Many events are available as webinars. Browse all webinars or use 'WB' in the city/state search.
2:45 pm Open Registration
3:30 pm Developments in Equal Employment Opportunity Law
Annual update of Supreme Court and significant appellate and trial court cases and their applications and implications for employment practices and litigation in key substantive and procedural areas, including discrimination based on race, national origin, religion, sex, and age, equal pay and pregnancy discrimination, reverse discrimination and affirmative action, damages and injunctive relief, class actions, and many other issues.
5:30 pm Refreshment Break
5:45 pm Lessons Learned from Outrageous Decisions
No other area of the law presents a better insight into the human condition than labor and employment law, but it is often the strangest and most ludicrous cases that teach the most memorable substantive lessons, so here we will review recent employment law developments derived from those unusual cases and what can be learned from them.
6:45 pm Welcoming Reception (Hosted by NELI)
7:30 am All New Update on Labor-Management Relations
Review of pending legislation and impact on existing employment policies (Employee Free Choice Act/Respect Act), the affect of changes at the National Labor Relations Board on current case law and what existing law is likely to be changed, and how the new Administration is likely to impact labor enforcement policy.
8:45 am Hot Wage and Hour Issues
New developments in exempt status determinations, focusing on the administrative, computer and outside sales exemptions, key issues in the calculation of the regular rate of pay and overtime, items to address in the context of wage and hour audits, time-keeping traps, and predictions of the types of cases making up the next litigation frontier.
10:00 am Refreshment Break
10:15 am The Latest on Independent Contractors
Practical advice regarding "The Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act of 2007," which has led to heightened scrutiny of such status in both the courts and the legislatures and shifted litigation trends, the latest developments in defending, establishing and maintaining independent contractor status, managing contingent workers, legal issues encountered, including substantive mistakes in classification of exempt workers and their consequences, unlawful discrimination against contingent workers, and benefit obligations.
11:15 am ADA: Who is an "Individual with a Disability"
Discussion of the 2008 ADA Amendments Act changes to the definition of"disability," including revisions to the definition of "major life activities," whether to analyze an individual as medicated, the meaning of "substantially limits" (both for cases arising before and after the effective date of the ADAAA), including seriousness and duration issues, and discussion of the dramatic new definition of "regarded as," including practical advice for avoiding “regarded as” claims.
7:30 am Selected Ethics Issues
Examination of conflicts of interest, attorney-client privilege and waiver, ex parte access to current and former managers and employees, pretrial investigations, electronic investigations and communication, improper acquisition and inadvertent disclosure of information and documents from opposing parties, access to metadata and electronic information, settlements and negotiations, court enforcement of professionalism and civility codes, and other issues.
9:30 am Trade Secrets/Covenants Not to Compete Issues
Emerging developments concerning misappropriation of trade secrets, under-enforced but often powerful contract-based confidentiality obligations and non-compete obligations, remedies for misappropriation and misuse of trade secrets and confidential information, and practical advice regarding monitoring of employees suspected of misappropriating trade secrets.
10:30 am Refreshment Break
10:45 am Current Retaliation Trends
Recent developments regarding what constitutes a "protected activity" under applicable law, analysis of how courts have analyzed what constitutes an "adverse action," focus on case law addressing the establishment of the causation element, hot topics in the area, including third party harassment, use of judicial process and retaliatory harassment, guarding against and responding to claims, and a summary of recent whistleblower developments under Sarbanes Oxley.
11:45 am Downsizing and Implementing RIF’s
Practical approaches for developing a plan and evaluating employer options including incentive programs for voluntary separation, early retirement plans, and involuntary plans which include job studies, evaluating employees, and reviewing impact on protected groups, plus a review of the legal standards for conducting RIF’s, the pros and cons of waivers, requirements for effective releases, and OWBPA issues.
7:30 am ADA:“Reasonable Accommodation Developments”
Discussion of the 2008 ADA Amendments Act provisions on reasonable accommodation obligations, including whether accommodation is required in "regarded as" cases, what triggers the interactive process, how to train supervisors on this issue, and how employers should interact and document the process, and discussion of the latest cases on non-competitive reassignment, modifications to seniority policies, light duty, rescission of discipline, work-at-home, shift changes, irritant- free workplace requests, and parking spaces.
9:00 am The Evolving FMLA - New Regulations
Discussion of the FMLA's Final Regulations, including events that qualify for exigency leave, certification required for military family leave entitlements, the "single 12-month period" calculation when taking leave to care for an injured or ill servicemember, new requirements an employer must follow in terms of notice, designation and new DOL forms, notice an employee must give for unforeseeable leave, changes to the "continuing treatment" definition of serious health condition, whether an employer can have direct contact with an employee's healthcare provider, changes to the substitution rules and on payment of bonuses, waivers, practical advice to be in compliance with these regulations, and recent case developments.
10:30 am Refreshment Break
10:45 am The Electronic Workplace: Legal Issues Affecting Information Management Policies
Thorough coverage of key issues impacting employers in areas including electronic communications and computer usage policies, the types of potential "smoking gun" electronic evidence employees create on a regular basis, the legality of monitoring - under the Wiretap Act and Stored Communications Act - employees' e-mails, use of employerprovided mobile devices, web-surfing and postings (on blogs, wikis, social-networking sites and the like), whether anyone has a reasonable expectation of privacy at work, and the viability of a Computer Fraud and Abuse Act claim against someone who accesses and/or uses proprietary information to the detriment of his/her former employer.
12:45 pm Program Adjournment
NELI is a non-profit educational organization headquartered in Denver, CO with offices in Washington D.C.
The Institute conducts seminars, briefings, conferences and other training programs, publishes, and provides related services (In house Training, Counseling, Consulting, Investigations, HR and Glass Ceiling Audits, and Expert Witness Testimony) which meet the needs of the legal and other publicity and privately formed organizations.
The Institute's activities pertain exclusively to employment law compliance , the application of the law to human resource practices, and practice and produce before administrative bodies and in state and federal courts.
NELI works closely with its National Advisory Board composed of distinguished practitioners who play an active role in planning our activities and providing our services.
