Event | Webinar

2021 US Labor & Employment Webinar Week: Insights and Compliance Strategies for a New World

Region: Americas

1-4 February 2021

12 p.m. – 5 p.m. EDT

Webinar

Related Professionals:

It is no secret that the labor and employment law landscape looks very different than it did a year ago. This past year presented employers with countless challenges, but also provided tremendous opportunities to learn and adapt, and more changes loom on the horizon. As we look forward to healthier and more productive months ahead, please join our team of Labor & Employment lawyers for a series of informative webinars addressing business-focused labor, employment, business immigration, and employee benefits developments and trends, as well as strategies for success moving forward.

This complimentary webinar series will feature 20 individual sessions over the course of four days. Attend one, a handful, or each of the webinars as you plan your employment law compliance strategies for the future.

CLE, HRCI and SHRM have been approved.

Topics and presenters include:

Monday, February 1, 2021
1 – 2 p.m. EST		2020 Employment Litigation Year in Review D. Lewis Clark Jr.; Jill Kirila; Melissa Legault Session Recording Presentation Materials To say that 2020 was eventful would be quite the understatement to say the least, and although employers have been grappling with the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the courts have nonetheless been busy issuing rulings that affect employers beyond COVID-19. In this session, we will review significant employment litigation decisions from 2020, including the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, along with other important employment cases that employers need to be aware of moving forward. During the discussion, we will provide practical guidance on what these developments mean for employers and will look ahead to preview some of the key issues that may dominate the legal landscape in 2021 and beyond.
2 – 3 p.m. EST		Wage and Hour Developments – New Pay and Compensation Pitfalls Carmen Cole, Michael Kelly and Jennifer Harper Session Recording Presentation Materials From dealing with remote workers and an alphabet soup of new laws providing interim compensation to employees, to changing definitions of independent contractors, 2020 saw a lot of change but one constant – flyspecking plaintiff lawyers quick to file class actions over seemingly small violations. We will look at some of the trends likely to stay with us and review some of the changes a Biden administration is likely to pursue – an increase to the federal minimum wage, a crackdown on wage theft, and more – as well as review which ones it may actually be able to implement.
On demand		International Labor & Employment Law Updates Caroline Noblet, Bruno Di Girolami, Sarah Lawrence, Annabel Mace, Jose Martin and Julia Yeo Are you an employer with international operations? If so, do not miss this around-the-world trip with colleagues from our global offices as we cover important labor, employment and business immigration legal developments in 2020 and look ahead to 2021 in the Asia Pacific, Australia, European Union, Latin America and Middle East regions. These are on-demand sessions. Please register for those of which you have interest, and we will share the webinar recording(s) with you via email. EU On Demand Recording Presentation Materials Global Mobility On Demand Recording Presentation Materials Asia Pacific On Demand Recording Presentation Materials Australia On Demand Recording Presentation Materials Middle East On Demand Recording Presentation Materials Latin America On Demand Recording Presentation Materials
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
Noon – 1 p.m. EST		Post-Election Perspectives: A State of the Union From Our Public Policy Team Ed Newberry, Traci Martinez, Jennifer Harper and David Stewart Session Recording Presentation Materials Join us for an update on the impact of the US Elections, focusing on federal employment issues and the outcome of the Georgia senate race. You will hear from our preeminent Public Policy professionals in a panel setting about how the election results may impact your labor and employment interests over the next four years and beyond.
1 – 3:15 p.m. EST		COVID-19 Update: Even Hindsight Isn’t 20/20 Michael Hanna, Michael Kelly, Jill Kirila and Laura Lawless The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges to employers, affecting all areas of their businesses and employees’ personal lives. Despite efforts at containment, the virus continues to vex employers. In this comprehensive multisession update, we will address the myriad ways the virus has impacted the employment landscape, from ushering in new safety and health protocols and reporting requirements, introducing new federal legislation requiring paid time off, requiring creative accommodation measures, making remote and flexible work arrangements the “new normal,” and state-level measures impacting employer liability for employee COVID-19 illness.
1 – 1:45 p.m. EST		Session 1: Leaves and Accommodations Jill Kirila and Laura Lawless Session Recording Presentation Materials Session 1 of this in-depth look at employment issues presented by the COVID-19 pandemic will discuss recent and contemplated leave legislation at the federal and state level, and review the protection that state paid sick and family leave laws and existing federal leave requirements provide for employees impacted by the pandemic. This session will also focus on the unique challenges employers face when receiving requests for COVID-19-related disability and family care accommodation, and how pandemic-related accommodations may shape the future of the interactive dialogue requirement for years to come.
1:45 – 2:30 p.m. EST		Session 2: Remote Work, Return-to-Work and Benefits – When the New Normal Conflicts With the Old Normal and How to Provide Compliant Benefits Michael Kelly Session Recording Presentation Materials No one can deny that businesses have learned a lot about how to get the most from remote workers and many may choose to continue offering remote work as an option. At the same time, employers will likely want to reconstruct many of the benefits of in-person work. Navigating that return with employees who have their own preferences educated by their pandemic experience can be complicated, especially as employees assert childcare and disability-related reasons for their preferences. We will explore remote work best practices, strategies for brining employees back, how to anticipate and address employee objections, as well as new Employee Benefit issues made more complicated by the evolving workplace.
