Labor And Employment Law Section Fall 2020 Meeting (Part One)

Labor & Employment Law Section Fall Meeting

Part One - Friday, October 16: 9 am to 3 pm

Part Two - Friday, October 23: 10 am to 4 pm

Special Labor & Employment Law Section Member Pricing:

Full Registration (both days): $175 (attendees of 10/16 live webinar who are Section members get a discount code emailed to them for $25 off the 10/23 live webinar)

Part One Only, Friday, Oct. 16: $100

Part Two Only, Friday, Oct. 23: $100

Friday, October 16 – PART ONE

9:00 - 9:10 a.m.     

Section Chair Welcome/Program Introduction/Sponsor Acknowledgements

Christopher D’Angelo, Esq., Con Edison, New York City

9:10 – 10:25 a.m.   

The Impact of COVID 19 on the Workplace (1.5 credit Professional Practice)

• Navigating the new federal and state leave laws
• Protecting employee privacy, safety and mental health in the post-pandemic workplace
• The new world of remote working
• Managing workforce actions—furloughs, hours reductions, layoffs, WARN and more
• Litigation risks and emerging legal theories

Panelists

Nicole S. Monson, Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., New York City

Valdi Licul, Esq., Partner, Wigdor LLP, New York City

John Ho, Chair, OSHA Practice, Cozen O'Connor, New York City

Moderator

Jill L. Rosenberg, Esq., Partner, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, New York City

10:25 - 11:50 a.m.  

Significant Changes at the NLRB – Major Changes as the Pendulum Shifts Again at the Board   (1.5 credits Professional Practice)

The more things change, the more they stay the same. After unsuccessful attempts to amend the National Labor Relation Act during the Obama years, the Board has reverted to the familiar pattern of adjusting the rules governing the unionized workplace through decision making and ruling making that swings the rules back and forth as the administrations change. This session will explore significant recent NLRB decisions and rule- making, including the expansion of employers’ right to unilaterally change terms and conditions of employment; the contours of protected concerted activities by employees; recent changes to union elections rules; limits on employers’ dues check-off; new rules on joint employer status; limits on the Board’s exercise of jurisdiction over religious institutions; and potential changes to the contract-bar doctrine. 

Panelists

Allyson L. Belovin, Esq., Partner, Levy Ratner, P.C. New York City

Peter A. Jones, Esq., Deputy Chair of Labor Department, Bond Schoeneck & King, PLLC, Syracuse

Moderator

Kathy Drew-King, Esq., Regional Director, NLRB Region 29, Scarsdale

12:00 – 12:50 p.m. 

Lunch Break

12:55 p.m.   

Afternoon Session Begins: Program Announcements

1:00 – 1:50 p.m.     

Zero Tolerance in the Workplace (1.0 credit Professional Practice)

Zero tolerance policies impose the most severe penalty to every employee who violates the workplace rule. Our panel will discuss the use of the term and its application in discharge and discipline cases and review scenarios involving drug use, violence, racial discrimination, and sexual harassment. We will also contemplate the impact of social reform movements on public policy.

Panelists

Angel S. Cox, Esq., Senior Attorney, New York City Department of Education, New York City

Bernard E. Mason, Esq., Associate Counsel, New York State Nurses Association, New York City

Richard K. Zuckerman, Esq., Partner, Lamb & Barnosky LLP, Melville

Moderator

Timothy S. Taylor, Esq., Chair-Elect, Mediator and Arbitrator, Albany

2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.        

Settlements in Complex Cases (1.0 credit Professional Practice)

This panel will be a high-level discussion of the strategic and practical considerations for employment lawyers when settling complex cases. Our panelists include practitioners from the employee and management sides as well as an experienced mediator. Topics to be addressed include:

• Challenges in the settlement of wage-hour matters, including “hybrid” cases, requirements for court approval, special considerations during pre-litigation settlements, and the viability of provisions like reverters, confidentiality clauses, and cy pres.
• Difficulties in settling multi-plaintiff discrimination matters.
• Advice for practitioners for effective advocacy during mediations.

Panelists

Marijana Matura, Esq., Partner, Kessler Matura P.C., Melville

Alfred G. Feliu, Esq., Feliu Neutral Services, LLC, New Rochelle

Howard M. Wexler, Esq., Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, New York City

Moderator

Robert Whitman, Esq., Partner, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, New York City

Friday, October 23 – PART TWO (SEPARATE REGISTRATION REQUIRED)

10:00 - 10:10 a.m.            

Introductions/Sponsor Acknowledgements

10:10 - 11:25 a.m.  

