32nd Annual Labor, Employment, Benefits, and Immigration Law forum
Event Location
Registration is now closed - walk-ins welcome!
Please join us on Thursday, November 14, 2019, for our 32nd Annual Labor, Employment, Benefits, and Immigration Law Forum!
Butzel Long’s Labor, Employment, Benefits, and Immigration Law Forum will provide attendees with information regarding a wide variety of labor, employment, employee benefits, and immigration issues facing employers today.
The price for this year's seminar is $190.
The program is pending approval for both 4 (HR (General)) recertification credits by the HR Certification Institute as well as 4 PDCs for the SHRM-CPSM or SHRM-SCPSM.
Please direct inquiries to Nairi Chopjian at chopjian@butzel.com.
2019 SEMINAR AGENDA
7:15 a.m. Registration and Breakfast
8:00 a.m. Welcome and Introduction
Recap of New Development and Trends (Jim Rosenfeld)
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. WORKSHOP SESSION I
Recent Changes in Immigration: Impact on Employers and their Foreign National Employees (Reggie Pacis, Amany Kasham, He Xian)
This session will discuss recent policy and process changes in immigration law and provide practical advice for dealing with restricted options and heightened scrutiny. Specific topics will include: H-1B cap issues and alternatives to H-1B; H-4 Employment Authorization Documents and related issues; update on public charge issues; changes in enforcement practices; changes to presumption of non-immigrant intent to remain in the U.S.; and the impact of social media disclosures on visa applications.
Workplace Violence and the Mentally Challenged Employee (John Hancock)
Workplace violence remains an ongoing issue facing employers. This workshop will explore how to recognize potentially violent employees and situations, how to address them, and dealing with mentally challenged employees.
Employee Benefits Issues Worth Losing Sleep Over - A Roundtable Discussion (Lynn McGuire, Tom Shaevsky)
It is often said that anything that can go wrong will, and usually at the worst possible time. Butzel Long employee benefits attorneys regularly see problems in benefit plan service provider agreements, plan and trust document language, and many areas of plan administration (such as late deposit of employee contributions, employee deferrals from bonuses, employee claims for benefits, etc.) Our experts will discuss common employee benefit errors, and how you can avoid them. In this informal group discussion, you can bring your questions for the attorneys -- and bring your stories to share with your peers.
Marijuana in the Workplace (Brett Rendeiro)
The legalization (under state law) of recreational marijuana presents new issues for employers. This workshop will discuss the legalization of marijuana under state law and its effect on the workplace, medical marijuana and accommodation issues, and ensuring compliant employer policies.
9:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. Break
9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. WORKSHOP SESSION II
Challenges in Business Immigration: Strategies for Employers of Foreign National Employees (Clara Mager, Linda Armstrong, Bushra Malik)
This session will discuss what employers can anticipate in light of recent immigration policy changes, and strategies for proactively addressing challenges that employers face. Specific topics will include: avoiding outright denials; responding to requests for evidence; visa bulletin retrogression; border issues; I-9 compliance; and global migration.
Leaves and Other Workplace Accommodation Issues (Scott Patterson)
Accommodation issues can be complex. This workshop will explore some of the various accommodation issues often faced by HR professionals, including emotional support and service animals; the interactive process; the undue hardship analysis, paid sick leave law, and FMLA and other leave abuse issues.
EMERGENCY! What to Do When Your Company's Valuable Assets are at Risk (Paul Mersino, Bernie Fuhs, Ziyad Hermiz)
While it is often said that the wheels of justice turn slowly, some legal issues strike as emergencies and need to be addressed immediately. When your trade secrets have been stolen or when a former employee is illegally competing against you and attempting to steal your clients, customers, or employees, time is of the essence. Three of Butzel Long’s “emergency” non-compete/trade secret litigators will discuss what you and your company need to do when you have experienced trade secret theft, an employee breaching a non-compete or non-solicitation agreement, or when you have a sudden fire that needs to be put out.
FMLA Issues (Regan Dahle)
The Family and Medical Leave Act can be one of the most challenging statutes to understand and properly administer. This workshop will provide a deep-dive into the FMLA regulations and explain how some of the more esoteric and technical regulations can sometimes thwart an employer’s good-faith efforts at compliance.
10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. WORKSHOP SESSION III
How the NLRB Affects Your Non-Union Employees (Craig Schwartz)
The National Labor Relations Board has issued a number of decisions that affect ALL employers, whether they have unionized employees or not. Those rules involve employee handbook provisions, non-solicitation policies, confidentiality and non-disparagement policies, and more. This workshop will discuss how even non-unionized employees need to understand these rules and how to draft policies that comply.
Politics in the Workplace: What You Need To Know (Brett Miller, Hannah Treppa)
In today’s politically charged and polarized environment, it is more important than ever for employers to know what is permissible in terms of limits to employee speech and to employer speech. This workshop will cover those issues, including the Bullard-Plawecki prohibition on employer’s maintaining a record of employees’ political activities, free speech misconceptions and best practices.
FLSA Update (Rebecca Davies, Michael Griffie)
The Department of Labor continues to consider and implement new wage and hour regulations, and non-traditional work arrangements, such as telecommuting, present their own unique payroll challenges. This workshop will explore some of these new and challenging situations.
Labor and Employment Compliance; What You Don't Know Can Hurt You (Carey DeWitt, Deb Geroux)
In today’s environment of increased regulatory oversight, keeping abreast of the laws and regulations that govern the workplace can be daunting for HR professionals. This workshop will focus on the creation of and adherence to a proper Compliance Program, including the nuts and bolts of a program’s policies, training the workforce and C-Suite buy-in. Among the topics to be discussed will be harassment/discrimination compliance, conflicts of interest, employees’ and executives’ obligations regarding conflicts of interest, gifts from suppliers, avoiding antitrust violations, reporting obligations, and industry-specific policies for employers.
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Lunchtime panel
Lunchtime topic: Employment Best Practices
A panel of Butzel attorneys, as well as in-house counsel and human resource professionals with prominent companies, will discuss best employment-related practices in areas such as fostering and embracing diversity, employee retention and more.
