Labor And Employment Law CLE

Non-compete agreements shape the American employment landscape, affecting both employees and employers. Because these agreements prevent an employee from working within a particular industry for a defined time period, courts tend to closely examine these provisions. In recent years, many states have passed legislation to modify non-compete provisions in both employment agreements and business purchase agreements. Some states uphold non-compete agreements only when a legitimate business interest is at stake, while others have banned non-competes altogether. Certain states require employers to provide additional consideration or benefits to an employee to bind them by a non-compete. If employers are to adequately draft non-compete provisions, and if employees are to successfully negotiate such provisions, they must understand how the law is evolving in this area. Kristen Prinz, the Founder and Managing Partner of the Prinz Law Firm, P.C., will discuss best practices for drafting non-compete clauses from an employer’s perspective, and best practices to negotiate and handle non-compete clauses from an employee’s perspective.

This course will cover the various ways COVID-19 has impacted employment law. We will also discuss changes in employment law that are likely to develop as the world continues to adjust to COVID-19 and the “new normal.” While COVID-19 has affected almost every part of day to day living in the United States and abroad, the workplace will undoubtedly be a different place due to COVID-19. It is important for attorneys assisting clients with issues related to COVID-19 to understand how the employment law landscape has changed due to COVID-19.

Human trafficking knows no limits, and this predatory crime plagues rural, suburban, and urban communities in the United States and throughout the world. Traffickers deprive their victims of their identity, self-worth, autonomy, and freedom through force, intimidation, and false promises. This continuing legal education course will review the various federal laws protecting child and adult human trafficking victims. This course will review two scenarios that in-house or external counsel may encounter when advising businesses and health systems: (1) drafting human resources and procurement policies that effectively prohibit human trafficking activities (e.g., avoiding suppliers that violate human rights laws by engaging in labor trafficking activities, prohibiting employees from viewing or receiving child or trafficked pornographic materials on company or personal devices on work time, and prohibiting employees from purchasing sexual activities while traveling out of state or to a different country for work), and (2) advising a health system on devising a community-wide protocol and health system policy to respond to and aid victims of human trafficking.

Reopening physical workspaces will require both employers and employees to confront new realities and to address both physical and operational changes required by the lingering effects of Covid-19 on the workplace. This program will offer a guideline for assisting both employers and employees to navigate the new post-Covid-19 workplace.

Employers must comply with a litany of federal, state and local laws which govern virtually every aspect of the employer-employee relationship. Most employers wish to communicate the steps they will take to comply with the law in an employee handbook. This crucial document is responsible for distilling a variety of complex and constantly-changing legal topics into one easy-to-read guidebook for employees, and managers. We introduce a variety of concepts which counsel preparing these critical documents should be aware of, and how handbooks can be used as both a sword and a shield later in litigation. In doing so, we highlight a number of hot topics in the employment law space, including teleworking, medical and adult-use cannabis, and paid sick leave laws.

Once a company agrees to do business with the United States federal government, with that promise comes agreement to assume a slate of obligations, most of which are foreign to commercial practices. This precept could not be more accurate when it comes to the labor and employment obligations that apply to federal contractors. From prevailing wage obligations to affirmative action to federal sick leave, it is critically important that a federal contractor understand the scope of obligations applicable to the type of federal government contractor work it undertakes to perform. In this course, we will highlight key federal labor and employment obligations and suggest strategies for how to ensure compliance and mitigate risk, particularly given the potentially debilitating sanctions associated with non-compliance with some of these statutes, regulations,and executive orders.

The purpose of this course is to introduce listeners to the various kinds of litigation that arise under Title VII. We will discuss the background of Title VII and legal developments that have shaped the law into what it is today. We will also discuss the various kinds of claims and the general elements of each claim. Listeners will be left with an understanding of the general framework for Title VII Litigation.

