Mark Whitney speaks at Greater Merrimack Valley SHRM Chapter’s Annual Legal Update

On March 9, 2011, Mark Whitney presented an Annual Employment Law Update seminar to the Greater Merrimack Valley Human Resources Association, a chapter of SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management).  Copies of the seminar materials may be downloaded by clicking here.

Nearly 50 HR executives attended the session, where Mark discussed the following topics:

– Review of expired federal stimulus programs (COBRA/HIRE Act);

– Amendments to the FLSA concerning nursing mothers;

– DOL guidance on internships;

– Amendments to the Mass. Personnel Records Statute;

– The Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 reporting requirements;

– Review of the new GINA regulations;

– Status of pending ADAAA regulations;

– Update and trends in noncompete law, including a review of the pending Mass Noncompete Bill;

– Background check reform efforts, including changes to the Mass CORI system and trends in state and federal legislative efforts to curtail employers’ ability to use credit reports in hiring;

– Review of the law concerning discrimination on the basis of gender identity;

– NH legislative activities, including the Joint Agency Task Force to address employee misclassification and the pending “Right to Work” bill;

– The impact of emerging workplace technologies on employee privacy rights, including a discussion of the Supreme Court “sexting” case and a review of cases under the Stored Communications Act;

– Monitoring of employee movements using GPS technology;

– NLRB update, including recent pro-union actions;

– Recent interesting cases which impact the workplace; and

– The “universal truths” about employer documentation and juries’ expectations.