| 32nd Annual NLRB/DOL Joint Law Conference
Sponsored with the Labor & Employment Law Sections of the:
Boston Bar Association
Connecticut Bar Association
Maine Bar Association
Massachusetts Bar Association
New Hampshire Bar Association
Rhode Island Bar Association
Vermont Bar Association
Please Note: This course has already
been held.
Date: Thursday, October 21, 2004
Location: Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston, MA
Time: 12:30 PM - 05:15 PM
Schedule/Agenda
Registration Information
The two keynote speakers are Solicitor of Labor Howard Radzely and National Labor Relations Board Member Ronald Meisburg, the NLRB’s most recent appointment. Keynote presentations will highlight pending and recent cases at the Board and recent legal developments at the Department of Labor. Both presentations will address topics of critical importance to practitioners, while analyzing recent developments and framing forthcoming issues.
Concurrent workshops provide an opportunity for small group discussion. The Department of Labor will present workshops on FLSA, ERISA, and OSHA. In the FLSA workshop, the DOL will be discussing the new regulations on the executive, administrative, and professional exemptions to the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The FLSA workshop will be offered twice, to allow participants to attend more than one workshop.
For the NLRB, the NLRB's head of appellate litigation, Deputy Associate General Counsel Aileen Armstrong, will speak on "A Review of Recent NLRB Circuit Court Cases and their Implications for the Workplace."
The day concludes with a networking and cocktail reception. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to meet with your colleagues, program faculty, and the leaders of the labor and employment bar.
~Workshops & Reception~ To assure appropriate accommodations, please indicate which workshop you plan to attend as well as whether or not you'll be attending the reception. Please e-mail your information to als@suffolk.edu.Concurrent Workshops Session I
Workshop A: ERISA
Workshop B: FLSA
Workshop C: OSHA
Concurrent Workshop II
Workshop D: Circuit Court Cases
Workshop E: FLSA (Repeated) Reception Yes or No
| S C H E D U L E / A G E N D A |
| 1:00 |
Welcome and Introductions |
| Rosemary Pye, Regional Director, National Labor Relations Board
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| 1:15 |
Keynot Address
National Labor Relations Board |
- Pending and recent cases at the Board
- The effect of voluntary recognition under a neutrality agreement as a bar to an election petition
- Rules governing employer e-mail policy
- Employee status of teaching assistants at universities
- Obligation to bargain about discretionary discipline
- Election objections based on pro-union conduct by supervisors
- Appropriate standard to determine whether a waiver of bargaining rights has occurred
- Retaliatory state lawsuits after the Supreme Court’s decision in BE&K, where the Supreme Court reconsidered the circumstances under which the Board could find a concluded lawsuit to be an unfair labor practice
Ronald Meisburg, Board Member
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Washington, D.C.
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| 2:00 |
Keynote Address
U.S. Department of Labor |
- Recent legal developments at the Department of Labor
- A brief outline of the new 541 Regulations
Howard Radzely, Solicitor of Labor U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Washington, D.C.
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| 3:15 |
Concurrent Workshops |
- Workshop A: ERISA *
- Workshop B: The Fair Labor Standards Act
- Workshop C: Occupational Safety & Health and Whistleblower Litigation *
*Workshops A and C will be continued until 5:15 for those who wish to continue the discussion WORKSHOP A – ERISA Overview of DOL enforcement initiatives in New England; discussion of Enron-type “employer stock” cases, with an emphasis on Lalonde v. Textron, pending in the District of Rhode Island; Taft-Hartley plan trustee responsibilities, with a focus on the Department’s action regarding the legal services plan in Chao v. Coia (D.R.I.). Michael D. Felsen, Moderator
Counsel for ERISA
Boston Regional Solicitor’s Office, DOL James M. Benages Regional Director
Employee Benefits Services Administration, DOL John J. Cleary, Partner, Goodwin Procter, Boston Kelly M. Lawson, Sr. Trial Attorney, Boston Regional Solicitor’s Office, DOL
Workshop B-Fair Labor Standards Act The FLSA, Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemptions, and the Department of Labor’s New “Part 541” Regulations. John S. Casler, Moderator
Deputy Regional Solicitor Counsel for Employment Standards
Boston Regional Office, DOL David J. Minsky, Chief of Staff
Wage and Hour Division Employment Standards Administration, DOL Ellen C. Kearns, Partner, Epstein, Becker & Green James Glickman, Sr. Trial Attorney, Boston Regional Solicitor's Office, DOL
Workshop C-OSHA And Whistleblower Litigation Whistleblower issues under OSHA and the Surface Transportation Assistance Act; Safety and health litigation issues under the OSHA; Enforcement responsibilities under whistleblower statutes; Issues arising under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including extraterritorial application and protection of coerced “wrongdoers;” whistleblower issues under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act from the employer’s perspective.David L. Baskin, Moderator
Counsel for Civil Rights and Whistleblower Litigation
Boston Regional Solicitors's Office, DOL Christine T. Eskilson, Moderator
Counsel for OSHA, Boston Regional Solicitor's Office, DOL Martha B. Kent, Regional Administrator, Occupational Safety & Health Administration, Boston Regional Solicitor's Office, DOL Ellen Edmond,Whistleblower Program Manager, Office of Solicitor, DOL
Washington, D.C. Anthony D. Rizzotti, Esq., Ropes & Gray, LLP, Boston
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| 4:15 |
Concurrent Workshops |
Workshop D: Recent NLRB Circuit Court Cases & the Implication for the Workplace
Workshop E: The Fair Labor Standards Act (Repeated)This review is intended to help practitioners decide how their decisions will fare before the circuits. Among her topics are mandatory subjects of bargaining, access to employer property by union representatives and employees, and concerted, protected activity. Aileen A. Armstrong, Deputy Associate General Counsel, Appellate Court Branch
NLRB, Washington, D.C.
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| 5:30 |
Cocktail & Networking Reception |
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| Date: |
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Thursday, October 21, 2004 |
| Tuition: |
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To encourage early registration, a discounted tuition charge of $65 is offered if you register before October 11. The full tuition charge is $80 if you register after October 11. Please call to inquire about group discounts and scholarships.
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| Walk-Ins: |
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Space is limited. This conference usually sells out. Please register early to guarantee a seat. Registrations at the door will be permitted if space is available but please call in advance to confirm space availability.
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| Refunds: |
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Written requests for cancellations received via fax or email 24 hours prior to the program will be granted a refund, minus a $15 charge. If you cannot attend, you may send a substitute.
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| Location: |
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Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston, MA
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| Credit: |
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This course will provide CLE Credit in RI, NH, VT, NY & ME.
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Special
Needs: |
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If you have special needs addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act, please notify us as soon as possible.
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Directions to the Law School.
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Library 