This module provides an overview of the skills needed to conduct thorough, effective, and actionable workplace investigations. Participants will learn how to sift through a variety of material using best practices and clearly present results that businesses rely on when making important decisions. The basic questions an investigator might have will be addressed: what constitutes a complaint, when to investigate, who should investigate, and how to investigate. It also addresses issues of confidentiality, provides tools to better determine witness credibility, and underscores the necessity of unpacking one’s own biases prior to undertaking an investigation. This CLE will benefit in-house and general counsel, third-party attorneys who regularly conduct investigations, HR personnel, and anyone else involved in determining who did what at work.

President Joe Biden has signaled his administration’s intention to actively encourage the reopening of physical workspaces and curbing COVID-19 outbreaks by requiring mandatory vaccination of federal employees and employees of federal contractors and direction the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to enact emergency temporary standard (ETS) regulations to require employers with 100 or more employees to require vaccination or submit to weekly testing. President Biden’s announcement will require both employers and employees to confront new realities and to address both physical and operational changes required by the lingering effects of Covid-19 on the workplace. President Biden’s announcement most likely will encourage employers not affected by OSHA’s ETS to also adopt vaccine mandates. This program will offer a guideline for assisting employers to navigate what presumably the new ETS or other vaccine mandates will have on the workplace.

The retainer agreement is an often neglected tool to meet our ethical obligations to our clients while simultaneously managing and reducing professional risks inherent in the practice of law. The retainer agreement touches on virtually every kind of private practice and directly addresses the two greatest sources of professional risk to attorneys – ethical obligations and legal duties to clients. This course explores the basics of the retainer agreement along with corresponding ethical considerations in the context of every day professional risks lawyers face through a review of the ABA’s model rules, sample retainers and ethics opinions. The “living” retainer agreement as a risk management device and best practice tool, including an overview of paralleling ethical considerations will be explored, along with how to develop a firm-wide retainer agreement plan.

On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a landmark decision regarding the scope of protections afforded under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, for gay, lesbian and transgender employees in a trio of consolidated cases: Bostock v. Clayton County, GA., Altitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission et al., 140 S.Ct. 1731, 2020 U.S. LEXIS 3252 (Jun. 15, 2020) (consolidating No. 17-1618 (Bostock), No. 17-1623 (Zarda) and No. 18-107 (R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes). In a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, SCOTUS found that the plain meaning of Title VII’s prohibition making it illegal for an employer to discriminate against an individual employee “because of such individual’s . . . sex” [42 U.S.C. §2000e-2(a)(1)], was sufficiently broad to prohibit an employee from being discharged merely for being gay or transgendered. Id. at 1739. As a result of that decision, and prior directives from the Department of Labor (“DOL”), and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), federal law bars discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex to protect employees and applicants for employment from being harassed, denied employment or promotion, or otherwise subject to adverse treatment because they do not conform to societal gender expectations. This program will help employers to make sure that their workplace conforms to federal law and provides a safe space for employees to express their gender identity.

As more and more physicians and other healthcare practitioners enter the workforce, employers, whether they are hospitals, clinics or private practices, are updating their employment contracts to be more restrictive against practitioners. It is important when reviewing these contracts, not only to confirm that the terms of the offer are correctly included within the contract, but that practitioners will not be prevented from practicing within their field and/or within a reasonable area should their employment be terminated. In order to negotiate on their behalf, you need to understand the language utilized within the industry, including HIPAA, billing procedures, payment structures and restrictive covenants. This course will provide you with an overview of the key aspects, clauses and terms common to healthcare employment agreements. You’ll have a better understanding of whether the contract terms are reasonable in their scope, whether practitioners will have the ability to continue to provide services should they leave the employment and how to identify missing language that should be included in order to protect the practitioner.

This course will teach you the fundamentals of using federal Civil Rule 35 to take mental examinations, a discovery technique commonly used in employment cases by management to have a mental health practitioner intrusively question the plaintiff. We will discuss who can attend such an examination, the uses and misuse of “garden variety” emotional distress, the role of the treater and the treater as a “hybrid” witness, the reports required of a forensic expert and treater, as well as psychological testing and the controversy over malingering and the Fake Bad Scale, and tax treatment of emotional distress damages. By the end of this course you should be able to answer the following questions: Must the plaintiff endeavor to mitigate emotional distress damages? Can the defense conduct an ex parte interview of plaintiff's treater? And can the defense require the plaintiff to be interviewed by a vocational rehabilitation professional?

