Delaware Employment Law Blog

Molly DiBianca will be presenting a seminar, Developing Your Employee Handbook, on two dates in October.  The free seminar is sponsored by Lyons Companies Insurance. 

The 2-hour seminar is designed to provide attendees with an understanding of the legal implications of an organization's written policies and procedures, as well as the costs and benefits of placing informal practices in an employee handbook. I will also cover some of the practical elements of handbook creation and revision, such as the handbook's structure, legally mandated policies and how to format individual policies.

The October 23 session will be held in Georgetown, Delaware from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. and the October 30th session will be held in the Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor offices in Wilmington, Delaware, from 9 am - 11 am.

Handbooks are one of the most frequently requested seminar topics, so I expect both sessions to fill quickly.  To reserve a spot, you can either contact Lyons Companies Insurance or contact Molly DiBianca.

Scott A. Holt and Molly DiBianca will be presenting a full-day, fast-paced, and highly interactive seminar on wage-and-hour compliance to employers on November 12, 2008.  The federal Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), has been the basis of newsmaking class-action lawsuits across the country, resulting in astronomical jury verdicts and settlement figures.  As a business owner, executive, or HR Generalist, the FLSA is an essential employment law with serious--but avoidable--consequences.

This is a great way to get up to date on the topic or to jump in, feet first, if you're new to the ins and outs of this important federal law.  The Seminar Agenda is packed with coverage of the most misunderstood and difficult-to-apply aspects of the law.  Just a few of the topics include:

• how to manage compensation for eight activities that have recently faced court challenges, such as volunteer time, meal and rest breaks, and traveling;
• when to pay overtime and how to control overtime abuse;
• learn how bonuses, tips, commissions, and other pay differentials should be calculated into overtime compensation;
• what it really means to be an exempt employee and how to determine whether your employees have been misclassified, and what to do if they are.

The seminar will be held on November 12, 2008, at the Holiday Inn Select in Wilmington, Delaware.  Online registration is open and the complete agenda is now available.  The cost is $327 per person, or, if two or more people from the same organization attend, the cost is just $227 per additional attendee.  The cost of registration also includes comprehensive materials that you can use as a desktop reference.

M. Lee Smith's Master Class seminars are one of the only ways to get in-depth access to the most challenging employment laws.  And that probably explains why seats fill up so quickly, so be sure to register soon.  The FLSA Master Class Brochure contains all of the pertinent details, as well as a topic overview.

Human Resource professionals, recruiters, trainers, and managers who want access to the latest developments in organizational leadership practices should mark their calendars.  The 8th annual Delaware SHRM conference is just weeks away.  This year, the program will be held at the Clayton Hall Conference Center at the University of Delaware.  

The program schedule is extraordinary and features some outstanding speakers, including keynote speakers, Bill Cawley, Executive Vice President, Bank of America, and motivational speaker, as well as wellness coach, Christine Sopa, founder of Chris Sopa International.  Peggy Eddens, Executive Vice President - Human Capital Managment, WSFS, will lead off the event at the Evening General Session on Tuesday, November 18.

And, returning again by popular demand, attorneys William W. Bowser and Scott A. Holt will present The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Employment Law Update 2008. This yearly update is a great way to get up-to-speed on the many important developments from the last twelve months--in the courts and legislatures of Delaware and nation wide. 

Registration information and additional details can be found at the HR Conference Page on the Delaware SHRM's website.

In addition to the Advanced Employment Issues Symposium (AEIS), where Adria Martinelli, William W. Bowser, and Scott A. Holt, will be presenting on several employment law topics, attorneys in the Employment Law Group has several seminars on the calendar this summer.  To keep you in the loop, here's a short recap. For more information, just give us a call or use the links below.

Delaware Contractors Association, June 25

William W. Bowser and Molly DiBianca will be presenting a breakfast seminar to the Delaware Contractors Association (DCA) on June 25, 2008 on Hot Topics In Employment Law.  The recent amendment to the Family Medical Leave Act, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which imposes new leave requirements for employees with servicemembers in the family who are called to active duty or who are returning from active duty and who require medical care.  The recent (and sudden) passage of the Construction Industry Independent Contract Act through the Delaware House of Representatives will also surely be on the agenda.

Developing Your Employee Handbook, October 23 & 30

Molly DiBianca will be presenting this seminar, which is sponsored by Lyons Companies Insurance, twice in October.  The first seminar is scheduled for October 23, 2008, from 1-3 p.m. and will be held in Georgetown, Delaware. The second is set for October 30, 2008, from 9 - 11 a.m. and will be hosted by Young Conaway Stargatt and Taylor in the firm's Wilmington, Delaware offices.  The seminar is free to clients of Lyons Companies but limited spaces are available for non-clients.  Just be sure to contact Molly DiBianca or Lyons Companies representative Jenn Miller early because Lyons' seminars are always well attended and fill up quickly. 

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Women's Bureau will offer a free teleconference on June 19 2-3 pm EDT.  The topic of the free teleconference is Flex Options, Generation Y . . . What Do They Really Want. The DOL's website describes the program as a talk from the perspective of large and small businesses – and Generation Y employees – about the roles that workplace culture, flexibility and career development play in recruiting and retaining the best talent.

The three speakers include Ann Ivey, of Anna Ivey Consulting, a former lawyer and dean of admissions at a top-ten law school, Ivey now focuses on admissions consulting. 

Elizabeth Kennard is a specialist for Starbucks' Emerging Workforce Center of Excellence.  Kennard's responsibilities include the development of workplace flexibility and multigenerational workforce strategies.

