Join us as Freeman, Mathis, & Gary, LLP helps us understand today's top HR topics and concerns in the workforce. We will be applying for up to 3 hours of SHRM and CLE credits.
Topics Covered:
COVID-19 in the Workplace: Recent Developments in Vaccine Mandates, Vaccine Incentives, and Compliance Challenges
- By now, most businesses have required their employees to return to the office, at least partially. With the rise of the Delta variant and other COVID-19 variants, the worldwide pandemic is not ending any time soon, despite the availability of vaccines. As a result, employers must consider many issues, including making returning to the workplace mandatory, evaluating adjusted schedules and accommodations (including childcare obligations), whether or not to require vaccinations and masks, handling religious and disability-related vaccine exemptions, and dealing with worker and customer safety concerns. On top of this, the Biden Administration recently announced vaccine mandates for federal contractors and employers with 100 or more employees, which has raised a host of new questions and concerns from businesses across the country. The EEOC has also issued guidance on the legality of vaccine mandates and whether incentives can be provided by employers in order to encourage voluntary employee vaccination. This session will cover the latest employment law developments to assist employers in ensuring the safety and productivity of their workforces while limiting the potential for employment litigation.
Protecting Data and Trade Secrets in a Remote World / Managing a Remote Workspace
- Remote work has blurred lines—and created new legal risks—as more employees use personal devices for work, forward data to personal accounts, and put personal data on work devices. In addressing the issues that arise, companies may face a complex array of questions. How do employers “claw back” data from personal devices and accounts? What steps should employers take against growing phishing risks as face-to-face work diminishes? What are the top global data privacy concerns? How can employers adequately secure confidential information? Should companies require employees to sign non-disclosure, non-solicitation, and/or non-competition agreements? These questions and more will be answered in this timely session. This session will also cover the fact that with a greater number of employees working remotely, many companies are taking steps to move away from traditional methods of performance management and implementing processes for real-time employee input. As such, the speaker will also cover strategies for modernizing employers’ approaches to performance management and appraisals.
Marijuana and the Workplace / Managing Social Activism in the Modern Workforce
- Employers and HR professionals are wondering how more relaxed marijuana laws will affect their handbook policies, and the workplace in general. Should employers continue to drug test new hires? This session will describe the current legal landscape covering recreational and medical marijuana use. We will also address how State laws differs from Federal law, and how medical marijuana use is affected by specific federal employment laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. In this session, we will also cover how, in the midst of a tumultuous time, employees (and managers and executives) are speaking out at work or lobbying their employers to speak about pressing issues related to racism, politics, marijuana use, and social justice. Thus, this session will also discuss how managers can balance issues relating to freedom of expression, civility, protected concerted activity, discrimination, and retaliation, as well as considerations for minimizing business disruption and legal liability.
