Kutak Rock - Employment Law Seminar:

The Catch-22 of 2022: Navigating the Work Revolution

This year’s seminar focuses on evolving employer challenges found in today’s revolutionary work environment. This year we will be offering a full day of in-person only presentations at the Scott Conference Center.

5.5 hours of CLE credit (including one hour of ethics credit) are approved in IA and NE. HRCI approved for 5.5 hours.

Click to register.

Agenda below.

9:00 - 9:30 AM CST | Ryan Calley | Staying Apprised: Key Employment Law Updates, Changes and Trends
In the current unpredictable political environment, even commonplace employment standards are subject to change. Ryan Calley will present on new developments and changes in employment law from the Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board, the Supreme Court, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Mr. Calley will offer guidance for employment topics such as arbitration of employee claims, workplace safety, joint employment, anticompetitive and unfair labor practices, and more.

9:30 - 10:00 AM CST | Brian Bartels | Are You Avoiding Employee Benefit Surprises After the No Surprises Act?
This discussion focuses on recent regulatory changes that affect employee benefit plans and the employers who sponsor them. Mr. Bartels will discuss fiduciary issues involved in hiring or retaining brokers and consultants and how to address those issues. He will also discuss other important developments, including transparency and disclosure requirements, new health plan reporting obligations, protections against balance billing, and tips for implementing these changes.

- Break -

10:20 - 10:50 AM CST | Marcia Washkuhn | The Well-Being Balancing Act
The remote, hybrid and other flexible work arrangements that evolved from the pandemic provide the work-life balance many workers are now seeking, but they can also lead to a lack of focus or feelings of isolation. And, with employees working fully or partially outside the office, it is now more difficult to know when employees may be struggling and needing assistance due to anxiety, depression or substance abuse, or when they may instead be “quietly quitting” or simply not meeting reasonable work expectations. This presentation will provide guidance on the delicate legal balance companies must strike in identifying and addressing critical wellbeing issues, while also managing employee performance and attendance in compliance with applicable employment laws.

10:50 - 11:50 AM CST | Kasey Cappellano, Meaghan Gandy and Kate Jones | Employee Management Conundrums: Complicated and Costly Questions
In today’s working world, employers are facing increasingly complex dilemmas posed by employees’ changing identities, priorities and needs. Kasey Cappellano, Meaghan Gandy and Kate Jones will discuss the complicated but realistic problems that arise in the day-to-day management of employees in 2022. This presentation will cover numerous topics including FMLA leave questions, prevention of LGBTQ discrimination, newly emerging medical requests, including but not limited to those related to fertility, as well as accommodation issues. Ms. Cappellano, Ms. Gandy and Ms. Jones will provide practical advice for HR professionals and legal counsel who address employee management questions, including tools to help employers spot the legal pitfalls and obligations connected with these questions.

- Lunch -

12:30 - 1:30 PM CST | Mike Lechtenberger | Keeping Capable Employees: Challenges and Solutions for Nebraska Employers
Mike Lechtenberger will present on the acquisition, recruitment, and retention of talented employees through the Nebraska Tech Collaborative (“NTC”). Mr. Lechtenberger is the Chair of the NTC Executive Committee and CIO at Mutual of Omaha. The NTC is a business-led Aksarben initiative working with local government, education, and not-for-profit organizations to develop, attract, and retain talent and entrepreneurs to Nebraska. By 2025, the NTC aspires to increase the number of technology jobs in Nebraska by 10,000 and the number of new technology companies in Nebraska by 300.

- Break -

1:45 - 2:15 PM CST | Clete Samson | Thinking Outside the Country: The Benefits and Challenges of Recruiting and Employing Foreign National Workers
This discussion will focus on specialty visa programs available to employers to sponsor talented workers from abroad and the benefits, costs, and challenges associated with such visa programs. The discussion will be designed to address questions from Nebraska business leaders, legal counsel, and HR personnel related to the mechanics of visa sponsorship and the use of foreign national workers to develop a pipeline of talented workers to fill vital jobs in an increasingly challenging labor market.

2:15 - 2:45 PM CST | Tom Kenny | Internal Investigations: The Top Ten Things We Hate to Hear (Ethics CLE)
This discussion will review common attorney-client privilege and ethical issues from the perspective of a corporate internal investigation, whether the investigation arises in the employment context or in anticipation of litigation or investigations by outside agencies. By using real-world “case studies” of common mistakes or privilege breaches, the presentation will impart some high-level considerations to help preserve privileges important to the company.

- Break -

3:00 - 3:30 PM CST | Todd Kinney | Data Breaches: Not If, But When. Preparing for the Inevitable (Ethics CLE)
Regulators and agencies don’t expect employers to prevent breaches, but they do expect employers to be prepared for such events and respond appropriately. This presentation will discuss the do’s and don’ts of breach response, especially in the immediate aftermath of an incident. It will focus on what constitutes a breach and state and federal obligations that must be considered when a cyber incident occurs. There will also be a discussion on lawyers’ unique obligations relating to law firm breaches. Todd will provide some practical, real-world tips to prepare for the inevitable and put your business in the best position possible to respond to a breach.

3:30 - 4:00 PM CST | Gigi O'Hara | Your Wage & Hour Checkup: Discussing Where It Hurts
The pandemic did not leave employers with a lot of extra time to focus on wage and hour compliance, let alone question deeply ingrained workplace habits that may no longer be best practices. Gigi O’Hara will provide timely wage and hour guidance on topics such as enforcement momentum by the U.S. Department of Labor, overtime eligibility and calculation mistakes, worker misclassification red flags, and risky timekeeping practices prevalent in the workplace.

- Raffle -