HR Network

Join Cooley’s labor and employment group as our practitioners guide attendees through the ever-changing legal landscape. From US legal updates to legal developments abroad, our seasoned lawyers will provide detailed guidance to companies regardless of industry. Check out the full schedule of topics and detailed descriptions on each registration page.

• September 19, 2024 – Session 1: UK Legal Update
  This first session covered key UK updates regarding redundancies or reductions in force, post-termination restrictive covenants, and HR-related data protection issues. We also covered the Labour government’s legislative proposals – and what’s new and trending in the world of share options.
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• September 24, 2024 – Session 2: US Legal Update – Discrimination, Employee Leave, Accommodations and AI
  This session will provide a detailed review of US federal and state legal updates in the areas of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, employee leave, and accommodations. Plus, stay ahead of the curve by learning about emerging issues surrounding employer use of artificial intelligence.
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• September 26, 2024 –  Session 3: US Legal Update –Restrictive Covenants, Arbitration Agreements, NLRA, Whistleblowing and More
  This second US legal update session will delve into new developments, as well as legal and policy changes, related to restrictive covenant and employee arbitration agreements, the National Labor Relations Act, and whistleblowing laws.
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• October 1, 2024 –  Session 4: US Legal Update – Wage and Hour Essentials, Pay Equity, and More
  This third US legal update session will explore various wage and hour matters, such as changes to federal overtime requirements, ongoing issues related to contractor misclassification, and California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) reforms. We’ll also cover recent issues in pay equity, reductions in force, and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, and provide a roundup of other 2024 legal developments of interest to employers.
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• October 8, 2024 –  Session 5: Workplace Investigations and Post-Investigation Remediation
  In this session, we’ll discuss how to effectively manage employee work-related complaints – and how to recognize the need for an employment-related investigation. We’ll also cover how to structure workplace investigations, attorney-client privilege issues related to employee investigations, and the management of post-investigation remediation and resolution processes.
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• October 15, 2024 –  Session 6: DEI in US and UK Workplaces – Current Challenges, Future Directions
  This session will review recent court cases regarding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, trends and actions affecting DEI initiatives in the workplace, and ways to develop successful DEI programs for organizations in the US and the UK.
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• October 17, 2024 –  Session 7: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do – Employee Benefit Considerations When Terminating Employees
  This session will focus on key benefit considerations when terminating employees individually or in connection with a reduction in force. Topics will include rules applicable to Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) severance plans, Code Section 409A rules governing post-termination payments, Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) obligations and promised subsidies, and 401(k) contributions. We’ll also cover how to manage welfare benefit plans, such as life insurance, long-term disability benefits and flexible spending accounts, as well as post-employment considerations for employee equity incentives.
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• September 28, 2023 – Session 1: US Legal Update Part One
  During the first legal update discussion, our presenters addressed new developments and legal and policy changes related to wage and hour law, discrimination, harassment and retaliation, pay transparency, and leaves of absence. We also discussed considerations related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and recent developments.
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• October 5, 2023 – Session 2: US Legal Update Part Two
  Part two of the legal update will address new developments and legal and policy changes related to restrictive covenant agreements, employee arbitration agreements and the National Labor Relations Act. We will cover ongoing issues and challenges related to employees working from home and (not) returning to the office, as well as discussing emerging and timely employment questions regarding artificial intelligence and employee privacy.
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• October 12, 2023–  Session 3: UK Legal Update 
  This program is an update on the latest legal developments in UK employment law, covering important cases from the past 12 months, key issues to consider with post-termination restrictive covenants, and what’s new and trending in the world of share options.
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• October 19, 2023 –  Session 4: HR & ESG: Legal and Human Capital Considerations
  Environmental, social and governance (ESG) was traditionally relegated to investor relations, but in recent years, organizations have increasingly realized the important role human resources (HR) plays in ESG strategy. Join us as we examine the critical role HR leaders and teams play in addressing ESG, as these initiatives matter to all stakeholders – investors, employees, customers and communities. This session will cover a wide variety of ESG-related matters – including the approach to ESG at private versus public companies, the interplay with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), evolving trends, board oversight, stakeholder expectations, reporting requirements, equity audits, structures and staffing. The program will provide practical insights for employers in all jurisdictions and industries, with a special focus on how HR professionals can embed ESG and purpose in their organizations.