At two years into the pandemic, remote work is still a fact of life for many employers and employees, and cyber threats continue to rise. What are the challenges in ensuring that employers’ privacy and security policies are compliant and effective in these circumstances? This program will review regulators’ current best practices and provide tools to help lawyers advise their clients on the cybersecurity and data privacy rules and principles essential in remote work environments.

The Biden Administration’s proposed budget for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) seeks, among other things, funding to hire significantly more OSHA inspectors in 2022 and beyond.  As businesses brace for aggressive enforcement in the coming years, this program is designed to help attorneys assist their clients through an OSHA investigation.  You will hear from a former OSHA trial attorney while he reviews the investigation process from the opening conference through the issuance of citations.  The program further addresses considerations attorneys need to be thinking about when advising clients on whether to settle or litigate OSHA citations.  Often these important considerations include how OSHA citations will affect third party claims which may present significantly more liability than the OSHA penalties themselves.  Moreover, the program discusses best practices during the investigation process and settlement strategies to achieve client objectives while minimizing risk of future repeat or willful violations. 

Given the US Supreme Court ruling of Bostock v Clayton County, Georgia, decided June 15, 2020, employers, employees and employment law attorneys need to understand the heightened protections afforded employees in the workplace based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

Thorough employment investigations of employee allegations of sexual, gender, age, racial and religious discrimination must balance the adverse interests of an employee’s complaint and the employer’s need to minimize interruptions to business operations. To further complicate these competing interests, internal investigations can involve difficult witnesses. This program will provide corporate counsel, internal investigation teams, and human resource professionals with tactics for identifying difficult witnesses and real-time adjustments in investigation strategies that disarm difficult witnesses while maintaining professionalism. Professional service providers such as physicians and accountants will also increase their understanding of internal investigations conducted in small business settings.

The stars have all aligned. You have an attorney position to fill, and have found the perfect candidate with the right credentials, experience and book of business, who clears the initial conflicts checks (review of clients and matters on which the attorney is/was actively working). The attorney, looking for more interesting and meaningful work, better opportunities for advancement, and more money, has accepted your offer and is ready to start work. Your firm knows the value of having screening mechanisms in place, but even with all the “T”s crossed and “I”s dotted, the potential for a conflict of interest may arise. How can your firm implement an effective conflicts of interest screen and have some comfort in its effectiveness if and when the time comes to defend against a disqualification motion? During this course, we will consider how to build, implement and regulate effective screens for lateral hires.

This course surveys federal law as it relates to people with disabilities—specifically, you will learn about the protections provided to disabled persons under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This CLE course is the first of a two-part series. The primary focus of Part I is to provide an overview of the ADA’s non-discrimination provisions as they apply to employers, government entities, and public accommodations. Then, the focus of Part I will be on employment discrimination under Title I of the ADA. The course will provide attorneys with a working knowledge of Title I to better represent clients who face employment discrimination on the basis of disability.

The DOL’s 2022 budget and the Biden Administration’s proposed budget for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 2023 seeks funding to hire significantly more OSHA inspectors.  In addition, Doug Parker was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA on November 3, 2021, and based on his prior role as chief of California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, employers should expect increased rulemaking and more aggressive enforcement activities in the coming years. You will hear from a former OSHA trial attorney as he discusses OSHA hot topics and future agenda items.  These issues include an update on OSHA’s COVID-19 guidance for general industry and the status of OSHA’s health care permanent COVID rule.  Other areas will include discussion of OSHA’s heat stress enforcement and rulemaking; reviewing highly targeted inspection industries; identifying the most common OSHA citations in 2021; workplace violence; proposed changes to the electronic recordkeeping rule; review of recent OSHA standard interpretation letters on recording injuries; overview of the new hazard communication final rule and other expected rulemaking proposals.

