2022 Employment Law Update: New Guidance on Hiring, Firing, and Disciplining Employees

Agenda / Content Covered

1. Hiring New Employees: How to Do It Right
   10:00 — 10:45, Nancy McCoy
   1. Using Social Media to Screen Applicants: Essential Guidelines
   2. Pre-Employment Testing: Drug and Alcohol Testing and Other Medical Inquiries
   3. Interviews: Avoiding Common Perils
   4. Virtual Interviews, Telework, and COVID-19: Impact on the Hiring and Onboarding Process
   5. Offer Letters and Other Essential At-Hire Documents
   6. Non-Compete Agreements - Recent Developments
2. Hiring Discrimination Issues - How to Prevent and Handle Them
   11:00 — 11:45, Marc Jacuzzi
   1. Key Laws to Know
   2. Diversity Initiatives: Top Risks
   3. Use of AI in Hiring: What You Need to Know
   4. Increasing Diversity in the Hiring Process: Legal Best Practices
   5. Background Checks - Current Developments
   6. Uniform Discipline: Best Practices to Avoid Discrimination Claims
   7. Case Law Review
3. Disciplining Employees: Legal Essentials
   11:45 — 12:45, Marc Jacuzzi
   1. Employee Handbooks: Essential Policies You Need
   2. Eliminating Bias From the Disciplinary Process
   3. Reviews, Warnings, and Suspensions: What You Must Know
   4. Tips for Creating and Implementing Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs)
   5. Progressive Discipline Policies: Avoiding Critical Mistakes
   6. Maintaining Disciplinary Records: Legal Best Practices
   7. Sloppy Disciplinary Procedures - Problems and Pitfalls (With Examples)
4. Practical Guidance for Conducting Workplace Investigations: With Checklist
   1:15 — 2:00, Marc Jacuzzi
   1. Forming an Investigation Plan
   2. Who Should Conduct the Investigation?
   3. Useful Tips for Determining Witness Credibility
   4. Investigation Interviews: Top Legal Considerations
   5. Creating the Investigative Report - Legal Best Practices
   6. Following Up: Why It Matters
5. Firing Employees: Best Practices
   2:00 — 2:45, Nancy McCoy
   1. The Importance of Keeping a Paper Trail - Explained
   2. Practical Guidance for Conducting the Termination Meeting
   3. Separation Agreements
   4. Severance Packages
   5. Tips for Preventing Wrongful Termination Claims
   6. Layoffs and RIFs: What You Need to Know
6. Guidelines for Firing Employees on Leave
   3:00 — 4:00, Ralph Smith
   1. Interplay of the FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp Laws
   2. When a Worker's Performance Suffers While on Intermittent Leave
   3. Documentation Legal Best Practices
   4. Job Descriptions: How to Use Them, and What They Should Contain
   5. Timing Considerations
   6. Avoiding Retaliation Claims: Key Steps to Take
   7. 2021-22 Case Law Update
7. Ethics in Employment Law
   4:00 — 5:00, Ralph Smith
   1. Confidentiality
   2. Conflicts of Interest
   3. Rules of Professional Conduct

Accreditation Details:

Marc L Jacuzzi is a director with the firm of Simpson, Garrity, Innes & Jacuzzi, P.C., where he focuses on employment law matters. Mr. Jacuzzi represents employers in civil rights actions (including claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, and other state discrimination statutes), Wage & Hour Class Actions, Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) claims, trade secret misappropriation claims, wage claims, wrongful termination claims, unfair business practices claims, contract disputes and various tort claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, various other state agencies and in various state and federal courts. Mr. Jacuzzi earned his B.A. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his J.D. degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. He is a member of the State Bar of California, Colorado Bar Association, American Bar Association, and the San Francisco and Contra Costa County bar associations.

Nancy McCoy is an attorney and director at Simpson, Garrity, Innes & Jacuzzi, P.C. Ms. McCoy has comprehensive experience handling employment law matters before all state and federal courts, as well as before various state, federal and local agencies, such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE), the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB), and the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board (CUIAB), among others. She has extensive expertise in the areas of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; wrongful termination; management of employees with disabilities, on protected leaves of absence, and requesting reasonable accommodation; wage and hour compliance; drug testing and substance abuse management; privacy; hiring practices; employment contracts; terminations and reductions in force; workplace safety and violence prevention; workplace investigations; whistle-blowing; trade secrets; and unfair business practices. Ms. McCoy earned her B.A. degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara and her J.D. degree from Golden Gate University School of Law.

 

Ralph R Smith III is a shareholder and co-chair of the labor & employment group of Capehart & Scatchard, P.A. Mr. Smith focuses his practice in employment litigation and preventative employment practices, including counseling employers on the creation of employment policies, non-compete and trade secret agreements, and training employers to avoid employment-related litigation. He represents both companies and individuals in related complex commercial litigation before federal states courts and administrative agencies in labor and employment cases including race, gender, age, national origin, disability; and workplace harassment and discrimination matters; wage-and-hour disputes; restrictive covenants; grievances; arbitrations; drug testing; and employment-related contract issues. Mr. Smith earned his B.A. degree, magna cum laude, from Temple University; and his J.D. degree, cum laude, from Temple University School of Law.