Employment and Labor Relations Law for the Corporate Counsel and the General Practitioner
What You Will Learn
Employment is the most regulated relationship for both employers and employees. EEO, NLRA, LMRA, ADA, ADEA, FEP, FLSA, WARN, SOX, OSHA, OFCCP, FCRA, FMLA, OWBPA, IRCA, MEPPAA and ERISA all are acronyms for potential employer liability, employee lawsuits and government intervention. If you don't know what each requires, this course provides practical approaches to compliance and defense.
This course gives lawyers on the firing line an introduction to the myriad laws and governmental regulations that regulate the employment relationship. It is a comprehensive introduction for lawyers new to the field. At the same time, the course serves to bring more experienced practitioners up to the minute on current developments in this rapidly changing field.
This course teaches you what the laws affecting the employment relationship require, and how to help clients comply and minimize employer exposure to expensive government agency, individual, and class action lawsuits. You also learn about laws regulating labor-management relations, plant closings, safety, and employee benefits.
The focus is not just on what the laws command but on practical advice in helping employers operate effectively - - drafting employee manuals, collective bargaining agreements, and utilizing effective grievance and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to avoid costly litigation.
The program also focuses on new developments in this rapidly changing arena, including the tidal wave of retaliation lawsuits, the impact of Sarbanes-Oxley litigation, the proliferation of wage/hour class actions and highlights of this year's Supreme Court cases.
Skilled practitioners discuss dealing effectively with administrative agencies and labor unions, and the ethical problems which arise in the practice of employment and labor law.
Time is set aside throughout the program to address written questions submitted by the registrants.
WHAT WILL THIS COURSE DO FOR YOU?
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
• Recognize the employer's legal exposure;
• Plan positive employment practices,
• Draft basic employment rules and manuals,
• Advise your clients on practical procedures to avoid or minimize significant risks in their employment relationships; and
• Decide intelligently when to seek more expert advice or outside counsel.
Planning Chairs
(also on faculty)
Peter M. Panken, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., New York
Frank Cummings, Of Counsel, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, Washington, D.C. (on sabbatical)
Dennis P. Duffy, Baker Botts L.L.P., Houston
Kay H. Hodge, Stoneman, Chandler & Miller LLP, Boston
Faculty
Fred W. Alvarez, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Palo Alto, California
Stacey B. Babson-Smith, Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Employment and Global Diversity, Terex Corporation, Westport, Connecticut
Julie Badel, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., Chicago
Joseph Z. Fleming, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Miami
Thomas S. Gigot, Groom Law Group, Washington, D.C.
John E. Higgins, Jr., Deputy General Counsel, National Labor Relations Board, Washington, D.C.
Mark G. Kisicki, Steptoe & Johnston LLP, Phoenix
Diana P. Scott, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Los Angeles
Patricia Costello Slovak, Schiff Hardin LLP, Chicago
Teresa S. Valderrama, Jackson Lewis L.L.P., Houston
ALI-ABA Staff: Kevin J. O'Connor, Senior Assistant Director, Office of Courses of Study
Program Schedule
THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2008
8:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
Webcast Segment A
9:00 a.m. Introductory Remarks and Overview
DEALING WITH EMPLOYMENT LAW - Mr. Panken, Chair
9:10 a.m. How To Keep a Firing from Backfiring: An Introduction to Employment Discrimination Laws - Mr. Panken
What the laws command; why statutory defenses are illusory; how to minimize employer risk in reductions-in-force and other termination situations
10:00 a.m. Networking Break
10:15 a.m. Handling the Anti-Discrimination Agency Investigation - Mr. Alvarez and Ms. Babson-Smith
Responding to the filed charge; investigating the facts; limiting the scope of the agency investigation; dealing with the government investigator; using the new EEOC mediation process; avoiding litigation; judging when to fold and when to hang tough
11:00 a.m. Retaliation and Whistleblowing Protection - Mr. Panken
Retaliation litigation is increasing exponentially and new whistleblower protection is now available under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (with trials before OSHA administrative law judges). Focus on proving the essential elements: PAC (Protest, Adverse Action, and Causal Connection). Practical steps to avoid liability.
11:45 a.m. Sex Discrimination in the Workplace - Mss. Babson-Smith and Scott
Asserting the employer's defenses: the four Ps - Promulgating a policy, Protection of the victim, Prompt investigation, and Punishment of the perpetrator; how to identify, deal with, and eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace and the role of training as a defense to hostile environment claims
12:30 p.m. Lunch Break
Webcast Segment B
2:00 p.m. Dealing with Workplace Disabilities - Mss. Badel and Slovak
What are protected disabilities under state and federal laws? What are employer obligations for reasonable accommodations of people with disabilities? How should employers deal with concepts like "impairment," "substantial limitation of major life activities," and "reasonable accommodation"? How can employers effectively comply and avoid costly litigation?
2:45 p.m. State Employment Law Developments - Mr. Alvarez and Ms. Scott
Employment discrimination for reasons against public policy, infliction of emotional distress, and broader statutory protected classes make state employment litigation a more significant source of employer liability and potential monetary damages than in the past. This presentation brings you up to date on the latest trends.
3:30 p.m. Networking Break
3:45 p.m. Veterans' Rights - Ms. Badel
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) creates employment rights for employees returning from military service. With more than 100,000 reservists returning soon from active duty, employers must be kept up to date on their employment rights.
4:15 p.m. Drafting Employee Manuals and Employment Contracts - Mr. Panken
One key to successful employee relations is the communication of the rights and responsibilities of employees. Another important aspect is the drafting of executive employment contracts that properly protect the employer's interests without scaring off potential leaders of the company. Forms and delineable practical approaches that work are analyzed.