In 2006, social activist and author Tarana Burke introduced the world to the hashtag and phrase “metoo,” which provided a platform for thousands of employees to speak more candidly about sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior in the workplace. Many forms of sexual misconduct that were once tolerated by employees and employers, is no longer acceptable. Sexual harassment involving anyone from C-suite executives to hourly wage earners can expose an organization to great financial and reputational harm. In this program, counsel tasked with investigating sexual harassment allegations will learn how to implement preventative training and conduct comprehensive investigations. The program will review key steps needed to conduct a balanced investigation and help lawyers and investigators avoid the appearance of bias when dealing with an inherently sensitive subject. This course will also provide an overview of the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act,” the federal legislature passed by the U.S. Senate in February 2022.

Employers and employees alike must be mindful of how on-duty and off-duty use of social media can have consequences in the workplace. Employers must also take care to craft social media use policies that do not violate the legal rights of their employees. This fast-paced class covers recent examples of what happens when employers act against employees based on social media posts and what happens when social media policies are not legally compliant. Lawyers will be prepared to advise clients on legally sound social media use policies and practices.

Employers often begin planning and preparing for decisions concerning compensation for employees, including raises and bonuses, in the second half of the year. As attorneys, we provide guidance to our clients to ensure that these compensation decisions are made in accordance with federal and state laws. As part of this process, the time is also ripe to assist clients with reevaluating pay practices in hot spot areas such as misclassification of non-exempt employees and independent contractors, equalize any pay disparities, and ensure that pay plans and compensation practices are consistent with state law. In this presentation, we will guide you through these end of year compensation considerations and equip you with the tools you need to assist your clients to comply with federal and state wage and hour laws and avoid costly mistakes.

COVID has fundamentally transformed employer/employee relationships worldwide. Now, as we emerge from the pandemic―or as COVID becomes endemic―employers are reversing, undoing or altering their height-of-the-pandemic approach to telecommuting. Of course, multinationals have lots of questions about the global transition back to the physical work site: ∙ Should employees returning to physical worksites be able to telecommute more than pre-pandemic? ∙ How can an employer revamp or relax height-of-the-pandemic workplace safety precautions―vaccine screening, mask mandates, exposure notifications and the like? ∙ What communications should an employer make, to convince staff that the workplace is safe? ∙ And: How does a multinational employer align its return-to-worksite initiatives across borders? This fast-paced session offers a multinational employer global strategies for getting staff back to the workplace post-pandemic, or during a COVID endemic.

No visa attracts more interest, frustration, and questions than the H-1B, which is subject to a strict numerical cap and much scrutiny. Immigration attorneys must be able to present clients with alternative options, while addressing a range of questions. Which nonimmigrant (temporary) visas most closely resemble the H-1B in terms of eligibility requirements, as well as benefits and restrictions? What other options might facilitate obtaining an immigrant visa (green card)? This course will provide a survey of nonimmigrant visa categories that typically apply to these circumstances, while considering issues such as timeframes, eligibility requirements, and how different categories might fit or conflict with each other––with the goal of providing the view with as much information as they need to help a client feel informed about and comfortable with the options presented.

Professional sports involve a unique interplay between antitrust and labor law. On the one hand, pro leagues have a cartel structure where independent team owners coordinate policies with regard relocation, broadcasting deals and salary controls, their way of doing business raises antitrust questions and poses challenges for courts to determine whether these policies violate antitrust law. In addition, because labor agreements are made by all of these owners through the umbrella of the league, the labor agreements combine aspects of labor law, but also involve the applicability of antitrust exemptions involving their labor agreements. This presentation will focus on the basic antitrust standards, the scope of Major League Baseball’s antitrust exemption, the scope of the “rule of reason” test and the scope of the so-called non-statutory labor exemption to antitrust. If there is time, we will review some key provisions of the current labor agreements between Major League Baseball and its players and the NFL and its players.

The coronavirus pandemic has drawn attention to the long-term existing inequalities in the American workforce. As a result, more employers are beefing up their Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts to help address and remedy these inequalities. However, one piece that is frequently missing from a corporate DEI program is a review of pay practices. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of federal and state pay equity laws, review how a pay equity audit can help close pay gaps in the workplace and elevate financial stability of diverse employees, and the best practices for achieving a diverse and inclusive workplace.

