Employment Law 2023: Advanced Issues and Solutions

Agenda / Content Covered

1. Employment Litigation, Enforcement, and Guidance Update
   10:00 - 10:45, Kathryn M. Cimera
   1. Case Law and Legislative Updates
   2. 2023 Supreme Court Updates: Notable Employment Law Rulings
   3. NLRB Update
   4. Other Essential Developments You Can’t Afford to Miss
2. FLSA Updates: What You Need to Know
   10:45 - 11:45, Kathryn M. Cimera
   1. Summary of Recent Developments in Wage and Hour Law
   2. Key Challenges in Worker Classification
   3. Gig Workers, Contractors, and Freelancers: Current Issues and Updates
   4. Wage and Hour Claims Concerning Remote Workers: What Attorneys Need to Know
   5. Expert Insights Into Overtime Laws (Including a Review of the Helix Ruling)
   6. Pay Transparency and Equity - The Latest Developments
3. Addressing Intermittent FMLA Leave and Other Thorny Leave Issues
   12:00 - 12:45, Jonathan V. Rehm
   1. The Interplay of the FMLA, ADA, State Leave Laws, and Workers' Comp Laws - Top Challenges
   2. Case Law Developments, Hot Topics, and Legislative Updates
   3. Managing Intermittent Leave: Top Legal Challenges
   4. Guidelines for Investigating Employee Absences
   5. FMLA and Other Medical Leave Policies: Legal Best Practices
   6. Disciplining and Firing Employees on Leave: Solutions to Common Challenges
4. Proving - and Disproving - Discrimination Claims: Essential Guidelines
   12:45 - 1:15, Jeremy A. Stephenson
   1. Burdens of Proof: Title VII and Other Considerations
   2. Practical Guidance for Satisfying the Burden of Production
   3. Burden of Persuasion: Establishing Pretext for Discrimination
   4. Employer Documentation: Why It Matters
   5. Discrimination Case Law Developments, Hot Topics, and Regulatory Updates
5. Whistleblower Law and Retaliation Claims: Insights From the Pros
   1:45 - 2:30, Jonathan V. Rehm
   1. Whistleblower Statutes: Key Protections for Employers and Employees
   2. Whistleblower Rewards, Damages, and Remedies
   3. Legal Best Practices for Preventing Retaliation Claims
   4. Costly Mistakes Employers Commonly Make That Lead to Litigation
   5. Hot Topics and Trends in Whistleblowing and Retaliation Litigation
6. Non-Compete, Non-Solicit, and Non-Disclosure Agreements: Top Challenges and Hidden Dangers
   2:30 - 3:00, Hannesson Murphy
   1. Proposed Rule to Ban Non-Competes: Where We Stand Today
   2. Dynamic Techniques for Drafting Non-Compete, Non-Solicit, and Non-Disclosure Agreements
   3. Common Mistakes That Lead to Unenforceability
   4. 5 Secrets to Safeguarding Business Interests
   5. Hiring Employees With Existing Non-Compete Agreements
   6. Breach of Confidentiality: Key Hurdles for Proving/Disproving
7. Overcoming Difficulties With Workplace Investigations
   3:15 - 4:00, Jennifer A. Corso
   1. Challenges When Navigating EEOC Investigations
   2. The Art of Conducting Virtual Investigations
   3. Interviewing Reluctant or Difficult Witnesses - Cutting-Edge Techniques
   4. Determining Witness Credibility: Secrets and Insider Tips
   5. Conducting Investigations of Executives for Workplace Misconduct - Key Challenges
   6. Workplace Investigations Gone Wrong: Real-Life Examples
8. Ethics for Employment Law Attorneys
   4:00 - 5:00, Kristyne E. Kennedy
   1. Privileged Communications
   2. Who Is the Client?
   3. Rules of Professional Conduct
   4. Confidentiality
   5. Conflicts of Interest
   6. Attorneys' Fees

