AttorneysEd Center

For years, employers took for granted that it is legal to monitor an employee's every keystroke on work-issued computers, phones and PDAs. With the recent surge in employee privacy claims, some state and federal courts have sided with the employee, particularly where the electronic activity involves personal, rather than business-related, matters. Join Heather Egan Sussman and Stephen Erf, partners at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, who explain the recent developments in the legal framework for this privacy debate and what it means for the American workplace, particularly in light of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Quon, in which the Court unanimously ruled that the employer could lawfully review personal messages sent on work pagers, and the New Jersey Supreme Court in Stengart, in which the Court held that an employer improperly accessed an employee’s private email messages. The program includes practical advice about when and to what extent employers

Louis DiLorenzo, the Chair of Bond, Schoeneck & King’s Labor and Employment and Employee Benefits Practice Group, discusses sexual discrimination in the workplace and how to avoid liability for sexual discrimination claims. Part 2 of this 2-part series covers sexual harassment complaints. Topics include: • Establishing Sexual Harassment Claims—what is and is not actionable • Components of a Lawful Policy Against Harassment • A Program for Avoiding or minimizing claims and damages • The do's and don't of an appropriate investigation and employer response to complaints And you won’t want to miss Avoiding Liability for Sex Discrimination—Pay Equity (Part 1).

Louis DiLorenzo, the Chair of Bond, Schoeneck & King’s Labor and Employment and Employee Benefits Practice Group, discusses sexual discrimination in the workplace and how to avoid liability for sexual discrimination claims. Part 1 of this 2-part series covers pay equity. Topics include: • Existing Statutory Protections • President Obama's Pending Legislation • Defenses to Pay Equity Claims • Most Common Mistakes in Defending Pay Differentials • Preventive Steps to Avoid Pay Equity Claims • Lessons to be Learned from the Novartis Sex Discrimination Case And join us for Avoiding Liability for Sex Discrimination—Sexual Harassment Complaints (Part 2).

In addition to its employees, a technology company must also rely on advisory boards, consultants and finders. In this program, part of an ongoing new series on technology start up companies, Peter Townshend and George Colindres of McDermott Will & Emery LLP discuss technology start-up companies' proper use of advisory boards, consultants and finders and review the key terms of the agreements that govern these relationships. Topics include, among others, use of advisory boards, distinguishing consultants from employees, distinguishing finders from broker-dealers, compensation, nondisclosure/confidentiality provisions, ownership of inventions, and non-competition and non-solicitation provisions.

Start-up companies are subject to a myriad of laws relating to the hiring, management, compensation and termination of employees. In this program, part of an ongoing new series on technology start up companies, Peter Townshend and Jill Basinger of McDermott Will & Emery LLP provide a practical introductory overview of the laws relating to the recruiting and hiring of employees; the distinctions between employees and independent contractors; rules relating to non-cash compensation, including stock options; the enforceability of non-competition provisions; and the laws and/or rules relating to discrimination, wage and hour, leaves and disability, discipline and termination.

In today’s world, in-house and outside counsel are often called upon to conduct investigations in the workplace. The topics run the gamut from sexual harassment to violations of the SEC rules to violations of conflict of interest or other policies. While the focus is often on getting to the “bottom of it”, finding the person to hold accountable and minimizing the risk of litigation, often overlooked are the various ethical issues that must be successfully navigated by attorneys who conduct these investigations. Join Louis DiLorenzo, the Chair of Bond, Schoeneck & King’s Labor and Employment and Employee Benefits Practice Group, as he discusses the ways to keep the investigation free of ethical issues. Topics include:  The lawyer’s duty to organizational constituents in the course of an investigation.  Restrictions on communications with represented and non-represented individuals.  Ethical and other pitfalls associated with certain investigative techniques (e.g., pretexting, tape

Today organizations are faced with an unprecedented surge in social media and networking activity by employees. Sites are being visited with increasing frequency by employees at home and at the workplace. There is now a developing body of labor and employment law which is winding its way through state and federal courts. Join Louis DiLorenzo, the Chair of Bond, Schoeneck & King’s Labor and Employment and Employee Benefits Practice Group, as he discusses the evolving rules of the road as social media invades the workplace. Topics include:  The legal impact of social media on recruitment.  Issues of discrimination, including textual harassment, resulting from social media.  Addressing lost productivity.  Disclosure of confidential information.  Issues and concerns to be addressed in an effective and lawful policy.

Todd Solomon, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, and a frequent speaker on employee benefits issues resulting from domestic partnerships and same-sex marriages, discusses the latest legal developments impacting employee benefits for same-sex couples. Topics include: • a survey of the current state of the law relating to the recognition of same-sex marriage (domestic partnerships, reciprocal beneficiaries, civil unions, same-sex marriage) • the recent trend of states reversing course on the recognition of same-sex marriage (California Proposition 8, Maryland) • the status of legal challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California Proposition 8 • the new Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index and the impact on benefit plans • the recent changes of the Pension Protection Act and the impact on same-sex couples • the status of legal proposals relating to domestic partner benefits taxation and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Terminations and discipline expose employers, and their managers and supervisors, to potential liability under a myriad of employment and labor statutes. Terminations and discipline imparted by management can be attacked as discriminatory, retaliatory or otherwise illegal under a host of federal and state statutory and common laws. Join Louis DiLorenzo, a partner in Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, as he discusses ways to impose discipline so as to minimize the risk of such claims and enhance the ability of your client organization and its agents to defend against claims that cannot be avoided. Topics include: • The importance of discipline and the benefits of progressive discipline. • The Seven Steps organizations and their supervisors should review before imposing discipline. • DiLorenzo's two corollaries to the Seven Steps (dealing with avoiding accommodation and retaliation issues). • The different disciplinary tools available to management, including action plans and last chance agreements, and the advantages they offer. • The

Popular presenter Steve Bennett, a partner at Jones Day, discusses hot topics in employment and benefits litigation in the Bankruptcy setting, including: 1. Why employment and benefits litigation has increased 2. Revising employment contracts and/or collective bargaining agreements 3. Revising benefits and executive compensation 4. Strategic matters NOTE to TX Attorneys: This course has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Texas Committee on MCLE in the amount of 1 credit hours, of which 0 credit hours will apply to legal ethics/professional responsibility credit.