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• October 26, 2023 –  Session 5: How to Comply With New NLRB Rules
  The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has broadly expanded not only enforcement of existing law but also the scope of the National Labor Relations Act itself over the past year such that nonunion employers are squarely in the crosshairs of enforcement. Join us to discuss the rapid expansion of the law, an overview of enforcement and ways to keep your team from becoming the target of the NLRB.
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• November 2, 2023 –  Session 6: Collecting and Managing Employee Data under the California Consumer Privacy Act
  The California Consumer Privacy Act has broad requirements governing the collection, deletion and sharing of data relating to employees and other service providers. In this session, we’ll discuss these requirements, how to comply and new developments in the anticipated enforcement of this law.
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• October 6, 2022 – Session 1: West Coast Legal Update
  This program offers an update on the latest legal developments in employment law and covers topics such as wage and hour; discrimination, harassment and retaliation; COVID-19 and return-to-office matters; trade secrets and noncompete agreements; arbitration and California Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims; and other hot issues.
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• October 13, 2022 – Session 2: East Coast and Midwest Legal Update
  This program offers an update on the latest legal developments in employment law and covers topics such as equal pay and pay transparency; noncompetition covenants; wage and hour; leaves of absence; discrimination, harassment and retaliation; worker classification; mandatory COVID-19 vaccines and accommodations; whistleblower laws; background checking; and other hot issues.
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• October 20, 2022–  Session 3: UK Legal Update 
  This program provides an update on the latest legal developments in UK employment law and covers important cases from the past 12 months, as well as key issues to consider when conducting redundancies and what’s trending in the world of share options.
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• October 27, 2022 –  Session 4: The Not-So-Remote Risks of a Remote Workforce
  This program covers the day-to-day challenges associated with managing remote and hybrid workforces, including wage and hour compliance, Americans With Disabilities Act issues, conflicts of interest, performance management, privacy and employee monitoring, expense reimbursements, onboarding documents, handbook policies, and multistate employment compliance.
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• November 3, 2022 –  Session 5: Going Global: Considerations for International Hiring
  How can employers approach hiring internationally? This presentation provides a step-by-step guide to relocating employees overseas and hiring directly outside the US.
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• November 10, 2022 –  Session 6: Workforce Agility in an Uncertain Market: Right-Sizing and Competitive Hiring
  With an unusual job market and a tightening economy, many employers are preserving cash and considering reductions in force and other employee-related cost-cutting measures. At the same time, with record-low unemployment, competition for top talent is fierce, and employers may seek to gain an advantage by hiring competitors’ employees, many of whom have noncompetition or nonsolicitation agreements and access to trade secrets. In this session, we cover both sides of the coin – how to minimize risk by effectively reducing cost through headcount reductions and how to hire competitively without incurring substantial litigation risk.
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• October 7, 2021 – Session 1: West Coast Legal Update
  This program is an update on the latest legal developments in employment law and covers the following topics: wage and hour; discrimination/harassment/retaliation; mandatory COVID vaccines and accommodations; noncompete agreements and trade secrets; arbitration; remote work legal considerations; and other hot issues.
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• October 14, 2021 – Session 2: UK Legal Update 
  This program is an update on the latest legal developments and covers returning to the office; important cases from the past 12 months; key issues to consider when expanding internationally; and answers to the five most regularly asked share option questions of 2021.
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• October 21, 2021–  Session 3: East Coast and Midwest Legal Update
  This program is an update on the latest employment-related legal developments and covers new laws and recent cases addressing issues involving wage and hour; illegal discrimination and harassment; leaves of absence; remote work; return-to-office and safety protocols; and other hot issues.
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• October 28, 2021 –  Session 4:Pay Equity: Legal Developments and Considerations for Conducting Audits
  How should employers approach pay equity? This presentation discusses pay equity laws and consider whether and how employers should conduct workforce pay equity audits.
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• November 4, 2021 –  Session 5: What Every Employer Should Know About Noncompetes
  This program is an update on the current status of noncompete laws in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast US, discusses recent cases and how they affect employers, and offers practical advice on hiring candidates from competitors and handling former employees joining competitors.
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