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11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
Creating Your HR
Action Plan
Dick Brann, Baker Botts (Houston)
Joe Beachboard, Ogletree Deakins (Los Angeles)
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
BULLYING, HARASSMENT AND
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
Yogi Berra: “You can observe a lot by just watching”
There are ways to spot bullies and/or those prone to violence and harassment
Ways to address the potential problem before it becomes a real one
“Abusive conduct” training
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
LEAP HEADLINE 2015
Happiness Assessment Tool Proves Attendees Love LEAP; Privacy Lawsuit
Filed in California
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
FLSA COMPLIANCE IS CHALLENGING
No one gets it 100% right 100% of the time
Plenty of opportunities for mistakes
Self audits are important
Technology equals challenges
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
LEAP HEADLINE 2015
Department of Labor Distributes 100,000 “Fitbit Time Trackers,”
Credits LEAP/Management Lawyer Greg Guidry
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
EEOC PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
LGBT Issues
PDA Issues
Vulnerable Workers
Access to the Courts
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
LEAP HEADLINE 2015
EEOC General Counsel Scheduled for LEAP 2016; Program Expanded to
Four Days…
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
CONTINGENT WORKFORCE
Can’t have your cake and eat it too
Important to “get it right” when classifying workers as something other than “employee”
Labels don’t matter; the realities of the relationship do
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
NLRA & NLRB
Relevant to non-union workplaces
Driven by politics
Harder to stay non-union in new environment
Events will move quickly
Must focus on prevention
Train and be engaged on the issues—early
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
AGING WORKFORCE
Lots of older workers hanging around the workplace
Special considerations
• Disability issues
• Flex schedules
• Skills inventory
• Retirement planning
Avoid stereotyping
Integrated, age diverse teams
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
PREPARING FOR DEPOSITIONS
You will be sued
Preparation—lots of it—is the key
Not a “helpful conversation”
Listen, understand, answer, stop talking
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
HR CONVERSATIONS
“No task is so unimportant that it can be entrusted to senior management alone”
Avoid surprises
What do the documents say?
Which solution or options seem most fair?
Must weigh both the risks and the stakes
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
LEAP HEADLINES 2015
HR Professional Touts Job Security: Says “No One Wants My Job”
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
RETALIATION
“Before embarking on a journey of revenge, dig two graves”
Lots of chances to mess up here
Claims “make sense”
Establish a culture of compliance
Set clear and concise expectations
Juries pay more attention to what you do than what you say
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
THE BIG 3—ACCOMMODATIONS
Thou shall try to accommodate
Employee entitlements, something you must try to do for the worker
Substantially different from don’t discriminate or don’t retaliate
PDA, ADAAA, FMLA, religious beliefs (but wait, that’s 4)
Process driven—the interactive process
Adopt accommodation policies, but remember one size does not fit all
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
LEAP HEADLINE 2015
Ethics Charges Filed Against “Keep Austin Weird” Attorney Mike Fox For Advocating Sunbathers Religion At HR Conference
11th Annual Labor and Employment Law Advanced Practices Symposium
Thank You!
Creating Your HR
Action Plan
Dick Brann, Baker Botts (Houston)
Joe Beachboard, Ogletree Deakins (Los Angeles)
