California (CA) Employment Law CLE Course Catalog

As hybrid has become the new normal for the present workforce, learning how to work effectively as a more geographically dispersed team is very relevant. Engaging your team can be extremely difficult through video calls, but it must be done in order to maintain your legal department culture in this environment. Join as expert panelists navigate the reality of a hybrid workforce and how to best manage and engage teams. Leave this session with an understanding of what accountability and flexibility looks like in the future of work, and what needs to change in order to accomplish your goals.

The many nuances of the changing regulation for labor and employment are front and center for GCs and their companies right now. This session will dive deep into understanding how to deal with the different patchwork of rules in different places and across jurisdictions, including the changing landscapes and residual effects of COVID-19. Join our speakers as they discuss the current labor and employment landscape, the most pressing challenges and how to avoid future pitfalls in this space.

Attendees taking this program will: learn the acronyms of different federal employee benefits (CSRS, FERS, FEGLI, etc.), become familiar with the basics of the common federal employee benefits available, and figure out where to look for resources including application information, eligibility criteria, and general information.

This panel will discuss the WARN Act, KERPs and KEIPs, vacation/sick time and the ??507(a)(4) cap, varying state laws on severance claims that are driving the locations of filings, and more.

The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) generally prevents group health plans and insurance issuers that provide mental health and/or substance abuse benefits (MH/SUD) from imposing more restrictions on those benefits than medical/surgical (M/S) benefits. The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) kicks the MHPAEA compliance requirements up a notch and requires group health plans and insurers that provide MH/SUD and M/S benefits to prepare a comparative analysis of any nonquantitative treatment limits (NQTLs) that apply under the plan. As of February 10, 2021, plans are required to provide this analysis and supporting documentation if requested by the Department of Labor.

Our distinguished speakers explain recent Supreme Court developments and matters awaiting decision. The panel will give special attention to the pending Northwestern University 401(k) fee litigation that has the potential to significantly impact ERISA litigation going forward, and revisit Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association , the Court’s most recent pronouncement on the scope of ERISA preemption. The impact of the Court’s decision in Thole v. US Bank will also be addressed, particularly with respect to how the decision has been applied in the health plan arena and areas other than its core standing ruling, such as class certification. The speakers will also address pending petitions for certiorari, and predict which cases may attract the Court’s attention in the months ahead.

As so many aspects of our lives have changed forever, the permanent mark has been placed on the way employers acquire and maintain their employees. How have employers been finding their new employees and based on those experiences, what suggestions can be offered to their peers? In addition, our panelists will explore how corporate culture is/will be viewed going forward as well as strategies for training and promoting talent.

From OSHA to HIPAA, as we gain traction on returning to in-person work, governing bodies are clamoring to identify the legality of collecting and storing all this data. What can we use it for, and when is health data storage infringing on human rights? This session will deep dive into the impact the last year has had on health data and implications in how this data can legally be used moving forward.

Forty-four states have enacted pay-equity laws since the Pay Equity Act of 1963, but despite the well-intentioned progress, we still have a long way to go to achieve laws that are effective for employees and feasible for companies to comply. In this powerhouse closing session, we will discuss how far we’ve come with pay equity law, as well as what we can do to truly reach sustainable pay equity in this country.