Schedule/Sessions
Session 1 - Emerging Trends in Employment Litigation: Spotlight on Medical Cannabis in the Workplace, Website and Technology Access Claims and Joint Employer Liability
- Speakers:
Meredith Cavallaro, Paduano & Weintraub
Rachel Freedman, Sompo International Insurance
Anne Jarrell, Attune Insurance
Kristen Perkins, Kennedys
Bryna Stiefel, Aspen Insurance
This presentation will explore trends in employment practices litigation. It will focus on claims involving medical marijuana, website and technology access and the impact of joint employer liability on discrimination claims. The session will provide discussion with regard to initial claim investigation, evaluation and handling, available defenses, and recent developments in the law. It will address the applicability of current products offered, claim volume, defense costs, the most active jurisdictions in terms of claims and published law, damages exposure, and the tracking of current settlement and trial activity. Our focus will be on developing a road map toward the efficient resolution of these high exposure claims and best practices for mitigating the risks imposed by the joint employer doctrine.
Session 2 - The Expansion of Title VII - The Rise of Gender Identity Claims
- Speakers:
Anoop Bhatheja, City of Phoenix Law Department
Tracie Coleman-Tucker, Hanover Insurance
Holly LaFevers, Esurance
This session will include a panel discussion on the recent rise of gender identity claims, with a focus on practical considerations for employers and insurers in light of the trend to recognize transgender claims within the scope of Title VII. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has indicated in its recent Strategic Enforcement Plan that it intends to vigorously pursue coverage of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals under Title VII's sex discrimination provisions -- even though the plain language of Title VII does not specifically articulate a person’s gender identity can serve as a protected class. The panel will discuss and evaluate the legal authority that serves as the genesis for gender identity claims (Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (1989)) and its evolution to modern application. The panel will also discuss how North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” sparked a national conversation centered on the reach of Title VII. This session will concentrate on how insurers, practitioners and clients can prepare for and respond to this emerging trend.
Back to topSession 3 - The State of the EPL Market: Recent Trends
Our panel will discuss recent trends affecting EPL insurance coverage and how we expect those trends to evolve. We will examine trends in the EPL insurance market as a whole, and at the micro level, focusing on trends in rates and retentions. We will identify high exposure markets, high exposure claims, and newer exposures, including equal pay claims, third party ADA claims, and wage and hour claims.
Next, our panel will describe how carriers have responded to the trends identified. For example, carriers have adjusted limits and retentions, have made certain enhancements to coverage, and have begun excluding or limiting coverage in other ways.
Finally, we will explain how we anticipate the trends to evolve, with a focus on the potential impact on the trends of the outcome of the Presidential election. We expect the election outcome to affect the economy, which will in turn impact the EPL insurance market. As well, a Clinton presidency will impact employee legal rights, and, in turn, EPL insurance claims, in a very different way than a Trump presidency will.
Keynote - Influential Listening: Clarify, Connect, Profit
Want to break through the noise and clutter to get heard in today’s marketplace? Kate Delaney will show you the power of Influential Listening.
Kate reveals the secrets and strategies that got her in front of the microphone and into the locker room, captivating millions of listeners nationwide and closing million dollar deals as a Network CEO.
Key takeaways:
Focused Vocal Interaction – How to REALLY limit distractions to pay attention to what’s being said and what you are saying. Missing words and chunks of a conversation can cost you a deal or more meaningful interaction professionally and personally.
Body Language – Whether it’s a meeting in person or through some form of technology like Zoom, or Skype your movement is important. In a virtual meeting it is still easy to tell when someone isn’t paying attention and LISTENING.
Clearing Your Mind – Recent scientific data shows that we all are processing 35 to 48 thoughts a minute. Learn how to push away mental distractions to focus on the conversation and not think about what’s rattling around in your head.
Active Listening – The power of knowing when to ask questions when you’re listening and getting clarification.
Back to topSession 4 - Employee Retaliation Claims and Helpful Steps for Preventing or Minimizing Employer Liability
- Speakers:
Lisa Lamm Bachman, Foley & Mansfield, PLLP
Gregory Meihn, Foley & Mansfield, PLLP
Carrie Mishler, Cincinnati Insurance Company
Wendy Thompson, Collegiate Admission & Retention Solutions
As the economy improves the number of employment-related retaliation claims continues to increase. Despite the growing number of retaliation claims, employers can implement policies, procedures, and training for supervisors and human resources professionals to significantly reduce or eliminate problematic retaliation claims premised upon state and federal anti-discrimination statutes, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Defense counsel and insurance professionals will benefit from understanding the facts and circumstances that give rise to liability for retaliation claims and the additional steps employers should consider after an employee asserts an internal claim of retaliation, a request for FMLA leave, an ADA accommodation, or a charge of discrimination with a state or federal agency.
This seminar will focus on the following topics:
Overview of retaliation claims.
Protected activity, adverse employment actions and causation.
The implications of disciplining an employee/complainant after requesting FMLA/ADA leave or asserting any a claim for retaliation.
The prevention of FMLA interference and retaliation claims, including the recent U.S. Supreme Court case involving the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and common-law marriage as it relates to the definition of spouse.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) recent resource document issued on May 9, 2016 reinforcing an employers’ obligations to provide leave as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.
Requisite medical certification and FMLA eligibility.
Session 5 - YOU’RE FIRED! The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Employment Terminations
- Speakers:
Sheri Bradtke McNeil, Self Employed
Jessica Craft, Littler Mendelson, P.C.
Greg Gilliam, Schools of Ohio Risk Sharing Authority (SORSA)
Jaynie Spies, Network Adjusters, Inc.
Whether a person is an apprentice, or CEO of a major corporation, these words usually spark contentious reactions. In today’s insurance, business, and public sector employment claims worlds, those reactions often lead to challenges and expensive litigation. How an employer prepares for--and responds to—an employee termination situation, can be the key to whether there is a smooth transition, or a potential legal liability claims disaster. Insurers and legal counsel can make the difference and help with guidance through this tumultuous and vulnerable experience.
This session will offer attendees insurance claims examples of employee termination cases . These will include situations of what led up to the termination, the processes done or not done, and the results—good or bad. The presenters will also offer perspectives of their legal experiences in these type of cases, the legal liability ramifications, solutions, and ways to avoid or neutralize similar cases in the future from an insurance and legal point of view.
No Learning Objectives Available
