Fundamentals of Employment Law Seminar
  1. Hiring & Terminating Employees in the Current Economy
    1. Hiring qualified employees
      1. Credit checks; are you in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act?
      2. I-9, eVerify, interviewing, testing, SSN mismatch
      3. Criminal background information what are the rules
    2. Handling terminations and layoffs
      1. Legal considerations WARN Act, OWBPA
      2. Structuring severance/separation packages; COBRA
      3. Tips and traps: opposing unemployment compensation claims
      4. Termination of the difficult employee-strategies for avoiding claims
    3. Social Networking Sites and Employment-Related Decisions
      1. Employer risks with using social networking sites for employment decisions
      2. Best practices and policies to minimize employer risk
      3. The use of social networking sites in the employment context
  2. Compensation Issues under FLSA/Wage and hour
    1. Contrasting the FLSA and state wage and hour laws
    2. Update and overview
    3. Issues of pay, hours and employee classification e.g., exempt vs. nonexempt, employee vs. independent contractors
  3. Employee Privacy in the Workplace
    1. Evaluating performance
    2. Privacy issues in formal complaint procedures
    3. Conducting a lawful misconduct investigation
    4. Employee off-duty misconduct
    5. Information disclosure
    6. Whose computer is it? Employer's right to monitor e-mail
    7. Personal information and data security: storage, treatment, and breach notification
    8. Wireless communications
  4. ADA and FMLA Update
    1. Recent changes and developments with the FMLA
    2. Thoughts on the interplay between the ADA and the FMLA
    3. Recent changes and developments with the ADA
  5. Sexual, Racial, and Other Harassment in the Workplace
    1. Recent legislation and court cases, including Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
    2. Employer Liability principles and avoiding harassment claims
    3. Avoiding harassment claims
    4. What constitutes a "hostile workplace environment"?
    5. Liability for claims of harassment by third parties
    6. Is it harassment or just obnoxious behavior?
  6. Health Care Reform: What you need to know now
    1. Requiremens for employers to comply with the law
    2. Incentives and penalties for employers' compliance or failure to comply
    3. Early retirees' temporary reinsurance program
    4. Tax credits available to eligible small businesses
    5. Participation in SHOP exchanges
    6. Changes to flexible spending and health savings accounts
    7. W-2 reporting changes for employers