When we think of criminal antitrust enforcement, we often think of monopolies and widespread price-fixing schemes by behemoth-sized companies. However, over the last few years, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has become increasingly aggressive, particularly as it relates to alleged antitrust violations by employers of all sizes in the labor market. In this discussion of the DOJ’s renewed antitrust enforcement efforts, we will focus on recent cases involving wage fixing, no poach, and non-solicit agreements. Our presenters, who served as defense counsel in the DOJ’s first-ever criminal wage fixing case, will also share lessons that they and their colleagues have learned trying cases against the DOJ’s [markedly more aggressive] Antitrust Division.

The times when people joined firms hoping to become partner and remain until retirement are long past. It is common for lawyers to have more than a dozen positions during their career with some changing jobs more frequently than that. With the recent demand for talent, some people are changing jobs in less than a year. These moves raise issues as to obligations to clients and the client’s rights to select counsel. Lawyers and firms also need to evaluate conflict issues associated with these changes. In addition, departing lawyers and their firms may be bound by partnership agreements that address transition issues. Often neglected by all concerned is staying on good terms, leaving without regard to the other side can have longstanding effect on the reputation of lawyers and firms, and in the worst case, lead to litigation.

In this course, we will cover the basics of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Attendees will gain a working knowledge of the FMLA and important terminology used in that statute. We will also review the process for notification, certification, and designation under the FMLA.

Whether its climate change, diversity on corporate boards, shareholders valuing more than financial returns or the integration of ESG factors in the investment process, ESG is shifting the paradigm in today’s business world. This course will examine what ESG really means, the forces driving the discussion, the issues gaining momentum, and the extent to which ESG is shaping corporate accountability. In addition to providing an overview of the ESG framework, the course will examine the key players driving the ESG dialogue as well as the the role of shareholder advocacy and employee activism. In addition, it will evaluate ESG’s impact in the boardroom and on corporate governance. Highlighted throughout the course will be legislative initiatives and the extent to which regulatory scrutiny by the Securities Exchange Commission is impacting issues ranging from climate related risk disclosures to investment and portfolio management.

Nonparty discovery in domestic arbitration proceedings is an often misunderstood and overlooked aspect of case planning, management, and administration. As more domestic disputes are compelled to arbitration, either through company-sponsored programs in the employment and consumer context or through increased incorporation of contractual arbitration provisions in the commercial context, both advocates and neutrals need to understand how to properly address nonparty discovery in arbitration, which stands in stark contrast to similar processes in court litigation. With over 20 years of experience as a commercial and intellectual property litigator, coupled with over 10 years of experience as an arbitrator and mediator, Theo Cheng will explain the differences, provide an update on the legal landscape, offer practical tips, and share best practices to master this challenging aspect of arbitration proceedings.

Whether or not you know it, your workplace is already diverse and includes people with disabilities. But how we talk about disability is nuanced, and sometimes complicated. Where do our legal obligations intertwine with our ability to be effective allies? In this CLE, learn about who comprises the disability community, some cultural considerations, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, and the relationship between disclosure, reasonable accommodations, and the law. Come curious, and leave empowered to be a better ally within your firm or legal organization.

Managed properly, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) can assist employers and employees alike with respect to providing predictability and with handling the issues that arise when employees are on leave. But there are traps along the way, and Human Resources Departments and employment lawyers must be mindful of how to identify and avoid these traps. This intermediate-level class is for practitioners who have a working knowledge of the FMLA and now want to understand tactics and strategies, as well as best practices, so that they can avoid violating the law.

In this course, we will explore the history of the modern worker’s compensation system, its importance in today’s society, and current issues. We must understand the history of a no-fault worker’s compensation system in order to fully understand the present-day arguments in favor of disbanding this system. We will identify the key major players in this industry and understand their roles, and responsibilities in workers’ compensation. We will also identify the basics of worker’s compensation including accident, notice, and causal relationship. We will identify the appropriate types of indemnity and wage loss benefits. We will discuss permanency and its impact on injured workers. We will explore the meaning of accident, occupational disease. Finally, we will discuss what is like to practice in this area, exploring concerns of work/life balance, diversity and expertise level required to handle such matters.

