Peter M. Panken, Member of the Firm, serves as a Planning Chair and will co-present the following:
Retaliation, Whistleblower Protection, and Sarbanes-Oxley Developments: In addition to the exponential rise in retaliation cases as an add-on or even stand-alone claim in employment cases, the Supreme Court has constantly eased the burden on plaintiffs. In several cases the Court has expanded the definition of adverse employment action and implied a retaliation cause of action despite the absence of a specific retaliation prohibition in two separate statutes. The latest case law in this ever evolving field and the implications of the newly enacted Dodd-Frank law are outlined.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): A Trap for Unwary Employers and the Trend to Class and Collective Actions: Federal and state wage and hour litigation continues to increase dramatically, with plaintiffs pursuing individual, class, and collective actions. This panel addresses the key issues in the litigation, including pre-work activities at home, donning and doffing, commuting time, misclassification issues, joint employment, and hybrid-collective class actions.
Reductions in Force: Choosing Without Losing: A discussion of the issues that arise in connection with a reduction in force, including structuring reductions in force to minimize exposure, the effect of Meachem on RIF's, safe harbors, WARN notices, enforceable releases and the requirements of the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, and structuring severance packages to avoid liability.
Frank C. Morris, Jr., Member of the Firm, will co-present the following:
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA): With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act the focus of litigation has shifted from who has a disability to whether there is a "reasonable accommodation" available which would permit a person with a disability to perform the essential functions of the job. A senior EEOC official and a defense practitioner bring us up to date on the most recent developments, including proposed new EEOC regulations that address disability definitions, the search for reasonable accommodation, safety concerns, and the ability to perform the essential functions of a job.
Electronic Discovery Problems: Issues regarding the discovery and admissibility of email, social media, and other electronically stored information (ESI) continue to dominate employment law practice. Two federal magistrate judges, both of whom have written and spoken extensively on these issues, address preservation issues, how to properly frame discovery, staged searches of ESI, proportionality, and sanctions. They also discuss ESI retention programs, early case assessment, litigation holds, framing Rule 34 discovery requests in light of the new e-discovery rules, the importance of the Rule 26(f) conference, the role of experts in constructing search protocols, and techniques to manage exploding costs of e-discovery.
Age Discrimination Update: With the increase in unemployment and the aging of the baby boomers, there will be an increase in Age Discrimination cases. This session outlines the latest developments and risks involved in dealing with this aging population.
For more information, please visit the ALI-ABA website.
