Labor & Employment Law Training
Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Workshop
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Workshop
Anti-Discrimination & Harassment Workshop
Workplace Investigations Workshop
On any given day, one can simply pick up the newspaper to read the headlines regarding an employer who violated an employment law and is now being sued by a disgruntled employee. Unfortunately, all too often employees (known as the plaintiffs) will win cases against employers because they were simply more educated about their legal rights–and because employers have failed to provide good training to their management teams.
Most of the time, an inquiry from a regulatory agency happens as a result of a disgruntled employee filing a complaint. Once a complaint is filed, an inquiry to the employer is made and then the “paper trail” must commence. It is up to the employer, and usually its HR department, to focus on this labor-intensive, document collection and compilation process in order to satisfy the requests of the regulatory agency. The process of a regulatory investigation is arduous enough; however, the greater issue is the potential for financial loss due to inadvertently violating employment laws. When it comes to compliance: there is no room for employer ignorance.
A few common issues today that lead to violations of employment laws:
Since 1991, the workplace in the U.S. has changed dramatically. In 1991, the Civil Rights Act was amended to allow trial-by-jury and punitive damages. In 1993 The Family and Medical Leave Act and The Americans with Disabilities Act were enacted. In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was enacted. In 1998, two landmark sexual harassment cases: Faragher v. The City of Boca Raton and Ellerth v. Burlington Industries created judicial precedents.
Since the mid 1990s even more employment law changes have altered the landscape of the American workplace. In 2002, the HIPAA was amended which created greater compliance obligations regarding employee’s health information. In 2004, The Fair Labor Standards Act was amended that radically changed worker Exempt/Non-Exempt classifications. The change was supposed to slow down litigation; yet, it has actually increased exponentially. Employers are being sued regularly for misclassified workers–and the cost for failing to comply with the FLSA is among the most costly compliance errors for employers. Also, today, religious discrimination complaints filed with the EEOC have now surpassed that of ALL other types of discrimination complaints–combined! Why? More cultural and ethnic diversity in the workplace, increased immigration, and leadership teams that lack formal management training and continue to make errors in communicating and leading employees.
An example: In the landmark, 2003 court case Baker v. Home Depot, an employee said, “I can’t work on Sundays. It’s against my religious beliefs to work on Sundays.” After a manager vehemently refused to give him Sunday off (out of fairness to other employees…) a lengthy court battle ensued and Home Depot LOST this case. Baker v. Home Depot has now created a judicial precedent as have many other, similar cases. What does this mean to employers? It means that in today’s environment it’s a risky proposition to run a business without a trained management team. Leaders must know the do’s and don’ts of the laws, and they need to know how to communicate with employees without stepping on legal land mines.
A cost-effective and easy-to-implement strategy is our program: Contemporary Leadership: Managing Employees within the Boundaries of the Law. It is an employment law basics program, conducted in two, half-day sessions to ease in scheduling. This workshop provides leaders with a solid overview of the laws, the do’s and don’ts, and is highly interactive so they “get it.” We don’t train by quoting legal cases–we train by getting leaders involved in case studies of “what if” scenarios to build their knowledge, improve their communication skills–and their leadership behavior.
In addition to the Contemporary Leadership workshop, we also have a variety of other training options, including online training via Webinars and shorter-duration programs that can be delivered in two-hour increments. Our goal is to provide employers with easy, cost-effective solutions, that improve productivity and minimize liability. For more information, please just give us a call. (561) 208-6480. We’re here to help.
Labor & Employment Law Programs (back to the top)
WAGE & HOUR LAW (FLSA) (Half-day workshop)
The FLSA is one of the most critical laws that employers must understand and take measures to continually remain in compliance. This Act essentially defines how employers must classify workers for payment of overtime wages, how and when employees are to be paid, and provides regulations for child labor. The vast majority of employers are required to comply with the FLSA, although there are some compliance variations between public sector and private sector employers. Failure to comply with the FLSA can result in significant fines, payment of back wages to employees, and in some cases in which employers have willfully violated the FLSA, the Department of Labor will take the employer to court—a very costly endeavor. The majority of complaints to the Department of Labor begin, rather simply, with just one employee filing a complaint regarding his/her pay. In addition, since August 2004 when the FLSA was amended, many employers are significantly out of compliance regarding classification of workers—a key component of the new legislation.
Since August 2004, when the Fair Labor Standards Act was amended, many employers are still in the dark regarding what their obligations are, how to handle misclassified workers, how to write job descriptions, and many are at significant risk of an inquiry from the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division—and are clueless that they’re currently in violation. Below are some of the top mistakes made by employers that violate wage & hours laws and result in payments of back wages and penalties:
- Supervisors improperly “docking” employees’ pay
- Hourly deductions, without wage replacement benefits, from exempts’ pay
- Improper deductions for items such as uniforms, cash shortages, tools from non-exempt pay
- Failure to calculate and pay overtime properly to non-exempt employees
- Misclassification of a non-exempt worker as exempt
All of these mistakes can be costly to employers; however, the misclassified worker can be extremely costly. The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division will typically recoup lost overtime wages from a misclassified non-exempt for the previous two years. For a small business owner, this may require a rather large payout at a time when cash flow cannot support it. For larger employers, this misclassified worker may not be the only one in question… many times a full investigation is launched and employees in similar job classifications will also be audited. As an example, one misclassified administrative assistant could lead to five misclassified assistants—resulting in back overtime pay for all five—for two years. In the event of a court case between the Department of Labor and an employer, it is possible for the court to find an employer in “willful violation” and request back overtime wages for three years instead of just two, plus payment of attorney’s fees.
