On October 7, David Lopez, General Counsel, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, was the keynote speaker at Ward and Smith, P.A.'s Employment Law Symposium at the Renaissance Asheville. His presentation covered the EEOC's top litigation development and trends including ADA accommodations, LGBT rights, and discrimination.
The morning seminar featured several speakers in addition to Lopez on a variety of current labor and employment legal topics. Jeanette Doran, Chair, Board of Review for the North Carolina Division of Employment Security, reminded attendees that written documentation is key to defeating invalid unemployment claims. Among other takeaways for human resource professionals, she provided a list of documents essential in many discharge cases, which includes copies of any rules or policies the claimant violated, and, if available, consequences for violation, proof that the claimant was aware of the rule or policy and consequences, and any documentation that employee was previously warned about prior violations of the rule or policy and that his/her job was in jeopardy.
Ward and Smith Labor and Employment attorneys Grant Osborne and Hayley Wells conducted a roundtable and Q&A session covering many topics ranging from key legal differences between independent contractors and employees, increased salary threshold for exempt employees, North Carolina HB2, and legal issues for employers created by social media during all phases of employment.
For more information regarding any of the issues covered during this seminar, please contact one of our Labor and Employment attorneys.
