Agenda / Content Covered

1. Recent Developments in Employment Law
   9:00 — 9:30, Bryant Banes
2. Hiring/Recruiting
   9:30 — 10:30, Ezra Finkle
   1. Job Descriptions and Advertisements
      1. Critical Elements (and What to Leave Out)
      2. Record Keeping Requirements
   2. The Interview Process and Avoiding Discrimination
      1. Interviewer's Oral and Written Questions
      2. How to Answer a Candidate's Potentially Dangerous Questions (Religion, Pregnancy, etc.)
      3. Skill Tests
      4. Medical and Drug Testing
      5. Background Checks; Arrest and Conviction Inquiries
      6. Credit Checks
      7. Social Media/Networking Checks
   3. Hiring Independent Contractors
   4. Hiring Immigrant Workers
   5. Communicating with Unsuccessful Applicants
   6. Drafting Employment Contracts
3. Is Your Employee Handbook up to Date?: Essential Components and Sample Policies for Today's Workplace
   10:45 — 11:30, James Johnson
4. Wage and Benefit Issues
   12:30 — 1:45, Bryant Banes
   1. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
      1. Misclassification of Employees (Exempt/Non-Exempt)
      2. Unpaid Overtime or Prework Time
      3. Calculating the "Regular Rate"
      4. Meal and Rest Breaks
      5. Fluctuating Workweek Pay and Tip Credit
      6. Unauthorized Work and Working Off-the-Clock
      7. Non-Exempt Employee Travel
   2. Benefits: Health Insurance, Flex Spending and Retirement Plans
      1. Modifications to the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA)
      2. Changes to Flexible Spending Accounts
      3. Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Pitfalls to be Wary of
   3. Leave Policies: Required by Law?
      1. Vacation and Sick Leave
      2. Jury Duty and Voting Leave
      3. Military Leave - Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
      4. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
         1. Covered Employers and Eligible Employees
         2. Qualifying Reasons for Leave
         3. Notice Obligations
         4. Certification and Medical Documentation Requirements
         5. Leave, Reinstatement and Other Employee Rights
   4. Part-Time Employees and Temps: Wage and Benefit Obligations
   5. Unpaid Internships and Training Programs
   6. Record-Keeping: What and How Long
5. Discrimination and Harassment
   1:45 — 2:45, Laura Hernandez
   1. Title VII and Related State Laws
   2. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Amendments (ADAAA)
      1. Interpretation of "Disability"
      2. Shift to Employer Burden (Interactive Process)
      3. Handling Accommodation Requests
   3. Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
      1. Age Threshold and Employee Threshold
      2. Out-of-Retirement Issues
      3. Reduction-in-Force Issues
   4. Other Laws to be Aware of: Equal Pay Act (EPA), WARN, GINA, etc.
   5. Handling Complaints/EEOC
   6. Record Keeping/Retention Considerations
   7. Preventing Discrimination and Harassment
   8. Workers' Compensation Discrimination
   9. The Best Defense: Policies, Handbooks and Training
6. Employee Discipline and Termination
   3:00 — 3:45, Jeffery McElroy
   1. Evaluating Employee Performance While Mitigating Liability
   2. Employee Discipline Plan and Documentation
   3. Legal vs. Illegal Reasons for Terminating an Employee
   4. Disciplining an Employee Without Fearing a Retaliation Claim
7. Workplace Behavior and Privacy Issues
   3:45 — 4:30, James Johnson
   1. Employee Surveillance
   2. Searches of Desks, Smartphones, Lockers, Vehicles, Equipment, Briefcases, etc.
   3. Monitoring Employee Communications: Calls, Email and Internet Use
   4. Dress Code/Personal Appearance
   5. Drug and Alcohol Testing
   6. Psychological and Personality Tests
   7. Workplace Violence
   8. Off-Duty Behavior and Activities
   9. Policies to Have in Place

Accreditation Details:

Bryant S Banes is the managing partner of Neel, Hooper & Banes, P.C., in Houston, Texas. He practices in the areas of labor-management relations; wage and hour litigation, including prevailing wages; alternative dispute resolution and arbitration; and is board certified in labor and employment law. Mr. Banes litigates all types of civil matters before federal and state courts and boards and has briefed and argued numerous times before U.S. and State Court of Appeals. He has taught as an adjunct professor at both George Mason University and the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General's School. Mr. Banes earned his B.S. degree from Kansas State University and his J.D. degree from Louisiana State University.

