organizations.
Businesses and organizations face increasing demands to comply with a myriad of government regulations, all within a rapidly changing legal landscape. Today, human resources professionals are responsible for the design, administration, and enforcement of many of the policies that address these regulations, while ensuring compliance and managing risk for the organization.
Students will learn and use a model of compliance designed to meet organizational goals while addressing the professional’s duty of care; ethical, legal, and philosophical frameworks; and responsibilities as a driver of change within organizations.
Mitchell Hamline’s online learning management system is a flexible, interactive portal that offers online discussions, practical exercises, and collaborative activities that can be completed when it fits into working professionals’ schedules.
The program will be taught by industry experts, including adjunct professor Kate Bischoff ’04, the founder of Minneapolis-based tHRive Law and Consulting.
“Businesses don’t always have the resources to devote to HR, but it’s where some of the biggest risks are,” Bischoff said. “Human resources compliance has become increasingly difficult and important. It’s evolving quickly and getting attention from all levels of government.”
Adjunct professor Ali McGinty, Senior Human Resources Advisor for Landscape Structures in Delano, Minn., says Mitchell Hamline’s Human Resources Compliance Certificate program will provide a full-range perspective on the employment life cycle.
“We live in a litigious society, and knowing how to manage risks is essential in all organizations,” McGinty said. “This program will provide individuals with an all-encompassing HR view of how to approach risk management and compliance within businesses of all sizes.”
Topics covered in the program include:
- An introduction to employment law, compliance, and risk-management issues
- Compliance issues related to recruitment, hiring, and training
- The laws and regulations that govern employee conduct, communication, disciplinary actions, terminations, workforce reductions, resignations, and retirements
Students who wish to expand their studies in a particular area will have the option of taking additional stand-alone e-learning courses. The courses will cover benefits and compensation, immigration, international employment law, and affirmative action and anti-discrimination compliance.
The Human Resources Compliance certificate joins three other professional legal education programs at Mitchell Hamline. We offer an online program in health care compliance, an online program in cybersecurity and privacy law, and an online/in-person program in international business negotiation.
For registration and program information, email hrcompliance@mitchellhamline.edu. More information is available online at mitchellhamline.edu/hr-compliance/. For general inquiries about professional legal education, please email Holly Noble, holly.noble@mitchellhamline.edu.