Labor & Employment Law in an Hour (Series: One Hour Law School)

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Practical and entertaining education for
attorneys, accountants, business owners
and executives, and investors.
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DISCLAIMER
The material in this webinar is for informational purposes only. It
should not be considered legal, financial or other professional advice.
You should consult with an attorney or other appropriate professional
to determine what may be best for your individual needs. While
Financial Poise™ takes reasonable steps to ensure the information it
publishes is accurate, Financial Poise™ makes no guaranty in this
regard.
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MEET THE FACULTY
Moderator:
Jack O'Connor – Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger
Panelists:
Jason Klimpl – Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt
Ruth Rauls – Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP
Stu Sklar – OTS Holdings, Inc.
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ABOUT THIS WEBINAR:
Labor & Employment Law in an Hour
Any business, large or small, needs to have at least a fundamental understanding of employment
law. What must an employer do upon making a hire to make sure the worker is a U.S. citizen?
When is a worker an independent contractor and when is she an employee? How does an
employer make sure it is making proper withholdings? What does an employer do when it
receives notice of a wage garnishment? What should an employer do if an employee tries to start
a union? What is the best way to avoid a wrongful termination suit? What does an employer
need to know about workers’ compensation insurance? What are some of the most common
mistakes new employers make? Should an employer use a written employment agreement with
its employees? These are some of the questions this webinar explores.
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ABOUT THIS SERIES:
One Hour Law School
Looking for a bird’s eye understanding of the rudimentary principles of a
complex area of law? Interested in a much needed refresher on an issue that
has rapidly evolved in recent years? Short on time? This series explores the
essential building blocks of important legal concepts facing business people.
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EPISODES IN THIS SERIES
1/22/19 Episode #1: Estate Planning & Asset Protection-101
2/19/19 Episode #2: Intellectual Property in an Hour
3/19/19 Episode #3: Labor & Employment Law in an Hour
4/16/19 Episode #4: Environmental Law In an Hour
5/14/19 Episode #5: Business Tax Law-101
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Dates shown are premiere dates.
All webinars will be available
On Demand approximately 4 weeks
after they premiere.

EPISODE #3:
Labor & Employment Law in an Hour
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WHAT DO WE MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
“LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW”?
• If employee not hired with purpose to invent then IP belongs to them
• State Law Overrides
• Contract Assigning IP Ownership
• No Contract
• Some states have enacted laws limiting breadth of PIIAs
• May include inventions made on or off company’s premises

AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT
Employment “at-will” means:
✓ Employer can terminate employee at any time for any reason (except an
illegal reason), or for no reason without legal liability.
✓ Likewise, Employee is free to leave job at any time without notice for any
reason or no reason with no adverse legal consequences.
✓ Employer can change terms of employment relationship going forward
with no notice and no consequences.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY ISSUES –
TITLE VII
“To enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the
district courts of the United States to provide injunctive relief against
discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the attorney General to
institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public
education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination
in federally assisted programs, to establish a Commission on Equal Employment
Opportunity, and for other purposes.”

TITLE VII (cont’d)
✓Prohibits discriminatory actions in employment
✓Creation of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)
✓Allows civil action by employee or applicant for employment for redress of
grievances
✓Government not exempted

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY ISSUES
– AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (“ADA”)
Purpose of ADA:
1. Provide clear and comprehensive national mandate for elimination of
discrimination against individuals with disabilities;
2. Provide clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing
discrimination or retaliation against individuals with disabilities;

– AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (“ADA”)
(cont’d)
1. Ensuring federal government plays central role in enforcing standards
established in ADA on behalf of individuals with disabilities; and
2. Invoking sweeping congressional authority (including power to enforce 14th
amendment) to regulate commerce, to address major areas of discrimination
faced day-to-day by people with disabilities

