British American Business Council of Greater Philadelphia

About the Program

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, our annual Developments in Workplace Law and Practice seminar series has moved to a virtual format. Over the course of two weeks, Duane Morris Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice attorneys will examine the recent changes in employment laws, with a focus on how the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the workplace, and offers employers strategies for navigating the strange new realities we all now face.

Program Sessions

Tuesday, October 27, 2020 | Employment Life Cycle of the Remote Employee

As working from home becomes the norm, how do employers manage employees remotely? Michael Cohen, Delia Isvoranu, Eve Klein, Marc Scheiner and Elisabeth Bassani discuss the different approaches employers must take to effectively manage remote employees at every stage:

• Hiring and Onboarding
• Wage and Hour
• Home Operations
• Performance Management and Terminations

Additionally, Maxine Bayley and Elise Berman will discuss the immigration issues of remote work arrangements, including I-9 and E-Verify requirements and sponsorship-related issues.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 | Best Practices for Protecting Your Business from Class and Collective Actions and Unfair Competition

In this uncertain business environment, two of the most significant employment-related threats to your business are class and collective actions lawsuits and unfair competition by former employees and competitors. Class and collective actions may be filed for wage claims connected with remote work, as well as for EEO and WARN claims arising out of furloughs and layoffs. Employers may face unfair competition from former employees who are furloughed, laid-off or voluntarily depart (or from claims of unfair competition arising from hiring such individuals or groups of employees). Robert Eassa, Michael Gibson, James Hollihan, Shannon Hampton Sutherland, Kevin Vance, Jonathan Wetchler, Jennifer O’Sullivan and Rebecca Ruffer will present the following program to help you manage these significant risks: (1) Learn the pros and cons of mandatory arbitration and alternate dispute programs from the perspectives of both the employer and employee, and how to implement them to avoid class and collective actions and reduce the burdens and expense of litigation; and (2) discuss from both the plaintiff and defense perspectives the best practices and contract terms vital to protect your business from unfair competition, misappropriation of confidential/trade secret information and employee raiding, and to defend your business from these claims.

Ted Chiappari and Olivia Scofield will outline the special considerations for employers with foreign nationals when using restrictive covenants and other protective agreements.

Thursday, October 29, 2020 | Navigating Leave Issues During COVID-19

With new legislation and regulations added to existing and already complex laws, employers face new challenges in complying with employee requests for leaves of absence. Ann Bradley, Linda Hollinshead, Lorraine Ocheltree, Maria Cáceres-Boneau, Sarah Gilbert and Marc Koonin will offer strategies to help employers with the maze of leave issues and laws impacted by COVID-19, including the FFCRA, ADA, FMLA, and state and local laws, along with special considerations for leaves related to pregnancy and child/school care.

Michael Hoops and Terra Ralston Martin will explain how leave requests involving foreign nationals affect their visa statuses and other immigration issues.

Monday, November 9, 2020 | Immigration Updates

Employee Sponsorship in the COVID-19 Era

Stay-at-home orders, short- and long-term remote work setups and business closures have rapidly changed immigration sponsorship in unprecedented ways. Constantly evolving immigration forms, policies, regulations and priorities make for a treacherous immigration landscape. In this one-hour seminar, learn the latest sponsorship trends and best practices for initial hiring, visa extensions and permanent sponsorship of foreign national employees. Hector Chichoni, John L’Esperance, Susanne Heubel, Alejandra Vargas and Fanny Wong will discuss:

• H-1B Timing, Trends and RFEs
• TN 10 Essential Travel and Stories from the Border
• Multinational Transferees
• PERM Advertising Requirements and Audit Trends
• Green Card Sponsorship
• Update on the October Visa Bulletin

Immigration Visas and Travel: Navigating the Unnavigable

Visa bans, country bans, quarantine rules, consular closures, flight restrictions and border closures… to name only a few of the challenges employers and employees face when traveling abroad. Who can go where and when? Even more importantly, how do they get back? Pierre Bonnefil, Jet Stigter, Angela Moore and Teo Purcell will discuss the current state of international travel for foreign national employees. Topics include:

• Current U.S. Visa and COVID-19 Travel Bans
• Essential Travel as Determined by CBP
• What Should I Tell My Employees About International Travel?
• Exceptions and Waivers to the Bans
• How to Get an Emergency Visa Appointment

Tuesday, November 10, 2020 | NLRA Updates and Implications in the COVID-19 Era

2020 has been a tumultuous year for employers, union and nonunion alike. Join Bruce Kasten, James Redeker, Eve Klein, Adam Keating and Elizabeth Mincer for a discussion of the recent labor developments that all employers need to know, with topics including: COVID-19 labor considerations and workplace issues, significant and precedent-shifting NLRB decisions, new and challenged NLRB regulations and our predictions of what may come next given that the election will be just days away.

Tuesday, November 10, 2020 | COVID-19 Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Compliance

Timothy Collins, Michael Gradisek, John Nixon, John Reade and Naina Kamath will discuss (1) the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and its impact on qualified retirement plans (including additional distribution and loan rights and suspension of required minimum distributions), (2) the issues surrounding the extension of health and welfare benefits coverage during COVID furloughs and leave periods (both paid and unpaid), (3) the impact of COVID on employment agreements and nonqualified deferred compensation plans and (4) the extended time frame available to participants and employers with respect to certain deadlines under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code (including COBRA obligations).

Wednesday, November 11, 2020 | Key Wage-and-Hour Issues for Remote Workers

James Brown, Christopher Durham, Jennifer Kearns, Aaron Winn, Fatima Guillen-Walsh, Maryam Maleki and Eric Ruden discuss important issues in wage-and-hour law, including the legal differences between independent contractors and employees and exempt and nonexempt employees.

Kenneth Schultz and Denyse Sabagh provide immigration-related updates involving the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigations of H-1Bs and PERMs, immigration sponsorship, hiring and reverse discrimination and an update on recent activities of the DOJ Office of Immigrant and Employee Rights.

Wednesday, November 11, 2020 | Diversity and Inclusion

Meagan Garland and Meredith Gregston will address the diversity and inclusion topics that emerged during the pandemic: the Black Lives Matters movement, social justice and how employers can support and create diverse and inclusive workplaces even with the ongoing pandemic.

Thursday, November 12, 2020 | State Law Updates, Including COVID-19 Workplace Laws and Regulations | 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Duane Morris attorneys from our network of offices will provide key updates from their states, including: New Jersey (Kathleen O’Malley and Danielle Dwyer), California (Lorraine Ocheltree, Delia Isvoranu and Brooke Tabshouri), Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. (Carla Murphy), Pennsylvania (Caroline Austin), New York (Eve Klein and Maria Cáceres-Boneau), Illinois (Daniel Canales and Jennifer Long), Georgia (Joseph Ciucci and Christopher Kanne), Texas (Meredith Gregston) and other states with significant changes.