This four-hour workshop is absolutely essential for all human resource professionals, payroll administrators, small business owners, and all supervisors and managers.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Learn the basics of how employees are classified: Exempt vs. Non-exempt to avoid a DOL inquiry
- Understand how overtime is paid—and simple mistakes supervisors make that lead to costly litigation
- Learn how to fix worker classification and payroll mistakes—before the DOL fixes them for you
- Implement sound company policies regarding time keeping, payroll processing, and record keeping to minimize internal mistakes that lead to DOL inquiries
Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (Half-day workshop) (back to top)
Employers with greater than 50 employees on the payroll have a legal obligation to provide 12 weeks of unpaid leave to an employee with a serious health condition, an employee who has a parent, spouse or child with a serious health condition, or if the employee must take time off for birth, adoption, or foster care of a child. Many employers fail to understand their compliance obligations (including record keeping) and find out only when employees file a complaint with the Department of Labor. This module educates supervisors on the basics of the law, which employees are eligible for leave and when, how to handle a leave request, and how to handle issues such as an employee failing to return from leave.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Learn the basic supervisor responsibilities to avoid legal landmines
- Understand eligibility requirements to avoid a Department of Labor inquiry
- Acquire effective record-keeping strategies to avoid an administrative nightmare—and litigation
- Learn how to handle the challenging overlap of the FMLA, the ADA, and OSHA when a worker is injured on the job
Anti-Discrimination & Harassment Workshop (Full-day or Two, half-days) (back to top)
Employers with greater than 15 employees on the payroll have a legal obligation to comply with anti-discrimination and harassment laws. Since 1991, when Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended, employers have realized a significant increase in monetary settlements for non-compliance. In 1991, the Act was amended to include punitive damages and trial by jury. This four-hour workshop provides leaders with a firm foundation of knowledge regarding all discrimination and harassment laws. It also provides employers with an affirmative defense, should a case go to court, that they have acted in “good faith” by providing training to its leadership team.
- Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Understanding harassment and hostile work environment to minimize your risk
- Learning the basics of leading employees without violating discrimination laws
- Strategies for effectively leading a culturally diverse workforce to minimize internal complaints
- Identifying and handling sexual harassment in the workplace to avoid an EEOC charge and litigation
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- The basics of the ADA and employer compliance obligations
- Learning the components of an effective job description to provide an affirmative defense in court
- Determining how to reasonably accommodate without discriminating or setting a precedent
- Learning how to handle a poor performer who claims to have a disability
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act
- Understanding employer obligations from recruitment and selection to termination
- Learning how to avoid the most common age discrimination mistakes
- Effective performance management strategies to avoid liability
- Determining how to handle reductions in force without creating liability
- Pregnancy Discrimination Act
- Learning the most common employer activities that violate the law
- Safe practices for recruitment, selection, and performance management to ensure legal compliance
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADAAA) Workshop (Half-day) (back to top)
The Americans with Disabilities Act gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications.
The ADAAA prohibits discrimination in all employment practices, including job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. It applies to recruitment, advertising, tenure, layoff, leave, fringe benefits, and all other employment-related activities. This workshop covers the significant changes to the ADA that became effective in January 2009.
Learning Objectives:
- The basics of the ADA and employer compliance obligations
- Learning the components of an effective job description to provide an affirmative defense in court
- Determining how to reasonably accommodate without discriminating or setting a precedent
- Learning how to handle a poor performer who claims to have a disability
- Learning how to deal with the widened definition of “disability”: migraines, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and mental impairments
Basics of Handling a Workplace Investigation Workshop (Half-day) (back to top)
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, The Drug-free Workplace Act, and The Occupational Safety and Health Act all require employers to conduct workplace investigations if the employer has knowledge of a potential violation. Failure to conduct a prompt, thorough workplace investigation can lead to extremely costly litigation, negative publicity, employee attrition, and a variety of other organizational impacts.
Human resource professionals and safety/security personnel are faced with an enormous challenge in the workplace today: handling workplace investigations while managing their current workloads and handling an investigation without proper training. Most employers task their HR departments with handling employee complaints; yet most HR professionals lack the necessary skills to handle an investigation properly. Also, most HR professionals are not viewed “evenly” within organizations and when it comes time to request cooperation from other departments or supervisors…often HR folks are faced with political obstacles that impede workplace investigations.
A prompt, thorough investigation completed in good faith is what will aid an employer in winning a case against a plaintiff—even if an allegation has been proven during an investigation. Companies that have not invested in proper investigations training for their HR staffs or safety/security personnel are taking a significant risk. A poorly handled investigation can lead to liability for invasions of privacy, defamation of character, negligent retention, constructive discharge, and a myriad of other issues that can lead to financial loss.
Key Learning Objectives:
Learn the legal obligations that require employers to conduct investigations to minimize liablity
Identify the most common types of workplace investigations to develop preventive measures
Learn the basics of how to gather a statement of complaint, identify witnesses, gather evidence, and conduct interviews
Learn how to establish a chain-of custody and a confidential retention process to avoid negligent investigation claims
Understand how to prepare questions for witness interviews to get the real truth
Learn a standard format for documenting investigative findings
Learn best practices in handling disciplinary action and terminations to avoid stepping on legal land mines