Legal Considerations for Ambitious and Effective Employment Diversity and Inclusion (1.5 credits Diversity & Inclusion)

Given persistent underrepresentation of many minorities and women in employment opportunities, and social activism around issues such as #BlackLivesMatter and #TimesUp, many employers are pledging to improve their diversity and inclusion. But pledging to do so does not lead automatically to tangible results. In this webinar, panelists with varying perspectives will explore the range of common diversity and inclusion programs and evaluate them against the legal framework applicable to the workplace. We will probe the range of risks as a baseline for employers to examine against their own programs, discuss the effects of diversity and inclusion programs on employees and unions, and consider how best to move forward with facilitating the change that is needed to achieve diverse and inclusive workplace cultures. Our focus is on helping employers, employees, and unions get to a “Yes” for ambitious and effective improvement while minimizing legal pitfalls along the way.

Panelists

Iyana Y. Titus, New York City Parks & Recreation, New York City

Kam Wong, Prudential Financial Inc., Newark, NJ

Nolan J. Lafler, Blitman & King LLP, Rochester

Loren Gesinsky, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, New York City

11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.    

Witness Preparation: When does it Cross the Ethical Line? (1.5 credits Ethics)

We all know lawyers have a duty to prepare witnesses to testify at trial or deposition. Because the process takes place behind closed doors and cloaked in the attorney-client privilege, it is often been referred to as the profession’s “Dirty Little Secret”. Despite the protections offered by this “Cone of Silence”, there are ethical obligations and lines that practitioners cannot cross. The general rule that while you can sort of instruct a witness “how to testify”, but not “what to say”, often becomes blurred in the heat of the prosecution and defense of the controversy. The discussion at this session will cover several interesting questions including:

• When does preparation stop being preparation and became “coaching”? Are there different types of coaching and do any cross the ethical line?
• How is witness preparation affected by a sequestration order
• Can a witness be instructed in law before being asked what happened factually?
• Since words matter, can lawyers alter the words the witness plans on using to testify?
• Can lawyers, as part of preparation, change a witness’s appearance, demeanor or confidence?
• Can lawyers create memory or inducements to testify falsely?
• Can more than one witness be prepared in the same witness preparation session? Should they be?

Panelists

Louis P. DiLorenzo, Esq., Managing Member, Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC, New York City

Susan Ritz, Esq., Ritz Clark & Ben-Asher LLP, New York City

1:00 - 1:50 p.m.     

Lunch Break

1:55 – 2:00 p.m.     

Afternoon Session Begins: Program Announcements

2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.        

Maintaining the Balance: Public Sector Labor Relations in a Time of Crisis (1.0 credit Professional Practice)

Former NYS PERB Chairs Pauline Kinsella and Seth Agata join moderator Richard Zuckerman, and current Chair, John Wirenius, for a discussion of current issues facing the public sector labor relations community in this year of change and adaptation to challenging new circumstances, and what these changes could mean for the future.

Panelists

John Wirenius, Esq., Chair, Public Employment Relations Board, Albany

Seth H. Agata, Esq., Former Chair, Public Employment Relations Board, Jenner & Block, New York City

Pauline R. Kinsella, Esq., Former Chair, Public Employment Relations Board, Schenectady

Moderator

Richard K. Zuckerman, Esq., Partner, Lamb & Barnosky LLP, Melville

3:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.        

The SECURE Act and More: Changes Made By the SECURE Act to Pensions and Retirement Arrangements, and the Impact of the FFCRA and CARES Act, and Government Relief, on the SECURE Act and Employee Benefits (1.0 credit Professional Practice)

New, significant legislation reforming pension plans and retirement income arrangements was signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019. This is the most extensive act pertaining to pensions and retirement arrangements since the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The new legislation is called “The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019” or the “SECURE Act”. The new legislation has an immediate impact, as a number of the changes it made to the law went into effect on the date of passage and after December 31, 2019.

The workshop will discuss the changes made by the SECURE Act to pensions and retirement arrangements. Unfortunately, the Coronavirus pandemic set in shortly after the SECURE Act was enacted. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “FFCRA”) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act” were enacted, and other IRS and DOL relief has been provided, to cope with the Coronavirus epidemic. The workshop will cover the impact of the FFCRA and CARES Act, and the government relief, on the SECURE Act and employee benefits in general.

Panelists:

Stanley D. Baum, Esq., Principal, Law Office of Stanley Baum, Amityville

William D. Frumkin, Esq., Of Counsel, Frumkin & Hunter Law PC, White Plains

Paul T. Esposito, Esq., Principal, Slevin & Hart P.C., Washington, DC