In this podcast, James Paul and Michael Eckard discuss recent developments with regard to religious accommodations in the workplace, and how employees use these accommodations as both swords and shields in the workplace. Our speakers discuss recent litigation regarding religious accommodation requests—both those related to COVID-19 and those that are unrelated to the pandemic. James and Michael also delve deep into the recent disparate treatment Third Circuit Court of Appeals case (brought by an employee who asked to not be scheduled on Sundays), which provided insights on what constitutes an undue hardship.

In this podcast, Scott Kelly, co-chair of Ogletree Deakins’ Affirmative Action and OFCCP Compliance Practice Group, sits down with Hera Arsen, the firm’s director of content at Workplace Strategies, Ogletree Deakins’ national labor and employment law seminar for human resources professionals and in-house counsel, to discuss recent directives and regulatory initiatives from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). Scott examines the practical and legal implications of the changes in OFCCP’s position on covered contractors’ affirmative action plan obligations and the agency’s approach toward compliance reviews, sharing strategic considerations for contractors addressing these heightened demands. He also addresses the increased interagency coordination between OFCCP and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, providing insight into the potential compliance challenges that might come next for contractors.

In this podcast, recorded live from Workplace Strategies, Ogletree Deakins’ annual labor and employment law seminar for human resources professionals and in-house counsel, Phillip Russell and Karen Tynan discuss the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)’s plans to develop a new heat illness standard. Phillip, who is the host of our Dirty Steel-Toe Boots podcast series, and Karen share their insights on what OSHA might include in the forthcoming heat exposure standard and examine the provisions of OSHA’s new national emphasis program (NEP) targeting industries where heat-related hazards may exist, highlighting strategies for reducing occupational heat-related injury and illness.

In this podcast, recorded live at Workplace Strategies 2022, Ogletree Deakins’ national labor and employment law seminar for human resources professionals and in-house counsel, Los Angeles shareholder Betsy Johnson talks with Hera Arsen, the firm’s director of content, about the ins and outs of conducting personnel audits in California. Betsy shares strategies for conducting these understandably daunting audits and covers considerations unique to the most common form of audits—wage and hour—as well as highlighting common problems and pitfalls to avoid during the process.

Recorded live at Workplace Strategies, Ogletree Deakins’ national labor and employment law seminar for human resources professionals and in-house counsel, this podcast features a discussion with William Grob and Hera Arsen, Ph.D., about employee mental health as a key topic of workplace communications. Starting with a look into the social dynamics and complex considerations that have changed company cultures and employee perceptions, as well as expectations, about mental health in recent years, Bill examines the lingering toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on employee well-being and offers pragmatic tips on how to recognize and respond to employees who are experiencing mental health difficulties.

In this podcast, recorded live from Workplace Strategies 2022, Ogletree Deakins’ national labor and employment law seminar for human resources professionals and in-house counsel, Los Angeles shareholder Betsy Johnson speaks with Hera Arsen, the firm’s director of content, about employee privacy rights under California law and the unique compliance challenges employers face as access to employee personal information increases with technological advancements. The speakers explore the tension between employers’ rights and obligations to safeguard their workplaces and the various invasion-of-privacy risks inherent in following employees on social media, handling medical records and personnel files, conducting background checks of job applicants, monitoring employee internet usage, and implementing drug-testing procedures. Betsy also discusses compliance steps that employers may want to consider taking to set employee expectations of workplace privacy.

In this podcast, recorded live from Ogletree Deakins’ 2022 Workplace Strategies seminar, Leigh Nason and Lauren Hicks discuss certain initiatives launched by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) that impose new burdens on federal government contractors and subcontractors to meet their Affirmative Action Program (AAP) obligations. Specifically, Leigh and Lauren examine the nuances of the new Contractor Portal certification process and OFCCP’s directive on pay equity audits, and share key takeaways as to compliance requirements.

In this podcast interview recorded live from Workplace Strategies, Ogletree Deakins’ annual labor and employment law seminar for human resources professionals and in-house counsel, Jocelyn Samuels, vice chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), shares valuable insights on the agency’s current agenda and enforcement priorities, including the EEOC’s artificial intelligence fairness initiative, and offers guidance on the steps employers can take to remain compliant now and in the future. This insider interview with Vice Chair Samuels covers the evolution of the commission’s guidance on COVID-19–related issues and recent updates on key topics, including religious accommodations and caregiver discrimination.

In this podcast, Kara Lancaster and Derek Maka discuss recent updates U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has made to its policy on work authorization for H-4, L-2, and E dependent spouses. The speakers explain the differences within USCIS’s new guidance, the filing strategies employers may see H-4, L-2, and E dependent spouses use to benefit from these changes, as well as the I-9 implications for employers.

In this episode of In The Breakroom With Bill, host Bill Grob is joined by Dee Anna Hays to discuss Florida’s House Bill 7, which, among other things, would prohibit employers from requiring that employees complete training or instruction “that espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels such individual to believe” specific claims constitute discrimination. Our speakers explain the details of the bill, in addition to the open questions presented by the statute, and how Florida employers might need to alter their training programs to bring them into compliance with the proposed law.