Labor and Employment Roundtable: What HR Executives and Business Owners Need to Know

Join us for a review of employment, trade and U.S. Supreme Court cases from 2016, as well as a look ahead.

New Laws Enacted and Important Cases Decided in 2016
Doug Haloftis, Barnes & Thornburg
For multi-state employers, what were the most impactful state employment laws enacted in 2016? What key issues did the U.S. Supreme Court address in 2016? What cases has it decided (or will it decide to take) during its 2016-2017 Term? And, where do cases stand that have enjoined major Obama administration initiatives impacting wage and hour, overtime, and labor relation issues?

Top 10 Tips to Avoid Employment Discrimination Claims
Tina Syring, Barnes & Thornburg
Employment-related lawsuits are difficult to deal with. Emotions run high with personal issues often brought into play. Even when claims are meritless, defense costs can be substantial. The impact on morale and reputation can also be significant. This presentation will provide tips that may help reduce employment-related issues in your business and strengthen your defenses if an action is brought.

What You Need to Know About the Defend Trade Secret Act of 2016
Jon Hyland, Barnes & Thornburg
On April 27, 2016, in a departure from the partisan gridlock that had gripped Washington, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing a sweeping new federal statute to protect trade secrets, the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA). The DTSA creates a new federal civil cause of action for trade secret thefts. Among other provisions, the DTSA allows for ex parte seizure orders, creates immunity from trade secret misappropriation actions for whistleblowers, imposes requirements on employers to notify their employees of the whistleblower immunity, and grants trade secret owners the right to file a submission under seal before their trade secret may be disclosed in court. This presentation will discuss the DTSA and how it interacts with existing state trade secret laws.

Recent Developments in Whistleblower Carve-Outs in Employer Agreements
Elizabeth Brandon, Barnes & Thornburg
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Whistleblower Program has paid out more than $100 million to whistleblowers since the program was created in 2010 following the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The program provides monetary incentives for individuals to come forward and report possible violations of the federal securities laws to the SEC, and it prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who report possible violations. Over the last 18 months, the SEC has aggressively pursued enforcement proceedings against companies, seeking to bar them from using confidentiality or waiver of claims provisions in various corporate agreements that regulators believe restrict potential whistleblowers from reporting violations to the government, thus violating whistleblower rules subject to Dodd-Frank. This presentation will explore the recent enforcement proceedings and provide tips on updating agreements to ensure compliant whistleblower carve-outs.

Where: Hotel Crescent Court | 400 Crescent Court | Dallas, TX 75201

When: Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Registration: 2:00 p.m. (Central)
Program: 2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Reception: 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.

Questions? Contact Jodie Daugherty at jdaugherty@btlaw.com or (317) 261-7922. 

Read more: http://www.btlaw.com/2017-Labor-and-Employment-Litigation-Threats-What-You-Need-To-Know-12-31-2017/