5:15 p.m. Adjournment for the Day
FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2008
7:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8:00 a.m. A Primer on Illinois Employment Laws - Ms. Badel
Most federal employment laws do not preempt state regulation. This session will outline the additional requirements Illinois employers must meet including, inter alia, wage/hour, discrimination, privacy, restrictive covenant and other unique Illinois employment related laws.
LABOR RELATIONS LAW - Ms. Hodge, Chair
Webcast Segment C
9:00 a.m. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) - Ms. Hodge and Mr. Panken
Wage/hour laws are counterintuitive traps for the unwary employer. Costly class (collective) action litigation is burgeoning. This presentation details how to comply with wage/hour laws and what to do when the when the plaintiff or Department of Labor knocks.
10:00 a.m. Networking Break
10:15 a.m. Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) - Mr. Higgins and Ms. Hodge
Section 7 of the NLRA protects employee rights to form join and assist labor organizations. Section 8 provides the mechanism for enforcing employer and employee rights. This session will define the protected rights and detail the enforcement mechanisms under the NLRA.
11:15 a.m. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Representation Election Proceedings - Determining Employee Desires - Mr. Panken
The NLRA protects employee rights to form, join and assist labor unions. The NLRB conducts elections to determine whether employees want union representation. But first it must decide who may vote. Then it encourages a vigorous, but fair, election campaign. This session will explore the NLRB's role and the limits of effective election campaigns.
12:00 noon Lunch Break
Webcast Segment D
1:30 p.m. Collective Bargaining - Ms. Hodge and Mr. Kisicki
NLRB enforcement of the duty to bargain in good faith; preparing for negotiations; picking the negotiating team, framing proposals, and planning strategies; economic analysis and bargaining aids; bargaining subjects and tips on bargaining effectively
2:15 p.m. Drafting Collective Bargaining Agreements, from A to Z - Ms. Babson-Smith
A primer on the drafting of terms of collective bargaining agreements, from Arbitration to the Zipper clause
3:00 p.m. Networking Break
3:15 p.m. Economic Pressure: Strikes, Lockouts, and Picketing - Mr. Higgins
Protected and unprotected strikes; discharge vs. replacement of strikers; picketing and secondary boycotts; responding to unions' corporate campaigns; employer recourse to the courts; operating during a strike; lockouts
4:00 p.m. Handling Grievances and Arbitrations under Union Contracts - Mss. Babson-Smith and Hodge
Handling the grievance process: responding to issues, persuasion, and compromise; arbitration: selecting the arbitrator, framing the issues, preparation of management's case, and conducting the arbitration
4:30 p.m. The Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Alternative to Litigation - Mr. Fleming
Is arbitration outside of employment claims better than litigation? This segment addresses the structuring of fair and effective pre-dispute arbitration and mediation agreements that will withstand judicial scrutiny and resolve disputes productively.
5:30 p.m. Adjournment for the Day
SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2008
7:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
ALPHABET SOUP: ERISA, MPPAA, WARN, OSHA, IRCA, AND OTHER LAWS AFFECTING EMPLOYMENT - Mr. Duffy, Chair
Webcast Segment E
8:00 a.m. ERISA and MPPAA: An Introduction - Mr. Gigot
A practical introduction to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act as amended and the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act, emphasizing employer funding liabilities, dispute resolution, and litigation aspects; ERISA Sec. 510 and benefits discrimination
9:15 a.m. Ethical Considerations in Handling Employment Law Problems - Mr. Duffy
Who is the client? When is there a conflict between employer and supervisors, and how to handle the separation? Preserving attorney-client privilege; obligations to disclose embarrassing documents and facts; confidential conversations; ex parte communications
10:15 a.m. Networking Break
10:30 a.m. Other Federal Laws and Regulations Affecting the Employment Relationship
• Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN - plant closings) - Mr. Kisicki
• Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA - penalizing the employment of illegal aliens) - Mr. Fleming
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA - mandating unpaid leave, with continued paid health insurance, for family and medical needs) - Ms. Valderama
• Polygraph Protection Act, severely limiting the use of mechanical truth detection devices --- Mr. Kisicki
• The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) -Limiting the use of credit reports in employment -- Ms. Valderrama
11:45 a.m. The Occupational Safety and Health Act - Mr. Duffy
How OSHA really works! What to do and not do both before and when the OSHA inspector arrives? New OSHA trends and initiatives.
12:30 p.m. Adjournment
Total 60-minute hours of instruction: 18, including one hour of ethics
Suggested Prerequisite: Limited experience in general legal practice or completion of CLE Orientation Course
Educational Objective: Development of an understanding of the major laws affecting the employment relationship; development of initial level of competency as a practitioner of employment and labor law; development of necessary skills to counsel clients facing practical problems; provision of information on recent legal developments
Level of Instruction: Basic
Here's what registrants have said about this course:
"This was a very good course for the new labor and employment lawyer. The presenters were clearly well versed in their fields. The speed and breadth with which the topics were covered was made up for with the details and quality of the written materials."
"Very knowledgeable presenters with good presentation skills."
"Excellent program well presented and very well supported by the covered materials, thank you. With three days it was also impressing that there were no sur-par presenters in the mix, great panel."
"A very useful, informative program, well-run and would attend again."
"Faculty was excellent, very knowledgeable. Great presenters."
"Every aspect of this course met or exceeded my expectations. The pace of presentation, and content, was sufficient to hold my attention for the full 2 ½ days."
"I have been to other courses in the past but this is the first where each and every speaker was not only very effective, but also interesting."
"This course and certainly the printed materials will be very helpful to me going forward. Colleagues have always recommended ALI-ABA courses as being solid, substantive courses. That has certainly been my experience with this course."