2:30 – 3:15 p.m. EST		Session 3: COVID-19 Health and Safety: Protect Your Workplace Michael Hanna Session Recording Presentation Materials This session will focus on the continuing evolution of safety and health measures aimed at protecting employees and the public from COVID-19 spread in the workplace. From the CDC to OSHA to local agencies, employers have an ever-increasing number of regulations and guidelines to monitor as they navigate how to best protect their workers. Join us to discuss control and prevention measures, face masks policies, vaccination quandaries, possible accommodations and more.
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
1 – 2 p.m. EST		Promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lawfully and Effectively Carmen Cole and guest speaker Natalie Norfus Session Recording Presentation Materials As companies work to focus and refocus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, this session, featuring guest speaker Natalie Norfus, will address the different ways companies have succeeded, why such efforts are important and how to implement such initiatives practically, effectively and lawfully. Regardless of whether your company is evaluating the benefits of DEI, just launching its program, or elevating its efforts, explore the do’s and don’ts with us, how to identify priorities and the potential pitfalls.
2 – 3 p.m. EST		NLRB Update for Union and Non-Union Employers: Employer Friendly in 2020, But Changes Loom in 2021 Michael Hanna, Daniel Pasternak and Will Kishman Session Recording Presentation Materials In this session, we will cover the significant NLRB decisions and new rules that issued in 2020, addressing, among other things, protected concerted activity, work rules, arbitration, elections rules and collective bargaining, as well as discuss the near certain shift from the current employer-friendly makeup of the Board to a more labor and employee-friendly agenda of an anticipated Board comprised of a majority of Biden administration appointees in 2021. During the discussion, we will focus on practical steps that employers can take to benefit from favorable developments and protect themselves against potential upcoming risks.
3 – 4 p.m. EST		Managing Overlapping Leave Laws – ADA, FMLA, Workers Compensation, and More – and Reasonable Accommodations Meghan Hill and Karen Wentzel Session Recording Presentation Materials Managing overlapping state and federal leave laws has become even more challenging in the time of COVID-19 and remote work. However, not all requests for leave are necessarily directly COVID-19-related. This session will provide updates on what employers must do to comply with the law and provide reasonable accommodations for their employees in other situations, while remaining cognizant of the changes that COVID-19 has brought to the analysis of what is “reasonable.”
4 – 5 p.m. EST		Immigration in Transition Samuel Mudrick and Greg Wald Session Recording Presentation Materials After four years of executive orders, travel bans, frenetic rule making and corresponding federal injunctions, what will US Immigration look like under a Biden administration? We will review the current state of play, expected policy changes (in the short and long term) and the prospects of immigration reform legislation.
Thursday, February 4, 2021
Noon – 1 p.m. EST		Employment Law Ethics Issues for In-House Counsel Daniel Pasternak and Donald Wall Session Recording Presentation Materials In-house counsel regularly confront thorny ethical questions when addressing their clients’ employment matters. In this session, we will discuss attorney-client privilege, confidentiality, lawyer as witness and other ethics issues that frequently arise in the employment law context.
1 – 1:45 p.m. EST		The Total Legal Landscape: A Plenary Overview of Federal and State Legislative Developments and Trends D. Lewis Clark Jr. and Laura Lawless Session Recording Presentation Materials Although COVID-19 dominated many legislative agendas in 2020, there were other key labor and employment legislative updates and developments at the federal and state levels. This session will get employers up to speed on recent and anticipated federal legislation, as well as major legislative trends at the state level, and will be followed by individual state-specific breakout sessions covering legislative developments in California, New York, Ohio and other states.
On demand		California Breakout Session: New Developments From the Left Coast Karen Wentzel On Demand Recording Presentation Materials California once again leads the way with new legislative developments that all California employers need to know. We will present a quick recap of 2020 changes and new laws taking effect in 2021.
On demand		Ohio Breakout Session: Positive Developments in the Buckeye State Meghan Hill and Joseph D’Andrea On Demand Recording Presentation Materials The Ohio Legislature was active in 2020, mostly to the benefit of employers. In this session, hear from two lawyers who testified before the Ohio Legislature on HB352 about which bills Ohio employers need to watch and how you can prepare for them.
On demand		New York Breakout Session: A New York Minute of Employment Update Katharine Liao On Demand Recording Presentation Materials This New York-specific session will present a quick recap of 2020 changes and takeaways for employment legislation in New York and what to look out for in 2021.
On demand		Other States Breakout Session: State Law Roundup Ariel Cohen and Shennan Harris On Demand Recording Presentation Materials In this session, we will provide a high-level overview of recent and anticipated developments at the state and local levels across the country (other than California, New York and Ohio, which are covered in separate breakout sessions), including new paid family/medical leave laws, new sick leave laws, developments on the pay equity front, minimum wage and exempt employee salary level changes, drug testing regulations and more.
2 – 3 p.m. EST		Non-Competes in Uncharted Territory: Protecting Your Interests Under Restricted Covenants in 2021 Katharine Liao, Traci Martinez and Will Kishman Session Recording Presentation Materials This session will discuss how recent legal and practical developments have affected non-competition and non-solicitation agreements. We will cover key developments in 2020 to applicable standards, discuss trends in drafting and enforcement, and provide practical advice for protecting your interests before and during litigation, while avoiding new potential pitfalls relating to remote working and COVID-19.
3 – 4 p.m. EST		Employee Benefits and ERISA Update Session Recording Presentation Materials Between the SECURE Act, CARES Act, and various IRS and DOL updates throughout the year, 2020 was certainly a busy year for employee benefits changes. This session will review those changes and provide an overview of things to come in 2021.