Dennis Loney is the Employment Practices Specialist at Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), working to ensure that the co-op's practices are cutting-edge and aligned with its values. 

This is a very hot topic right now and seems to be infiltrating more and more areas of the business world.  You can register for teleconference through the following link:

Women's Bureau (WB) - Flex Options Teleconference Call - Generation Y …. What Do They Really Want

Human Resource professionals see the Family & Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") as a major compliance challenge. And it just never seems to get easier. Lately, the FMLA is back in the news. The Act has seen more legislative and regulatory action in the past few months than it has during the previous ten years.

On January 28, 2007, Congress expanded the scope of the Act to include two new types of military leave for families of servicemembers. Next, on February 11, 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor released its long-awaited proposed revisions to the FMLA regulations.

William W. Bowser and Scott Holt will be addressing these important changes at the May 13 meeting of the Delaware Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Cavalier Country Club. Our presentation will focus on what you need to do now in response to these changes.

Online Registration for the meeting is available here. Directions to the event are available here.

ADEA, ADA, FMLA, now FRD??? Is FRD (Family Responsibility Discrimination) the latest acronym to add to the growing list of potential employee claims to be concerned about?

At our Annual Employment Law Seminar yesterday, I presented on this subject, which has been a recent “hot topic” in the world of Employment Law. I also prepared a handout for attendees. It's a concise, easy-to-read summary of the "who, what, where, why, and how" of Family Responsibility Discrimination. You can now get a copy of the handout--use the link below to jump to a pdf copy of the materials. The articles might just turn out to be a handy reference when you have a potential FRD issue.

And if two pages (with pictures!) still seems to long for you, here's the conclusion I draw at the end; i.e., The Bottom Line about FRD:

The line where bias turns into an actionable family responsibility claim is not always an easy one to see. But given the EEOC’s focus on this type of discrimination, it is essential you recognize the issues. Review the EEOC’s enforcement guidance carefully and seek advice of counsel if you have any questions about taking employment actions with respect to an employee with caregiving responsibilities.

Just contact me if you need additional guidance on the rights and responsibilities of employers with respect to FRD.

Family Responsibility Discrimination Handout

Our Annual Seminar for Employers was held today at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware. The attendance at the seminar was our best ever, with more than 130 of Delaware's best human resource professionals, labor relations specialists, senior managers, and small business owners.

Our many thanks to The Honorable Mary Pat Thynge, who spoke candidly about the federal mediation process. Her comments were direct and insightful for everyone, including for the attorneys!

Another thanks to all of the attendees who completed and submitted a survey at the end of the day. We're looking forward to reviewing your comments. Our objective is to make the seminar as effective and enjoyable as possible. Your opinion really tells us what we can do to better to maximize the client experience. We are especially interested to learn what topics most interest you for future seminars. If you were in attendance today but did not have an opportunity to submit an evaluation, just let us know and we'll send you one that can be completed and returned electronically--no stamp necessary!

Again, thank you to all of our clients, colleagues, and new friends, who gave us your attention and participation for a very full day on a variety of employment-law topics.

Yesterday, Delaware’s two largest public employers indicated that they were facing fiscal challenges. Governor Ruth Ann Minner announced a hiring freeze to address a $126 million dollar budget shortfall. New Castle County Executive Chris Coons announced a budget proposal requiring the use of $17.2 million dollars of its cash reserves.

The State and the County and other governments are feeling the effects of a softening economy. Since personnel wages and benefits costs make up a large part of their budgets, it is clear that public employees will be asked to make sacrifices as governments struggle to balance their budgets.

Sheldon Sandler and I will be discussing the state of public labor relations in Delaware at our Department’s upcoming Annual Seminar on April 16th. Hope to see you there.

Our yearly Employment Law Seminar will be held this year on April 16, 2008. Due to the ever-expanding number of attendees (last year, we sold out within a week of the invitation release), the seminar will be held at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware. The complete invitation and registration information can be viewed at the YCST website, but here's a quick summary.

The seminar begins at 8:30 with a welcome from Barry M. Willoughby, who serves as Chair of the YCST Employment Law Department. Following the introduction will be two morning plenary sessions. First, "The Good, Bad, and the Ugly," which is a perpetual favorite, giving you the need-to-know developments in employment law during 2007. The second plenary session will cover two areas that have seen a tremendous amount of change and development over the past year--Family Responsibilities Discrimination, and the new FMLA regulations.

Attendees can choose from four different topics for the two break-out sessions, including,
*Annual Labor Update reviewing all of the essential developments in the Public Sector;
*Electronic Discovery Workshop to cover the critical developments in a rapidly developing aspect of litigation;
*The Jerk at Work, which deals with the cost of the "jerk" to your business and what you can do to eliminate them from your workplace; and
*Wage and Hour Class Action Litigation, an area of the law that has seen exponential growth over the past few years.

The Keynote Speaker this year is the Honorable Mary Pat Thygne, one of two Federal Magistrate Judges in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. We are positively thrilled to have Judge Thygne join us this year. She is well-known among practitioners in the Delaware District Court for her service as a federal mediator, having helped parties resolve disputes on mutually beneficial terms. Judge Thygne has a tremendously insightful perspective on federal employment litigation that she has graciously agreed to share with our seminar attendees.

The YCST Annual Employment Law Seminar is a yearly highlight for the presenters and attendees, alike. We're looking forward to seeing you there!