ELI Basics

As you get started with the Emergency Law Inventory, there are a few things you need to know. First of all, ELI is not a substitute for legal advice. If you have any questions about what a law means, consult an attorney. Also, ELI does not interpret the law but it does simplify the complex world of statutes and regulations by giving summaries of legal text. ELI can help you understand which laws may be relevant, but you should know the law may not always provide a clear-cut answer.

ELI has built in resources that explain what is and what is not included in ELI, including the FAQ and Areas of Law pages. The FAQ answers questions ranging from what-does-this-mean to how-does-this-apply. The Areas of Law page explains what is meant by immunity and liability, workers’ benefits, scope of practice, and license reciprocity. Another resource is the hover over definitions in the law summaries. Each state, and even each law, can define a word differently so you cannot assume a word has the same meaning throughout ELI.

Each state or territory is not its own island. Sometimes, there are multiple laws that interact at the local, state, and federal levels, including compacts, federal laws, and local laws. It is important to understand how these laws work together. If you are deployed to another state, your home state laws will only apply as the state you are traveling to allows. For example, the other state could dictate to follow your home state’s workers’ compensation laws. Also, ELI does not contain any municipal and county laws, or local emergency contingency plans or policies that may be relevant.

The team at Pitt Public Health hope you find ELI easy to use and helpful! If you would like to provide us with feedback or have additional questions, please email the ELI team.