41st Annual Employment Law Seminar

Join us for our 41st annual Employment Law Seminar on Friday, May 10, 2024 where our Employment Practice Group will present on the latest employment law developments facing businesses!

About the Event

Date: Friday, May 10, 2024
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Eden Resort & Suites, 222 Eden Rd, Lancaster, PA 17601

Registration:
To register by May 6, please visit: Employment Law Seminar
Early Bird Rate (until April 10): $45.00 fee per person
Regular Rate (after April 10): $65.00 fee per person

Breakfast and lunch will be served. Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails will be provided during the networking happy hour.

The seminar is approved for attendees to receive 5 HRCI or SHRM credits. This program will also be submitted to PACLE for attorneys to receive continuing legal education credits. More information to come at a later date.

Stay up to date with the latest developments by joining our Employment Practice Group mailing list at the link here. Questions? Please contact Jennifer Mowen at 717-553-1066 or jmowen@barley.com.

Agenda

8:00am – 9:00am – Registration and Breakfast

Session 1 – 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM

Navigating the Complexities of the Family and Medical Leave Act: Strategies to Mitigate Your Risks
Presented by Jennifer Craighead Carey

What do you do if you suspect an employee is abusing FMLA leave? Must you grant intermittent FMLA if it poses an undue hardship? What do you do if you suspect an employee is doctor shopping? If an employee is off on FMLA, can you eliminate the employee’s position if you discover the employee is no longer needed? The FMLA and its regulations contain a morass of requirements that can create legal risks for employers. In this session, we will address thorny FMLA issues and provide strategies on how to handle such issues. The course will include a review of hypotheticals based on recent case law and audience members will be asked through voting to weigh in on how to handle them. The objectives of this course are to update employers on recent FMLA developments, identify comment traps, and educate employers on strategies to mitigate legal risks.

The State of the Nation and State – Wage and Hour Version – with an Update on the Status of Non-Compete Agreements
Presented by Jill Sebest Welch

It’s an election year, which could mean a rush to get pending rules and regulations on the books. In this session, Jill will explore wage and hour developments under federal and state law, including: What are the recent trends in wage and hour litigation? What is the status of the white collar overtime exemptions under the FLSA and under Pennsylvania regulations? How has the U.S. Department of Labor clarified the regular rate? What is the impact of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Amazon decision on employer pay practices? What is the scope and status of the Federal Trade Commission proposed rule banning non-compete agreements?

Did Someone Say Ambush?!: An Interactive Simulation Demonstrating the Speed of the NLRB’s New Election Rules
Presented by Kevin Moore and Caleb Setlock

In December 2023, the NLRB expedited the election process to create unionized workplaces. Specifically, new rules greatly compress the time between when a representation petition is filed and the actual election itself. For employers, it can be hard to lawfully, intelligibly and swiftly navigate the complexities of previously unbothered laws and rules. In this hands-on seminar, Kevin and Caleb will simulate the election process while demonstrating how the new rules play a role in ambush elections.

Session 2 – 10:45 AM to 12:00 PM

Re-defining “Win”: How to Advantageously Settle Employment Law Litigation
Presented by David Freedman

Litigators usually focus extensively on “winning” employment discrimination lawsuits at trial. But statistics show that employment discrimination lawsuits are much more likely to settle than to go to trial. If that’s the case, shouldn’t businesses addressing employee relations issues be thinking about how their actions now might affect their ability to settle a later-filed lawsuit? How can human resource professionals make sure that the companies they represent are in the best position to negotiate an early resolution? What are the pros and cons of settling a case early on? What are the various stages when settlement negotiations can be explored, and when is the best time to explore settlement? How can employers figure out which cases must be litigated to a final resolution: win, lose, or draw? In this session, David will discuss risk management strategies that employers can implement, both before litigation and during the course of litigation, to minimize risk and facilitate acceptable early resolutions.

Workers’ Compensation: Disputes Over Return to Work
Presented by Joshua Schwartz and Michael Vanasse of Vanasse Law

Most workers’ compensation claims proceed smoothly. The unfortunate injury occurs, the injured worker gets treatment and gets better, and everyone moves on. Sometimes, though, an injured worker and the employer disagree about whether and when a return to work is appropriate. And sometimes those disagreements lead the parties to court. In this session, Mike (who represents injured workers) and Josh (who represents employers) will discuss a hypothetical scenario involving an independent medical examination, a light duty program, and a dispute over work ability, with a focus on how employers can minimize financial exposure and most effectively facilitate resolution of the injury claim.