Prior to Brown v. Board and the passage of the landmark civil rights laws of the 1960s, perpetrators of discrimination were clear in their reasons for what the law now recognizes as unlawful conduct. While civil rights laws have a huge impact in eradicating what some call “honest discrimination” where the culprit admits his/her/its reasons for wrongful conduct, the laws have given rise to new schemes that – often harder to detect – are designed to achieve the same discriminatory impact. This one-hour lecture will outline the trajectory of our discrimination laws, the rise of dishonest discrimination, and provide practical tips on litigating discrimination cases where proof is complex.

This one hour program will provide an overview of workplace retaliation claims, including how employers can avoid and defend them. We will discuss why employers should be concerned about workplace retaliation claims, including the adverse effects they can have on both employers and employees. This course will also cover the standards of proof and remedies for such claims while taking a look at the defense available to employers.

Recently, there have been questions regarding income inequality that have fueled trends in questioning the wisdom and fairness of today’s executive compensation practice. In this course, we will dive into the latest ESG updates and review significant litigation highlights and case law, as well as examine recent compliance obligations and best practices.

This one hour presentation will highlight some of the legal issues arising out of the use of social media both in the workplace and off duty. We will consider the various considerations affecting both employers and attorneys when monitoring and reviewing social media activity. Attorneys who take this course will be better able to identify some of the many legal risks related to the use of social media and will be better able to mitigate those risks.

The program will cover the amendments by the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (“MRTA”) to the New York Labor Law. Specifically, the program will discuss how the amendments impact employment policies such as hiring, firing, discipline, and drug screening, and pitfalls that employers may fall into in light of the new legislation. The program will also discuss open and unresolved questions by the law and how to carefully navigate around the unresolved questions. Additionally, the program will discuss what types of policies employers can set and what to include or exclude when preparing these policies. Additionally, the program will discuss what could be on the horizon with respect to further clarification from New York and possible litigation.

Conducting a thorough, effective and legally compliant internal investigation is tough enough when the investigation is confined to the United States. A multinational that needs to investigate possible wrongdoing internationally faces a whole other world of legal challenges. This fast-paced session offers approaches and strategies for conducting legally compliant internal investigations worldwide.

An employee stock ownership plan or ESOP can be a powerful succession planning tool for business owners to consider for their ownership transition planning. ESOPs are highly regulated and require careful planning for implementation but also have the potential to offer meaningful tax benefits to the selling shareholder and the corporate sponsor of the ESOP. An ESOP can also provide significant employee benefits on a tax favored basis for employees. We will review the types of companies that are ideal candidates to consider an ESOP as well as poor candidates for an ESOP and review highlights of the process of evaluating and planning an ESOP transaction.

Employers usually do not expect to receive demand letters or litigation notices from their former employees. Generally this occurs because of a lack of communication and understanding as to the employee’s performance. In this webinar, we will cover some fundamentals to avoid common performance management mistakes.

Today’s program, taught by David Johnson of Hawkins Parnell, will take a practical dive into what you need to know about a US Department of Labor Investigation and the surrounding litigation. We will provide a general understanding of ESOPs and best practices for you and your defense counsel in responding to DOL investigations while also discussing the DOL’s authority and precedence in relation to ERISA.

This presentation will cover do’s and don’t’s for settlement of individual employment cases. While some tax issues will be covered, the audience should understand that Mr. Fitzpatrick is not a tax lawyer and will not be providing tax advice. Among the issues covered will be no rehire clauses; non-disparagement clauses; scope of release; confidentiality; term sheets; ethical issues; effective date; and many others. The purpose of this presentation is to identify the controversial clauses so that the audience appreciate the debate that often focuses on these clauses.

In this introduction to wage & hour laws, you will learn about employer requirements for proper classification, work time management, and payment of their employees. We will discuss requirements for meal and rest periods, work time and overtime, timing and methods of payment, and expenses. We will also review what you need to know about the recently-enacted Pay Transparency Act.