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY ISSUES -
AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT
(“ADEA”)
Protects certain applicants and employees 40 years of age and older from discrimination on
basis of age in: hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, or terms, conditions or
privileges of employment.
• Job Notices and Advertisements
• Protections include:
• Pre-Employment Inquiries
• Apprenticeship Programs
• Benefits
Can be waived if:
• In writing and understandable
• Specifically refers to ADEA
• Not waive rights or claims that
may arise in the future
• Be in exchange for consideration
• Advise to consult with attorney

FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE ACT & STATE LEAVE
LAWS

WORKPLACE SAFETY & OSHA
➢ Covers private employers & employees
➢ Covers some public sector employers
➢ States encouraged to develop own job safety and
health programs (OSHA approved and
monitored)

WAGE & HOUR ISSUES - FAIR LABOR
STANDARDS ACT & STATE LAW CORROLLARIES

WAGE & HOUR ISSUES – INCENTIVE PAY
FLSA rules distinguish between discretionary and nondiscretionary
incentive payments and whether such payments are considered part
of an employee’s regular rate of pay.

WAGE & HOUR ISSUES - OVERTIME
• Employer who requires or permits employee to work overtime generally must pay employee
premium pay for overtime work.
• Unless specifically exempted, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours
worked in excess of 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular
rates of pay.
• No limit in the Act on number of hours employees aged 16 and older may work in any
workweek.
• Act does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, or regular days of
rest, as such.
Source: https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs23.pdf

WAGE & HOUR ISSUES – OVERTIME (cont’d)
• Act applies on a workweek basis.
• Employee's workweek is a fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours -- seven
consecutive 24-hour periods.
• Workweek need not coincide with calendar week, but may begin on any day and at any hour
of the day.
• Different workweeks may be established for different employees or groups of employees.
• Averaging of hours over two or more weeks is not permitted. Normally, overtime pay earned
in a particular workweek must be paid on the regular pay day for the pay period in which the
wages were earned.
Source: https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs23.pdf

WAGE & HOUR ISSUES – MISCLASSIFYING
INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

RETIREMENT ISSUES
✓ Employee Retirement
Income Security Act
(ERISA)
✓ Black Lung Benefits Act
✓ Longshore and Harbor
Workers’ Compensation Act
✓ Defense Base Act

TRADITIONAL LABOR ISSUES: THE NLRA
National Labor Relations Act (1935)
- Enacted by Congress to:
- protect the rights of employees and employers,
- encourage collective bargaining, and
- curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which
can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S.
economy.

TRADITIONAL LABOR ISSUES: THE NLRA (cont’d)

TRADITIONAL LABOR ISSUES – CLASS ACTION
WAIVER
• Class action waivers – employment agreements that restrict ability to file class
action lawsuits
• Similar to arbitration provisions
• Potentially in breach of NLRA
• Class action waivers under fire - National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil
USA (No. 16-307), Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis (No. 16-285), and Ernst & Young
LLP v. Morris (No. 16-300)

BEST PRACTICES - EMPLOYEE HANDBOOKS
What goes into an employee
handbook:
➢ Non-Disclosure Agreements
➢ Conflict of Interest Statements
➢ Non-Discrimination Policies
➢ Compensation schedules / policies
➢ Work Schedules
➢ Standards of Conduct /
misconduct
➢ General Employment
Information
➢ Safety and Security
➢ Computers and Technology
➢ Employee Benefits
➢ Leave Policies

BEST PRACTICES-HIRING

BEST PRACTICES – HUMAN RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT

BEST PRACTICES - TERMINATIONS
FIRING LAYOFFS RESIGNATION
✓Follow policy
✓Include observer
✓Use termination letter
✓Be respectful
✓COBRA
✓ Plan communication
✓ Notification meeting
✓ Individual
discussions
✓ WARN Act
✓ Confirm in writing
✓ Notification to
coworkers /
customers
✓ Review employment
agreement

