How to Become a Best Workplace Starting Today!
Best employers stay current on trends in employment law to avoid disruptive and expensive audits, charges and lawsuits. Please join us on Thursday, April 7, for our 33rd Annual Labor and Employment Seminar as we team with Oregon Business magazine to discuss current employment trends. The seminar will be held at The Benson Hotel. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.; program is held from 8 a.m. to noon.
This annual seminar, geared toward employers, managers, human resource professionals and corporate counsel, is part of our ongoing Employment Law School for Managers® series.
Agenda:
7:30 – 8 a.m. Registration and Breakfast
8 – 8:05 a.m. Welcome and Introduction
8:05 – 8:45 a.m. What Your Benefits Lawyer Would Tell You If You Would Just Return His Call
Craig A. Day
Employee benefits laws are changing rapidly and new issues are cropping up even in the most ordinary HR transactions. Even if your work does not involve employee benefits, knowing something about COBRA, ERISA, Section 409A and the Affordable Care Act will help you go about your daily business without subjecting your company or employees to penalties or visits from the DOL or IRS. If you are responsible for your organization’s employee benefits, you will learn about recent developments and receive practical advice about how to keep your employee benefit plans running smoothly.
8:45 – 9:30 a.m. Best Practices for Handling the Annoyed Employee and Handling the Whistleblower
Susan K. Eggum
Companies frequently face exposure by inadequately handling internal complaints. This presentation will address the best practices for responding to complainants ranging from the annoyed employee to the whistleblower. Topics will include implementing open-door and anonymous complaint protocols, conducting prompt and thorough investigations, and issuing company responses.
9:30 – 9:45 a.m. Break
9:45 – 10 a.m. Potential Workplace Impacts of Oregon Legislative Activity in the Medical and Recreational Marijuana Space
David G. Hosenpud
The Oregon Legislature this past year has introduced several measures to amend the Medical Marijuana Act. If passed, will legislative amendments impact your drug-free workplace policies?
10 – 10:30 a.m. Barriers to Website Accessibility and the Current Wave of ADA Title III Website Accessibility Litigation
David G. Hosenpud
Does your business website expose the company to potential ADA Title III violations? What are your best practices to avoid being swept into the growing tide of litigation in light of the rapidly evolving legal environment?
10:30 – 11:15 a.m. Lessons In Risk Management: the ADA and Arbitration
William E. Weiner
This presentation will primarily provide guidance for complying with the employee disability protection laws, including their intersection with various leave laws. In addition, the presentation will separately address the pros and cons for implementing mandatory arbitration agreements.
11:15 a.m. – 12 p.m. The Changing Landscape of Labor and Employment Laws and How to Best Meet the Key Challenges That Lie Ahead
Paul M. Ostroff
This presentation will review recent developments in labor and employment law, including state and federal legislation and regulations, regulatory agency practices, and trends in court decisions. We will also focus on some of the major developments that are likely to be faced by employers in the coming year, such as changes in overtime regulations, increased regulatory scrutiny in such areas as equal pay compliance, religious discrimination, and employee selection, and how employers can remain compliant and competitive in an uncertain legal environment.