Labor and Employment Law Section 2026 Fall Meeting

Labor and Employment Law Section

Committee on Continuing Legal Education

Fall Meeting 2026

October 2 - 4, 2026

The Statler Hotel at Cornell University

Ithaca, New York

6.0 MCLE Credits

3.0 or 4.5 Credits in Areas of Professional Practice

1.5 or 3.0 Credits in Diversity, Inclusion & Elimination of Bias

*total credits based on attendance at 1 of 3 workshops offered

This program is transitional and is suitable for all attorneys including those

newly admitted.

Agenda

Friday, October 2, 2026

1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.                    Welcome and Introduction

                                                           Iyana Y. Titus, Esq.

Assistant Commissioner for Diversity, Equity,   Inclusion & Belonging, NYC Parks & Recreation

NYSBA Labor & Employment Chair

New York, New York

1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.                     Plenary 1 - The William Herbert Memorial Plenary Session - Collective Bargaining in Higher Education

This plenary session will provide an update on collective bargaining in higher education. It will provide an overview of issues including precedent labor history, and data on a nationwide basis. The session will examine hot issues including academic freedom, job security, and discrete bargaining issues.

Moderator:

Karen P. Fernbach, Esq.

Fernbach Resolutions LLC

Great Neck, New York

Speakers:

Risa L. Lieberwitz, Esq.

Professor

Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Ithaca, New York

Mary Ellen Donnelly, Esq.

Bond, Schoeneck & King

Greenlawn, New York

Katherine H. Hansen, Esq.

Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, LLP

New York, New York

1.5 MCLE Credits in Areas of Professional Practice

3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.                    Break

3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.                     Employment Law and Justice Impacted                                                                               Individuals Workshop Sessions (1 of 3)

Around 70 million adults in the United States and 2.2 million New Yorkers have a criminal record. Prosecution and incarceration have had a greater impact on people of color. New York State Corrections Law Article 23-A and the NYS Human Rights Law protect individuals from discrimination in employment. This program will explore employer’s obligations and applicants’ rights with respect to hiring individuals with criminal histories, presented through a unique and engaging format. 

Speakers:

Steven T. Sledzik, Esq.

Partner

Morrison Law Firm, P.C.

                                                           New York, New York

Esta R. Bigler, Esq.

Director

Cornell University ILR’s Labor and Employment Law Program

Ithaca, New York

Thomas Tee Jones

Education Associate

Cornell University’s Labor and Employment Law Program

Ithaca, New York

1.0 MCLE Credit in Diversity, Inclusion & Elimination of Bias

3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.                    Religion & Conflict in the Public & Private Workplace (Workshop Sessions (2 of 3)

“Ora et labora” is Latin for “pray and work” and it is a traditional slogan of the Benedictine monks. But, do employees have a legal right to practice their religion during their workday? What should an employer do if employees’ beliefs conflict with their duties? From wedding cakes for a same-sex couple to Matzah in the lunchroom, this workshop moves past the basics of anti-discrimination law to how to respect employees’ religious beliefs and freedoms without starting a holy war in the workplace.   

Speakers:

Adam S. Ross, Esq.

Keane & Beane, P.C.

Melville, New York

Stewart J. Schwab, Esq.

Jonathan and Ruby Zhu Professor of Law

Cornell Law School

Howard Schragin, Esq.

Sapir Schragin PLLC

White Plains, New York

1.0 MCLE Credit in Diversity, Inclusion & Elimination of Bias

3:15 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.                    Beyond the Paycheck: Legal Strategies for Tackling and Preventing Wage Theft (Workshop Sessions (3 of 3)

Wage theft remains one of the most prevalent workplace violations affecting employees in New York, with millions of dollars recovered on behalf of workers in 2026 alone. This program will provide attorneys with a practical, current overview of how wage theft occurs and the legal tools available to protect and enforce employees’ rights. It will also address how enforcement agencies are responding to wage theft and what recent enforcement trends mean for practitioners. Finally, the program will provide insights for employers in identifying, evaluating and defending wage theft claims in order to minimize exposure to penalties and other risks.  

Speakers:

Robert Whitman, Esq.

Partner

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

New York, New York

Gali Racabi, Esq.

Assistant Professor of Labor & Employment Law

Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Ithaca, New York

Orin Kurtz, Esq.

Law Office of Orin Kurtz P.C

New York, New York and Jefferson, New York

Joanna Cabrera

Supervising Labor Standards Investigator

Department of Labor

Albany, New York

1.0 MCLE Credit in Areas of Professional Practice

5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.                     Cocktail Reception

7:00 p.m.                                           Dine-a-Round Ithaca

9:00 p.m.                                           Jazz “Wine Down” at The Regent Lounge at The Statler Hotel

Saturday, October 3, 2026

8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.                     Committee Meetings

9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.                   Plenary 2 - Budding Obligations in the Age of Legal Weed: Freshly Baked Updates on Labor Peace Agreement Requirements and the Highs and Lows of Employees’ Off-Duty Cannabis Use

New York's cannabis industry didn't just create a new market — it created a new labor relations rulebook, and one that in-house counsel, outside advisors, and union-side practitioners alike need to understand. This session unpacks the labor peace agreement requirements baked into the MRTA and its implementing regulations, then zooms out to compare how other states and the NLRA are approaching (or diverging from) similar mandates. This session will also discuss the requirements of N.Y. Labor Law § 201-d, including recent developments affecting off-duty conduct protections, and what it means for employers navigating an increasingly crowded compliance landscape. Whether you represent applicants, licensees, labor organizations, or employers, you will leave this session with a practical framework for spotting issues before they become enforcement actions.

                                                           Speakers:

R. Scott DeLuca, Esq.

Assistant General Counsel, Labor & Employment

Voyager Technologies, Inc.

Buffalo, New York

Jae Chun, Esq.

General Counsel

Local 338, RWDS/ UFCW

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 – Disparate Impact Under Fire: What Remains and What Comes Next?

                                                           Recent federal developments have cast uncertainty on the future of disparate-impact liability as a tool for challenging workplace discrimination. The U.S. Department of Justice, the EEOC, and other federal agencies have taken positions questioning the scope, legitimacy, and future enforcement of disparate-impact theories under federal law. Yet disparate-impact liability remains codified in Title VII, recognized in decades of federal and state precedent, and continues to play a significant role in private litigation and state-law enforcement. Recent federal actions have also raised questions about whether certain forms of disparate-impact analysis may persist in practice, even as agencies seek to limit its use in enforcement. These developments have created a rapidly evolving and potentially fragmented legal landscape.

                                                           Moderator:

Loren Gesinsky, Esq.

Partner

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

New York, New York

                                                           Speakers

                                                           Nivritha C. Ketty, Esq.

                                                           Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, P.C.

Chatham, New Jersey

Cara E. Greene, Esq.

                                                           Partner

                                                           Outten & Golden LLP

                                                           Stewart J. Schwab, Esq.

                                                           Professor, former Dean

                                                           Cornell Law School

                                                           Ithaca, New York

                                                           Erin Sobkowski, Esq.

                                                           Deputy General Counsel

                                                           New York State Division of Human Rights

                                                           Rochester, New York

1.5 MCLE Credits in Diversity, Inclusion & Elimination of Bias

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.                   Networking Lunch

1:00 p.m.                                           Enjoy Ithaca on your own                          

Sunday, October 4, 2026            

8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.                   Breakfast Buffet

8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.                   Executive Committee Meeting

                                                           Adjourn