ABOUT THE FACULTY
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JACK O'CONNOR – joconnor@sfgh.com
Jack O’Connor is an associate in the Bankruptcy, Reorganization and Creditors’ Rights practice
group. Jack’s practice focuses on the representation of corporate clients in complex
reorganization proceedings across the country, including unsecured creditors’ committees,
debtors, and chapter 11 liquidation trusts.
Jack is skilled in negotiating complex business transactions in chapter 11 proceedings as well as
structuring non-bankruptcy workouts in a historically weak credit market. In 2011, Jack
successfully steered his first chapter 11 plan of reorganization to confirmation before the United
States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois in In re Mangia Mangia, Inc. Jack is
committed to finding creative and practical solutions for his clients, and works to provide them
with the highest level of legal service. In addition to his experience as a restructuring and
insolvency professional, Jack has worked on appellate matters in state and federal courts. For
more, please click here.
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JASON KLIMPL– Klimpl@thsh.com
Jason B. Klimpl is a partner in the Employment Law Group of Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse &
Hirschtritt LLP. In this capacity, he advises clients on a broad range of employment law matters, such
as wage and hour compliance; healthcare; equal opportunity actions and policies; employment
agreements and restrictive covenants; independent contractor and consulting issues, reductions in
force; technology and privacy concerns; and other human resources counseling.
Jason is also the Associate General Counsel of the New York Staffing Association, and is heavily
involved in legal and legislative efforts to support the staffing industry.
Jason has written numerous employment law articles and is a contributing faculty member of both
Lawline and the National Academy of Continuing Legal Education. Jason is also a member of the
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce’s Speakers Bureau and Help Desk.
-Follow Jason on Twitter: @HR_Attorney
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RUTH RAULS– ruth.rauls@saul.com
Ruth concentrates her practice on complex commercial litigation, employment
litigation, real estate litigation and litigation involving closely-held corporations.
She has extensive experience litigating matters at the trial and appellate levels in
state and federal court in New Jersey and New York, as well as in private
mediations and arbitrations. She has litigated claims arising under the New
Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, and
various other federal and state statutory and common law causes of action.
To read more about Ruth, please visit: https://www.saul.com/attorneys/ruth-rauls
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STU SKLAR – ssklar@otsholdings.com
Stu Sklar graduated from Rutgers College and University of Pennsylvania Law School. He
has been practicing law for nearly 25 years. After his initial training with two of the largest
law firms in the nation, he has been in house for the past 21 years, primarily in the staffing
and professional services industries. As a corporate generalist, he has handled a wide
variety of legal matters for his smaller to midsize clients including a significant focus on
employment matters, commercial transactions, compliance and dispute resolution. He
regularly advises on all aspects of the employment relationship including recruiting
practices, employment agreements, employee relations, terminations and post-employment
restrictive covenants. He lives and works in Cherry Hill, NJ, just outside of Philadelphia.
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EUGENE GORYUNOV – egoryunov@gmail.com
Mr. Goryunov is an experienced trial lawyer that represents clients in complex patent matters involving many
diverse technologies. He is deeply involved, as trial counsel, in all aspects of cases pending in Federal
courts, at the U.S. International Trade Commission involving Section 337 investigations, and in appeals at
the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He also regularly serves as first-chair trial counsel in post-
grant review trials, on behalf of both Petitioners and Patent Owners, pending at the U.S. Patent &
Trademark Office. To date, he has been involved in over one-hundred post-grant review trials.
Mr. Goryunov is a regular contributor to intellectual property publications, including the Intellectual Property
Magazine, The Patent Lawyer, and the IPO Law Journal. To date, he has published more than sixty articles,
many of which discuss post-grant review trial practice. Mr. Goryunov also speaks about diverse issues of
patent law and post-grant review trial practice. He also teaches patent law and intellectual property
litigation at the Columbia University and previously at the University of Notre Dame.
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QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
If you have any questions about this webinar that you did not get to ask during
the live premiere, or if you are watching this webinar On Demand, please do
not hesitate to email us at info@financialpoise.com with any questions or
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and we will do our best to provide a timely response.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The material in this presentation is for general educational purposes only. It has been prepared primarily
for attorneys and accountants for use in the pursuit of their continuing legal education and continuing professional education.
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Labor & Employment Law in an Hour (Series: One Hour Law School)

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