Agenda / Content Covered

10:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time
Presenters: Molly B. Hough, Colin S. Seaborg, Brittany Skemp and Sheri L. Stewart

1. FLSA Changes: Dealing With Significant Impacts
   10:00 - 10:15
2. Intermittent FMLA Leave and Other Complicated Leave Issues
   10:15 - 11:15
   1. Sending FMLA Notices: Which Method is Best?
   2. When to Recertify Conditions
   3. Working With Healthcare Providers to Verify Intermittent Leave
      1. When to Get HIPAA Releases
      2. Frequency and Duration of Condition
      3. Verifying Patterns of Absenteeism
   4. Investigating Employee Absences: Social Media and Other Tools
   5. Alternatives to FMLA Leave: Light Duty Work and Other Considerations
   6. Best Practices for FMLA and Other Medical Leave Policies
3. Social Media Policies: Balancing Employer Needs With Employee Rights
   11:30 - 12:15
   1. Social Media and NLRA Violations for Non-Union Employers
   2. To What Extent May Employers Limit Social Media Use?
   3. Using Private Social Media Accounts for Business Purposes
   4. Using Social Media in Hiring Decisions
   5. Best Practices for Creating and Updating Social Media Policies
4. Proving - or Disproving - Employee Discrimination Claims
   12:45 - 1:45
   1. Burdens of Proof: ENDA, Title VII and Other Considerations
   2. Sufficient Documentation to Prove Prima Facie Cases
   3. How Employers can Satisfy the Burden of Production
   4. Burden of Persuasion: Establishing Pretext for Discrimination
   5. How Employer Documentation Makes or Breaks Discrimination Claims
   6. Current Issues and Updates: Pregnancy Discrimination, Religious Discrimination and Other Hot Topics
5. Hiring and Firing: Non-Compete, Non-Solicit and Confidentiality Agreements; Separation Agreements and Releases; Background Checks; and Other Considerations
   1:45 - 2:45
   1. How Enforceable are Non-Compete, Non-Solicit and Confidentiality Agreements?
      1. Geographic Scope
      2. Duration of Agreement
      3. Restricted Activities
      4. Potential Employer Liabilities in Hiring an Employee With an Agreement
   2. What Employers Can and Can't Ask About Criminal Backgrounds, Credit Histories, Etc.
   3. Legally Compliant Job Offers, Terms and Conditions of Employment Contracts
   4. Terminating Employees on Leave
   5. Creating Legally Sound Paper Trails for Terminations
   6. Separation Agreements and Releases
6. Drugs and Alcohol in the Workplace: Medical Marijuana and Other Considerations
   3:00 - 4:00
   1. State Medical and Recreational Marijuana Laws: An Overview
   2. Accommodating Medical Marijuana Users: Do Employers Have To?
   3. Drug Testing Considerations for Current and Prospective Employees
   4. Firing and Disciplining Medical Marijuana Users: Legal Perspectives
   5. Drug and Alcohol Policies: Mitigating Employee Confusion
7. Ethical Issues in Employment Law
   4:00 - 5:00
   1. Key Rules of Professional Conduct
   2. Confidentiality
   3. Privileged Communications
   4. Identifying and Avoiding Conflicts of Interest

Accreditation Details:

MOLLY B. HOUGH is a civil litigation attorney with the Minneapolis law firm of Bassford Remele, specializing in consumer law defense, commercial litigation, and employment and labor law, and who is motivated by a desire to serve as an advocate both in and outside of the courtroom, coming alongside others and helping them embrace their unique capabilities. In her daily professional life, Ms. Hough acts as a resource and guide for developing businesses as they navigate their responsibility in the world. And in all areas of her life, both as an attorney and passionate leader, she aims to help women embrace their necessary voices and leadership roles in their professional and personal lives, intent on helping make gender equality not just a buzzword but a celebrated fact of our current and future culture. Ms. Hough is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas Law School.

COLIN S. SEABORG is an attorney with Bassford Remele. Mr. Seaborg focuses his practice in the areas of product liability, employment law, commercial litigation, and appellate law. His experience includes defending manufacturers against product defect claims across the United States; defending employers against a variety of wrongful termination and discrimination claims in court and agency proceedings; and representing businesses in connection with contract and other commercial disputes. As part of his experience, Mr. Seaborg has drafted numerous dispositive motions and presented oral argument on a motion to dismiss in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. In addition, he has significant experience representing clients on appeals, both in defending a district court’s decision and appealing a court’s error. Before entering private practice, Mr. Seaborg served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Heidi Schellhas at the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Prior to his clerkship, he graduated summa cum laude from the University of St. Thomas School of Law. During law school, Mr. Seaborg participated in an appellate clinic, as a part of which he drafted briefs and presented oral argument before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and obtained the reversal of a district court’s dismissal of a federal civil rights claim. 

BRITTANY SKEMP is an attorney with the Minneapolis law firm of Bassford Remele, where she focuses her practice in the areas of employment law and commercial litigation, and defends businesses and professionals against liability and malpractice claims. Ms. Skemp is experienced in complex litigation and has handled numerous class and collective action cases representing clients across the United States. Her recent experience includes representing hundreds of class members in claims for unpaid wages, defending claims brought under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, and advising employers on the numerous rules and regulations they must follow. Before joining Bassford Remele, she served as a law clerk with the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and as a legal extern with the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota. Ms. Skemp is a magna cum laude graduate of William Mitchell College of Law. She has been selected to the Minnesota Rising Stars list by Super Lawyers.

SHERI L. STEWART is an attorney with the Minneapolis law firm of Bassford Remele. She focuses her practice in employment, consumer law and general liability matters. Ms. Stewart is a member of the Emerging Leaders Group of Twin Cities Diversity in Practice and the Minnesota Black Women Lawyers Network. She is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and received her undergraduate degree in philosophy with a minor in African studies from Wellesley College.