Barley’s State of the Union
Presented by Michael Crocenzi

It may be May and not the normal time for a State of the Union address, but we will review the recent cases and trends from the federal courts, what may be happening at Congress and the federal agencies, and conclude with what is happening at the state level, including Pennsylvania. It will be a tour de force of employment law!

12:00 PM to 1:30 PM – Lunch & Networking

Session 3 – 1:30 PM to 2:45 PM

Are Workplace DEI Programs Legal? Assessing DEI in 2024
Presented by Jennifer Craighead Carey and Joshua Schwartz

In Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in the college admissions process. However, the case did not address the legality of DEI in the workplace. Nonetheless, in the wake of this ruling, plaintiffs’ attorneys have begun targeting workplace DEI programs, with heightened focus on certain industry groups, including law firms. In this session, we will address the legal parameters around DEI programs and recent litigation targeting such programs. We will provide practical advice on the administration of such programs. We will also address some common questions around DEI programs such as whether employees can be compelled to participate in DEI training, whether employers can establish placement goals for hiring and promotions, and when the content of such programs causes legal risks. The goal of this session is to present the issues and discuss the law so that attendees can make their own judgments about the best way to implement such programs.

Managing Your Employee Benefit Plans: Lessons Learned from Recent Litigation
Presented by Mark Smith and Karen Toth

Not only are plan sponsors, including businesses and tax-exempt organizations, increasingly the targets of regulatory enforcement actions and lawsuits, but various individuals involved in the implementation and administration of benefit plans are, with growing frequency, held personally liable for errors and omissions that adversely impact plan participants and beneficiaries. Join us for this timely “fiduciary check-up” to help identify and avert potential problems. We will highlight what plan fiduciaries should understand to fulfill their responsibilities and the steps they must take to proactively implement processes to ensure that plan fiduciaries comply with the duties the law imposes.

A Workshop on the Often Overlooked But Important Employment Policies & Practices
Presented by Susanna Fultz and Caleb Setlock

We all know about the importance of at-will and contract disclaimers, EEO statements, harassment reporting guidelines, FMLA and the accommodation process policies. While these are very important policies and rightfully get revisited periodically, they are not often the most used by employees. Instead, that title lies with often overlooked policies such remote work capabilities, drug testing, social media, nepotism and romantic relationships, administrative pay corrections and manager alteration of timecards, employee privacy and security inspections, and breastfeeding availability. It is important that these policies are up to date with an employer’s current day practices and compliant across any applicable laws. During this session, Sue and Caleb will cover these often-overlooked policies and advise on best policy language, best employer practices, and general legal discussion with updates.

Session 4 – 3:00pm – 4:00pm

What is Undue Hardship Anyway?
Presented by Jill Sebest Welch and Susanna Fultz

Can we accommodate that? This session will walk through the steps to evaluate an employee’s request for an accommodation due to their disability under the framework of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

– What is a disability?
– Who is a qualified individual?
– The ADA good faith interactive process and the role of medical information
– The undue burden defense
– The direct threat exception

The session will integrate the EEOC Guidance on reasonable accommodations and undue hardship, interactive hypotheticals, and recent updates from the PUMP Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

AI: Workplace Efficiency or Skynet?
Presented by Michael Crocenzi

We will learn how AI is transforming the workplace, especially how HR professionals are using it to be more efficient from creating job descriptions, ads, policies and hiring practices. However, the power of AI has its limits, so we will consider the EEOC’s recent guidance on AI and other common pitfalls.

Navigating Form I-9 Compliance: Best Practices, Updates & Work Authorization Paths for Foreign Nationals
Presented by Andrew Mahon

Form I-9 compliance is crucial for employers to maintain a legal and efficient workforce. Stay informed about the latest best practices and relevant updates to Form I-9 policies. Discover the option for remote physical inspection of Form I-9 documents, a particularly valuable resource for employers enrolled in E-Verify, streamlining the verification process while adhering to regulatory requirements. We will also provide detailed exploration of the various paths available for foreign nationals to obtain work authorization, including DACA, TPS, pending applications filed in immigration court, and pending applications for permanent resident status.

4:00-5:00pm – Networking Happy Hour!
Join us after the educational sessions for a networking happy hour! Hors d’oeuvres and cocktails will be provided. We hope you will stay to connect with us and your fellow HR professionals!