Ezra L. Finkle is a partner with Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP in the firm's Houston office. He is a member of the general liability and transportation practices. Mr. Finkle has trial experience. He has obtained numerous dismissals by way of summary judgment and has had unfavorable rulings overturned by review and/or appeal. Mr. Finkle has taken and defended numerous depositions. He has published legal updates in both the fields of employment and medical malpractice law. Mr. Finkle earned his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Tulane University. He is a graduate of both the NITA Building Trial Skills program and the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel Trial Academy.

Laura A. Hernandez is an attorney with Seyfarth Shaw LLP at their Houston office. Ms. Hernandez assists clients in complying with the ever-changing employment law landscape. She began her practice as a labor and employment attorney, handling FLSA, FMLA, ADA, Title VII, Section 1981, OSHA, and other employment statutory laws. After practicing on the plaintiff side, she began representing employers in the same field. This background has provided her with unique insight into both perspectives of employment law matters. Ms. Hernandez received her B.A. degree from Cornell University, her M.A. degree from the University of Chicago and her J.D. degree from UCLA School of Law.

 

James J Johnson is a sole practitioner in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where his law practice is dominated by representing tax-exempt organizations, with special attention to how nonprofit corporations comply with education law, personnel law, contract law, and copyright law. Dr. Johnson has invested almost 30 years in litigation, with the past 20+ years including assignments on an as-needed basis, as a part-time trial judge in nonjury employment law adjudications governed by administrative law statutes, applying the usual rules of evidence, as well as most of the usual rules of civil procedure. These adjudications routinely require management of pretrial matters, including resolving pretrial discovery disputes, as well as other pretrial matters prior to presiding at bench trials on the merits, and followed by issuing dispositive orders, fact-findings on ultimate issues, trial record-based recommendations, lengthy opinions, and other forms of trial judge decision-making. Dr. Johnson’s litigation experience, as an attorney, is dominated by federal court practice (trial and appellate), including 20 years as a board-certified business bankruptcy law specialist in Texas. Many of those years have included his teamwork with paralegals, working together to solve problems and prepare cases for courtroom trials and evidentiary hearings, as well as oral depositions. He is admitted in Texas and Colorado, as well as in seven federal courts, and has been admitted pro hac vice to courts in Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Oregon, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Dr. Johnson has also practiced (as an attorney) regulatory law before a variety of federal and state administrative agencies. His opinions in this National Business Institute program (as well as in his many published law journal articles) are his own, as one who has both litigated and adjudicated in many court contexts, and do not represent the legal views or official positions of any governmental agency or court that he serves. With a post-doctoral certification by the Texas Attorney General's Office, he has also served as a paternity establishment officer, providing expert testimony in court and certifying forensic documentation for changing birth certificates, and for 10+ has served as a lecturer and expert on expert (especially as in relation to forensic sciences and empirical sciences). Also, as a college professor, he has taught several law-related college courses at LeTourneau University, Concordia University Texas at Fort Worth, ICR-SOBA, and Dallas Christian College.

Jeffery W McElroy is an attorney with Lovett Law Firm in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He is an experienced personal injury lawyer who focuses on general personal injury and employment litigation. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the El Paso Bar Association, and the State Bar of New Mexico. Mr. McElroy is admitted to practice in New Mexico; Texas; the U.S. District Court, District of New Mexico and the U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas. He received his B.A. degree from Baylor University and his J.D. degree from Baylor University School of Law.