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Vedder Thinking | Events Practising Law Institute's Annual Institute on Employment Law

Seminar

Reader View

When

September 27-28, 2010

Why You Should Attend

PLI’s Annual Institute on Employment Law 2010 combines a comprehensive review of case law and regulatory developments, an in-depth analysis of emerging issues, and best practices to maximize employment law compliance, mitigate legal risk and achieve business objectives. The faculty is comprised of nationally recognized management and plaintiffs’ attorneys, in-house counsel and government enforcement agency officials who share their perspectives, insights and experiences.

For more information or to register for this program please follow this link.

What You Will Learn

  • The Year-in-Review: the important federal and state case law and regulatory developments
  • ADA/ADAAA update, including an analysis of the accommodation process
  • The latest guidance regarding the FMLA, military and other types of leave
  • Newest wage and hour developments
  • Emerging workplace claims: privacy considerations and the implications of social networking sites and employee blogging
  • Ethical considerations affecting e-discovery practices
  • RIFs and reorganizations: joint employer/contingent workforce issues, managing the employee selection process and evaluating termination programs
  • Practical tips for managing and pleading retaliation and whistleblower claims
  • Nuts and bolts of class actions: identifying classes, addressing certification issues and the proper use of experts
  • Strategies for successful mediation, arbitration and settlement of employment law claims

Who Should Attend

This program is designed for legal and human resource professionals who seek an in-depth analysis and discussion of often subtle and rapidly evolving issues arising in employment law. The Course Handbook and related program materials are valuable research and counseling resources for plaintiff and management attorneys, in-house counsel, compliance officials, human resource executives and government enforcement agency staff.

Agenda

Day One: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Morning Session: 9:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

9:00 a.m.  Opening Remarks and Introduction
  Michael G. Cleveland, Zachary D. Fasman
9:15 a.m. The Year in Review
 
  • Discussion of the latest Supreme Court decisions
  • Analysis of current Federal court trends
  • Review of notable State court decisions
  • Legislative update
  Barbara B. Brown, Arline Mann
10:15 a.m. FLSA 
 
  • Latest legal developments regarding exempt status, off-the-clock work, preliminary and postliminary periods, overtime and more
  • Strategies for developing and implementing compliance programs and “first alert” procedures
  • Practical tips for managing wage and hour investigations and litigation
David S. Fortney, Adam T. Klein
11:15 a.m. Networking Break
11:30 a.m. Litigation Strategy: Managing E-Discovery in Employment Law Cases
 
  • Electronic acquisition and dissemination of information
  • Inadvertent disclosure, metadata and improper acquisition of information
  • Managing e-discovery in litigation
  • Attorney-client privilege and work product issues
  • Ethical obligations associated with e-discovery issues
  James A. Batson, Gregory M. McLaughlin, Theodore O. Rogers, Jr.
12:45 p.m. Lunch

 

Afternoon Session: 1:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

1:45 p.m. FMLA, Military and Other Leave
  • Analysis of current federal leave regulations
  • Case law developments affecting notice, intermittent leave and medical examinations
  • Integrating new state mandated leave requirements
  • Reinstating and providing benefits to returning veterans
  • ADA leaves
  David R. Jimenez, Ann I. Mennell
2:45 p.m. RIFs and Reorganizations
 
  • Joint employer/contingent workforce issues
  • Developing, evaluating and defending termination programs
  • Managing the employee selection process
  • EEOC update
  Penny P. Domow, Jill L. Rosenberg, Carolyn L. Wheeler
3:45 p.m. Networking Break
  Retaliation and Whistleblower Claims
 
  • Sarbanes-Oxley retaliation claims - procedures and merits
  • Wage and hour retaliation - are informal complaints protected?
  • FMLA and other retaliation claims by employees taking leave
  • Retaliation claims by employees with EEO-related duties - attorneys and human resources staff
  Willis J. Goldsmith, Debra L. Raskin
5:00 p.m. Adjourn

 

Day Two: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Morning Session: 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

9:00 a.m. Emerging Workplace Claims and Issues
 
  • Privacy/electronic workplace issues
  • Monitoring, surveillance and post-employment issues involving workplace computers and BlackBerrys, including privacy and privilege issues
  • Implications of social networking/employee blogging
  Michael A. Curley, Laura S. Schnell
10:00 a.m. Class Actions in Employment Law Cases: The Nuts and Bolts
 
  • Identifying a class
  • Investigating claims
  • Managing the certification process
  • Cutting-edge liability and expert theories
  • Settlements of class claims
  Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Joseph M. Sellers
11:00 a.m. Networking Break
11:15 a.m. Litigation Strategy: Arbitration, Mediation and Settlement
 
  • Preparing a case for mediation
  • Strategies and techniques in mediation: what works and what does not
  • Legal and practical issues in negotiating and drafting a settlement
  • Legal developments surrounding arbitration of employment claims
Christopher A. D’Angelo, Kathleen McKenna, Margaret L. Shaw
12:30 p.m. Lunch

 

Afternoon Session: 1:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

 1:45 p.m. Personnel, Investigative and Health Records
 
  • Medical examinations and health information
  • Criminal, credit and other background information
  • Access to and retention of records
  • Privacy-related obligations and liability
  • Implications of electronic personnel records
  Amy Dow, Laura Sack
2:45 p.m. The ADA Turns 20 - Recent Developments and Future Implications
 
  • 2008 ADA Amendments Act: case law and practice update
  • Aging workers with disabilities
  • Reasonable accommodation and undue hardship
  • Reinstatement and returning to work
  • Analysis of EEOC rule-making and enforcement trends
  Jeffrey S. Klein, Peggy R. Mastroianni
3:45 p.m. Networking Break
4:00 p.m. Professionalism and Ethical Obligations
 
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Special issues involving in-house counsel investigations and audits
  • Consequences of early termination of cases
  • Settlement and negotiation practices
  Michael G. Cleveland, Zachary D. Fasman, Thomas E. Spahn
5:00 p.m. Adjourn

 

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21st Floor
New York, New York 10019