Accreditation Details:

Kathryn M. Cimera is an attorney at Mallor Grodner LLP, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Ms. Cimera focuses her practice on advising and counseling employers on compliance with federal, state, and local employment; equal opportunity laws; and benefit laws; as well as complaints involving claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful discharge. She also has experience with ERISA Compliance and fiduciary obligations and board governance practices. Ms. Cimera is admitted to practice in Indiana and California, and before the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, and the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. She earned her B.A. degree from Indiana University and her J.D. degree from Pepperdine University School of Law. She also currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at Indiana University, teaching employment law through the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Jennifer A. Corso is an attorney at Petronzio Schneier Co., LPA. She has more than 20 years of experience representing management in employment and labor law, and is certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a specialist in labor and employment law. Ms. Corso has written several articles and spoken at numerous seminars to community business groups on employment law topics. She is licensed to practice before all courts in the state of Ohio and the U.S. Federal Court in the Northern District of Ohio. Ms. Corso earned her B.S. degree from Eastern Michigan University and her J.D. degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Kristyne E. Kennedy is a partner with Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A.’s Orlando office. She represents management in employment litigation before state and federal courts in Florida and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Florida Commission on Human Relations, Department of Labor, and other administrative agencies. Ms. Kennedy also provides counseling to management regarding ongoing employment and labor matters and policy development, with an emphasis on pre­ventive practices. Ms. Kennedy earned her B.A. degree from University of Central Florida and her J.D. degree from University of Miami.

Hannesson Murphy is a partner in Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Indianapolis, Indiana office and a member of the firm’s labor and employment law department. He has extensive experience counseling and advising employers in all aspects of managing the employment relationship with their workforce. Mr. Murphy has defended employers in connection with privately-negotiated settlements, arbitration proceedings and hearings, administrative proceedings, class and collective actions, and every manner of litigated claims in state and federal courts across the country, from the filing of a claim through trial and on appeal. Additionally, he has co-authored several guides for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, including the current editions of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Indiana Employer’s Guide to Monitoring Electronic Technology in the Workplace and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce’s Indiana Guide to Hiring and Firing. Mr. Murphy is admitted to practice in Indiana, Florida and the District of Columbia, and before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He earned his B.A. degree from Florida International University and his J.D. degree from the University of Miami School of Law.

Jonathan V. Rehm is an attorney with Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm Attorneys at Law P.C., L.L.O., practicing in the areas of workers' compensation, employment, and personal injury. Mr. Rehm represents employees across the state of Nebraska in workers' compensation and wrongful termination cases. He also represents accident victims in their disputes with insurance companies. Mr. Rehm is a member of the Nebraska Association of Trial Lawyers, and the American Association of Justice, Board of Governors for New Lawyers Division. He earned his B.S. degree from Northwestern University and his J.D. degree from the University of Nebraska College of Law.

Jeremy A. Stephenson is of counsel with the law firm of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he provides counseling and litigation services to management clients in employment and related corporate matters. He has successfully defended employers before administrative agencies around the country, and the state and federal courts in North Carolina, against claims of employment discrimination, wrongful termination, breach of contract, wage and hour violations, non-compete agreements, trade secrets, and related business litigation. Mr. Stephenson regularly publishes articles and is invited to speak on topics of employment law, litigation and trial tactics, insurance law, and corporate risk management topics He is a recent past president of the Charlotte Area Society of Human Resource Managers and is currently the Government Affairs director for NCSHRM. Mr. Stephenson has extensive experience providing insurance coverage counseling and litigation services on employment practices liability insurance (EPLI), directors and officers (D&O), general liability (GL), errors & omissions (E&O), and other lines of coverage. He litigates in the state and federal courts of North Carolina in cases pertaining to professional liability, products liability, and other areas of civil and corporate liability. Mr. Stephenson earned his B.A. degree from the University of Virginia and his J.D. degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.