Labor and Employment Law Section 2025 Fall Meeting

6.5 MCLE Credits in the Area of Professional Practice

(Friday – 2.5 Credits | Saturday, 4.0 Credits)

AGENDA

Friday, October 17

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Check in and Boxed Lunch

1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Welcome and Introductions

Abigail R. Levy, Esq.

NYC Office Of Collective Bargaining

Taa R. Grays, Esq.

President-Elect, New York State Bar Association

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Plenary 1

Advanced Topics in Workplace Accommodations

The requirement to provide workplace accommodation has expanded significantly since Title VII first brought the concept of religious accommodation. Nowadays, Federal, State, and local laws include requirements for reasonable accommodation based on disability and pregnancy.

This panel will engage in an advanced-level discussion of workplace accommodation requirements pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law. Topics to be discussed include the meaning and application of the Second Circuit’s 2025 decision in Tudor v. Whitehall Central School District, the meaning of “undue burden” or “undue hardship” pursuant to the relevant statutes, immunization requirements and religious accommodations, and other relevant topics that arise in this rapidly developing area of employment law. 

Speakers:

R. Scott DeLuca, Esq., Panel Leader

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.

Danny DeVoe, Esq.

Sahn Ward Braff Coschignano PLLC

Maia Goodell, Esq.

Vladeck, Raskin & Clark, P.C.

1.5 MCLE Credits in Areas of Professional Practice

3:00 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.

Break

3:20 p.m. – 4:10 p.m.

Plenary 2

In the Age of Sharing and Oversharing: Preserving Confidentiality and Privilege

In an era defined by constant connectivity and social media transparency, the modern age encourages immediate and wide sharing of information, but attorneys and clients alike, sometimes share too much. The panel will discuss landmines for attorneys to avoid while upholding their ethical duties, preserving attorney-client privilege, and maintaining professional integrity in a world where sharing-both online and in everyday interactions-is the norm. Three high-risk areas that will be discussed are: 

• Social media activity by both attorneys and clients that can inadvertently compromise client confidentiality and attorney-client privilege including real world examples of confidentiality breaches via tweets, posts, and blogs.
• Responsible integration of Generative AI into the practice of law – why the certain use of generative AI platforms can lead to unauthorized disclosures of client data.
• The often-overlooked risks of third-party presence during attorney-client communications-whether attorney-client privilege survives when a non-client is present at meetings, on emails, or during calls. 

Additionally, with our presence in Canada, the panel will share a few tips on navigating the challenges attorneys now face when traveling internationally with their electronic devices.

1.0 MCLE Credit in Areas of Professional Practice

Speakers:

Kaylin Whittingham, Esq., Panel Leader

Whittingham Law

Cara Greene, Esq.

Outten and Golden

Randall Tesser, Esq.

Tesser, Ryan, and Rochman, LLP

6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Pre-dinner reception

7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Dinner

Saturday, October 18

7:45 a.m. – 8:40 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Reimagining Report

8:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

A Year of Change: Critical Issues in Labor and Employment Law 2025 and Beyond

This year, some of the foundations of labor and employment law have been challenged, with huge impacts on employers, employees, unions, and their counsel. Labor and employment lawyers and the courts are grappling with executive orders requiring changes in policies and priorities at the EEOC and OFCCP, policy reversals at the NLRB, and massive staff reductions at federal agencies. Our panelists will discuss these changes, their implications for clients and counsel, and what we may expect in the coming year.

Speakers:

Jon Ben-Asher, Esq., Panel Leader

Ritz Clark & Ben-Asher, LLP

Jocelyn Samuels, J.D.

Former Vice Chair, EEOC

Jill Rosenberg, Esq.

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Rita A. Sethi, Esq.

Attorney at Law

Susan Cameron, Esq.

Associate General Counsel

32BJ SEIU

1.5 MCLE Credits in Areas of Professional Practice

10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Break

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Plenary 3

Across the US/Canada Border in 90 minutes

Cross-border legal issues abound in our multinational practices. This timely panel will explore key employment issues working across the shared border between Canada and the United States. In addition to addressing important immigration issues, this panel will also focus on employee terminations and severance requirements under Canadian law, enforceability of restrictive covenants, arbitration clauses, and other key differences between the two countries in addressing other agreements, cross-border discrimination law, and DEI issues from multiple perspectives. 

Speakers:

Wendi Lazar, Esq., Panel Leader

Founder & CEO of C-Suite Strategies, LLC

Samantha Seabrook, Esq.

Seabrook Workplace Law

Kevin MacNeill, Esq.

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.

Evan J. Green, Esq.

Green and Speigel

1.5 MCLE Credits in Areas of Professional Practice

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Lunch (sit down) and Committee Meetings

1:10 p.m. – 2:00 p.m..

Workshops Sessions

Workshop A – The Non-Negotiables of Negotiating: Mandatory Bargaining Demystified

This presentation explores the evolving landscape of mandatory and non-mandatory subjects of bargaining under both the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and New York’s Taylor Law, with a focus on key decisions from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB). We will examine emerging technologies — including artificial intelligence, GPS tracking and dash cameras — and how their implementation intersects with employee privacy, discipline and management rights. Through case law analysis and practical examples, the session will clarify when employers must bargain over these issues and how unions can assert their bargaining rights in the face of new surveillance and decision-making tools.

Speakers:

Ira Cure, Esq., Panel Leader

Arbitrator/Mediator

Lance H. Klein, Esq.

Keane & Beane, P.C.

Kayla Morin, Esq.

Cohen, Weiss & Simon

Workshop B – Trends in Dispute Resolution; Trends in Employment Arbitration: What NY Attorneys and Neutrals Need to Know

Arbitration continues to evolve rapidly, reshaping the landscape of employment dispute resolution in New York and beyond. This session will explore key legislative developments, recent court decisions, and strategic shifts in drafting, administering, and conducting arbitration. We’ll also examine the growing influence of technology, mass arbitration tactics, and what these trends mean for both employer and employee advocates.

Speakers:

Ann Lesser, Esq., Panel Leader

American Arbitration Association

Hon. Carol Heckman (ret.)

Lippes Mathias LLP

Robert S. Whitman, Esq.

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Darren P.B. Rumack, Esq.

The Klein and Cardali Law Group PLLS

Workshop C – Training Repayment Agreement Provisions: An Impediment to Employee Mobility?

One of the most prevalent devices used by employers today to discourage key employees from departing for greener pastures is a relatively recent vehicle known as training-repayment-agreement provisions (also known as “stay or pay” agreements or “TRAPs”). These agreements are signed as a condition of employment and require employees who leave an employer before a defined period (often two years) to repay the cost of their own job training, which can often be significant enough to discourage an employee’s departure. In some cases, these agreements mandate employees to repay sign-on bonuses or interest rates and other fees on the repayment amounts. NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo issued a directive in 2024 saying that TRAPs are unlawful, but that position has been reversed by the present NLRB General Counsel, William Cowen. The panel will discuss the current state of this rapidly evolving area, with an emphasis on the new landscape lawyers will be facing in the months and years ahead.

Speakers:

Geoffrey Mort, Esq. Panel Leader

Kraus and Zuchlewski LLP

Troy Kessler, Esq.

Kessler Matura P.C.

Alexander Leonard, Esq.

Vedder Price

1.0 MCLE Credit in Areas of Professional Practice

2:00 p.m.

Afternoon on your own

5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Reception

Sunday, October 19

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. 

Executive Committee Meeting