I’m excited to be moderating this series of seven webinars again. Our first webinar is this Tuesday 1/25. This year’s panel will consist of fellow attorneys Helen Bloch, Max Barack & Gary Savine. Below is more information & the schedule.

About This Series

If you have employees or advise companies with employees, this webinar series is for you! No employer—whether large, medium or small—is immune from the reach of federal, state and/or local employment laws and regulations. Now, more than ever, employers should consider taking a proactive approach to auditing their employment practices and policies so that they can better respond when issues arise. This webinar series approaches the employer-employee relationship from beginning to end, with programs covering the most important steps along the way, including hiring and onboarding, policy and procedure development and training, wage and hour compliance, accommodating disabled employees, conducting investigations and considerations associated with ending the relationship.

As with every Financial Poise Webinar, each episode is delivered in Plain English understandable to you even if you are not an Employment Law Specialist. And, as with every Financial Poise Webinar, each episode brings you into engaging, sometimes humorous, conversations designed to entertain as it teaches. Each episode in the series is designed to be viewed independently of the other episodes, so that participants will enhance their knowledge of this area whether they attend one, some, or all episodes.

Gary Savine

Helen Bloch

Max Barack

 

About Episode #1
Welcome to the Team! Recruiting and Hiring, Including Restrictive Covenants January 25, 2022 at 2:00 PM CST

You only get one chance to make a first impression, so you want to make sure your company avoids unnecessary missteps when recruiting and hiring employees. Understanding what you can and cannot say during interviews and how to respond when a candidate volunteers information that may be considered “off limits” is essential. At the same time, there are a host of laws being passed throughout the country that address when and what sort of information you can request from applicants regarding their criminal and financial histories. In the event you decide to protect your organization by requiring certain employees to sign some type of restrictive covenants—non-competition, non-solicitation and/or non-disclosure—there are a host of legal and practical issues to consider. This webinar explores these and other issues so that you can be confident, going forward, that you are starting off on the right foot—legally, at least—when you hire new employees.

About Episode #2
An Ounce of Prevention: Policies, Procedures and Proactivity February 22, 2022 at 2:00 PM CST

Our society is increasingly bureaucratized and documentation is essential to working this bureaucracy. From a cost vs. benefit standpoint, having a written workplace handbook that highlights conduct, compensation and benefits, generally saves more money than it costs. While downloading a handbook from the internet, even if it’s free, may sound like a good idea, you generally get what you pay for as one-size-fits-all solutions are rarely as effective as solutions tailored to your needs. What makes the most sense for your organization? What policies are must-haves? What are the latest best practices when it comes to employee handbooks? What about training your staff and your managers? This webinar presents practical advice for employers looking to put themselves in the best position possible to not only defend against employment-related claims but—hopefully—to help avoid them in the first place.

About Episode #3
Show Them the Money: Wage & Hour Compliance March 29, 2022 at 2:00 PM CST

Compliance with federal (as well as state) wage and hour laws returned to the forefront towards the end of the Obama administration when it appeared that the salary threshold that applied to exempt employees would be increased significantly. While the proposed change will not happen, the Trump administration has signaled that the threshold will nonetheless likely increase. Regardless of where the new threshold lands, employers must nonetheless be mindful of the risks posed by misclassifying individuals as exempt as well as by a host of practices that can imperil otherwise proper classification decisions. And while the federal government is no longer scrutinizing the use of independent contractors as closely today, employers must still be careful when relying on contractors. This webinar delves into the mistakes commonly made by employers and endeavors to provide attendees with the tools needed to help find and fix potential wage and hour pitfalls.

About Episode #4
The Impact of Communicable Diseases, Including Coronavirus, on the Workplace April 20, 2022 at 2:00 PM CST

When it comes to dealing with communicable disease-related issues within the workplace, planning is everything. What kinds of things might an employer do to lessen the impact of a communicable disease disaster on their business? Join this panel of experts as they explore these topics: (1) FFCRA-eligibility, hardship waivers, benefits required; (2) Increased employer medical screening, testing & temperature taking; (3) Managing remote work, how to assess eligibility for remote work (job descriptions, accommodations, electronic access); (4) Workplace communication–HIPAA, privacy, etc.

About Episode #5
I Know What You Did Last Summer: Workplace Investigations May 24, 2022 at 2:00 PM CST

Now, more than ever, employers must be prepared to promptly and effectively respond to complaints of workplace harassment and/or discrimination. Often, that requires knowing when and how to conduct an internal investigation. Given the significance of the issues often at stake and the potential for a negative outcome (attorneys’ fees, high dollar settlement, negative PR), learning on the fly is not a viable option when undertaking an investigation. This program covers a host of questions, including what sort of issues should be investigated, who should conduct the investigation, what steps should you take and in what order, who should be interviewed, what sort of documents should be created and how do you close out the investigation? It also explores the investigation process and provides guidance from a seasoned investigator as to how to handle the many issues that you will often confront during the course of an investigation.

About Episode #6
It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye: Minimizing Risk When Terminating Employees June 22, 2022 at 2:00 PM CST

Involuntary terminations are never pleasant, but they are an inevitable part of business. Whether an employee is being let go due to poor performance or serious misconduct, chances are that he or she may take issue with the company’s decision—either during the termination meeting or at some point down the road. In the event the terminated employee decides to visit the nearest Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office or meet with a plaintiff’s attorney, you want to make sure that you have taken steps to minimize risk and give your organization its best chance to defend against claims of discrimination, retaliation and/or wrongful discharge. This webinar discusses the various issues you should consider not only when you are making the decision to terminate but also in the weeks and months that lead up to that point. Drawing on their experiences as an HR consultant and management-side employment lawyer, the panelists provide practical tips to minimize exposure and best practices for conducting an employee termination meeting.

About Episode #7
Time for a Break: Managing Leaves of Absence and Accommodating Disabilities, July 27, 2022 at 2:00 PM CST

Your business likely functions more effectively when your employees are at work doing the work you hired them to perform? What are your rights (and obligations) as an employer when an employee is unable to work due to an illness or injury? Does the Family and Medical Leave Act apply? Do you operate in a jurisdiction that has recently enacted a sick leave law? What happens when an employee requests a reasonable accommodation because of a disability? These types of questions have been confounding employers for years and are likely to grow more complicated as state and local governments step in to fill the voids left at the federal level. Do not despair, though, as this webinar includes discussions of the mistakes commonly made by employers as well as a series of tips and pointers from a panel of experts who will help you navigate these and other thorny issues involving employees who are unable to work for health-related reasons.