Employment Law Virtual Crash Course for Supervisors: Agenda

Session 1: 9:45 a.m.-10:30 a.m. (All Times Central)
Use a Hiring Process That Doesn’t Trigger a Lawsuit
Supervisors and HR staff have to uncover vital information about candidates, but asking inappropriate questions about an religious preference or workers’ comp history are just some of the ways to trigger an expensive hiring headache. This session will teach the careful steps to take when selecting top performers.

Key Learning Points:

• What one must never say, write, or do when involved in the hiring process
• Generating interest in a job opening without getting accused of race or sex discrimination
• Assessing job applications and references without incurring legal risks
• Using background checks to help you in the hiring process
• Declining an applicant without sparking recriminations
• Overcoming legal risks associated with non-compete agreements, arbitration agreements and probationary periods
  

Break: 10:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m.

Session 2: 10:45 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
How Effective Documentation Can Reduce the Chances of Litigation
“Not in writing? It never happened!” These words can have a devastating impact if you don’t have written documentation that tracks the history of an employee’s performance. Without a vital paper trail, you and your company are left exposed and unable to disprove an employee’s claim of discrimination or harassment. In this session, attendees learn why the documentation process is more important than ever, and how it can protect your company from employee lawsuits.

Learning Points:

• Why documentation is so important to key players in the employment law landscape, such as the EEOC, U.S. Department of Labor, employees, judges and juries
• How good documentation helps employers prove and display they’ve treated employees fairly -- and why the appearance of fairness is so crucial if you go to trial
• The 10 Golden Rules of documentation every HR professional and supervisor must know
• How to be consistent in documenting an employee’s job performance
• The role of documentation in employee disciplinary action -- and how it can shield you from litigation
• What to do when an employee refuses to sign a disciplinary notice or performance evaluation
  

Session 3: 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Navigating Tricky Employee Leave Issues
Employee leave can easily become a major source of frustration for today’s employer because leave laws can be difficult to understand. Plus, the many ways in which an employee can demand time off from work leads to multiple opportunities for conflict. In this session, we’ll review the major laws that provide for employee leave and ways to avoid the headaches that come with each one.

Learning Points:

• Step-by-step response when an employee asks for leave under FMLA
• How FMLA can impact pregnancy leave
• Federal leave laws that pertain to employees serving in the military, such as the Department of Labor’s new FMLA rules and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
• How to make sure your leave policies are in compliance with the ADA
• Workers’ Compensation laws: Who’s eligible? How does workers’ comp intersect with other leave laws?
• What to do if you suspect an employee is giving a false FMLA, ADA, or workers’ comp story
• What’s next? Federal legislation that would require mandatory paid leave
  

Extended Break: 12:15 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

Session 4: 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.
Preventing Workplace Discrimination and Harassment
In this session, participants learn how to become the first line of defense against discrimination and harassment lawsuits. They learn crucial responsibilities to avoid discrimination and harassment, and stop it when detected in others. Plus, they’ll learn how to put an end to inappropriate behavior or language before it snowballs.

Key Learning Points:

• The various discrimination laws, including those addressing gender, race, sexual orientation, religion and other characteristics
• How recent changes to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) can trigger a discrimination complaint
• How to avoid ageism claims when supervising older workers
• What constitutes sexual harassment— and how to use EEOC guidelines for preventing it in the workplace
• Why banter or jokes based on race, sex, religion, national origin, age, and disability can result in devastating lawsuits
• What to do if a worker comes to you with a complaint of discrimination or harassment or asks for accommodation because of religious beliefs
• New anti-discrimination laws, including the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Session 5: 2:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
How to Identify, Address and Prevent Workplace Retaliation
In this session, attendees learn the specifics of worker retaliation, the laws against it, and precise actions one must never take when a discrimination claim is filed.

Key Learning Points:

• What’s unlawful retaliation
• Lessons to learn from the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent retaliation rulings
• Anti-retaliation strategies you can apply to your all of your personnel policies
• The steps one must take when an employee registers a complaint
• Special rules for handling whistleblowers in the workplace without incurring a retaliation claim
  

Session 6: 2:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Legally Discipline Employees and Evaluate Their Performance
When it comes to addressing personnel issues, discipline and evaluations are extremely critical, but they’re also the least favorite things for HR and supervisors to do. It doesn’t have to be this way! In this session, learn how disciplinary actions and performance evaluations can be effective tools for getting poor-performing employees back on track, boosting their morale and shielding your organization from possible lawsuits.

Key Learning Points:

• How progressive discipline works and how it can protect employers against discrimination charges and employee lawsuits
• What NOT TO DO during a disciplinary discussion with an employee — and avoid the common communication errors that set the stage for a lawsuit
• How to demote an employee or suspend them without raising the legal threat level
• Crucial things you need know about performance evaluations to ensure they aren’t breaking the law
• How to use the evaluation meeting to turn around the job performance of a lackluster employee
  
  

Session 7: 3:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Conduct Employee Terminations Without Getting Burned
Playing with fire is not a good idea, but that’s what countless supervisors do each day when they mishandle an employee termination. Firing someone for the wrong reason, or in the wrong way, increases the risk that your organization will find itself facing expensive legal conflict. Learn the critical steps one must take to reduce the chances of litigation and help make a tricky situation as smooth as possible.

Key Learning Points:

• Avoiding common mistakes supervisors make when terminating an employee
• How to properly investigate all the facts surrounding the decision to terminate
• How to evaluate the risks of a lawsuit arising from the firing, and prepare a response
• How to prepare and use a termination checklist, covering final paycheck, vacation pay, COBRA notification, job references and more
• The legally-safe way terminate workers who are protected by the FMLA, ADA, or workers’ comp laws
  

Session 8: 3:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
Q&A Session with your expert faculty and fellow summit participants
In this last segment, your team leaders will have the chance get plain-English answers to their questions on how to make the right call, even during the most challenging workplace situations.

Your Workshop Leaders...

Attorney Susan G. Fentin is a partner with Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., and practices in the firm’s Springfield, Massachusetts office.

Susan is experienced in both labor law and employment litigation, speaks frequently to employer associations on employment law topics, and is a contributing author to Workplace Privacy. She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America and has appeared on the “CBS Evening News with Dan Rather” in a story on pregnancy discrimination.

Attorney John B. Phillips is a partner with Miller & Martin PLLC and has served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Labor & Employment with Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc.

He conducts numerous in-house seminars and training sessions for members of the C-Suite, HR, and supervisors at a wide variety of companies and organizations His video-based training programs have been named Top Training Products by Human Resources Executive magazine.

Linda D. Walton is an attorney with Perkins Coie LLP where she defends employers in employment-related litigation matters.

She also provides preventative counseling to employers in a variety of contexts, including day-to-day advice on a wide range of compliance matters, and the design and presentation of employment law training programs for managers, supervisors and human resources.