| WALKING THE LINE IN THE 21st CENTURY WORKPLACE
How to Balance Rights, Responsibilities & Interests
Please Note: This course has already
been held.
Date: Thursday, September 20, 2007
Location: Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont St., Boston, MA
Time: 04:00 PM - 07:30 PM
Schedule/Agenda
Registration Information
Unable to attend but are interested in the course materials?
Purchase Here! |
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The 21st century has brought new issues to the workplace. Employees are technologically savvy: accessing the internet for business and personal use, e-mailing, instant messaging, blogging, and sharing information on social and business networking sites. Workplaces are global and multi-cultural: workforces consist of people who speak different languages and have diverse cultures and religions. Employees are spending less time in the office but working more hours as the lines between home and work are blurred and the notion of being on-duty and off-duty is becoming less clear. Companies utilize more independent contractors, temporary and contract workers, and engage in strategic partnerships and joint ventures.
Amidst all this change comes a challenge for employers. How do employers establish policies and procedures that permit employees to enjoy the individual freedoms of expression that they have come to expect, while protecting the rights of other employees and the interests of the company? Join us as we explore areas in which these sometimes competing interests are impacting the workplace: Individual Freedom, Religion and Cultural Diversity.
- Is it acceptable for an employer to refuse to hire or fire people who engage in off-duty activities that the company does not like but which are perfectly legal, such as smoking?
- Is it acceptable for an employer to refuse to hire or fire people for things they say on their personal websites or blogs?
- Is it acceptable for an employee to display religious items in their work space?
Attend this seminar and you will gain insight into these issues and be better prepared to address them in your 21st century workplace.
PLANNING COMMITTEE & FACULTY Jeffrey A. Dretler, Esq, Co-Chair & Planning Committee
Prince, Lobel, Glovsky and Tye, LLP, Boston, MA
Jessica A. Foster, Esq.
Labor and Employment Counsel, The Mentor Network, Boston, MA
Professor Marc Greenbaum, Planning Committee
Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA Lynn Kappelman, Esq.
Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Boston, MA Vivian Leonard, Esq.
Director, Office of Human Resources, City of Boston Anne K. Morrill, Esq., Planning Committee
Counsel, Boston Scientific, Natick, MA McCray S. Pettway, Esq.
Human Resources Employment and Compliance & Labor Law
BJs Wholesale Club, Inc., Natick, MA
Honorable Michael A. Ponsor
United States District Court, Springfield, MA Rebecca G. Pontikes, Esq.
Siegal, Wagner & Swartz, LLC, Boston, MA Harvey A. Schwartz, Esq.
Rodgers, Powers & Schwartz, LLP, Boston, MA Nancy Shilepsky, Esq., Co-Chair & Planning Committee
Shilepsky, O’Connell, LLP, Boston, MA Assistant Professor Patrick Shin
Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA Samuel R. Sommers
Assistant Professor of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA Laura R. Studen, Esq.
Co-Chair, Litigation Department Burns & Levinson, LLP, Boston, MA Sara Wunsch, Planning Committee
ACLU Massachusetts
| S C H E D U L E / A G E N D A |
| 4:00 |
WELCOME AND OVERVIEW |
| Attorneys Jeffrey A. Dretler & Nancy Shilepsky, Co-Chairs
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| 4:15 |
LIFESTYLES ISSUES |
- Smokers
- Internet Use: Social Network Sites, Blogs & Pornography
- Political Activity
- Appearance
Moderator: Professor Marc Greenbaum
Vivian Leonard, Esq. and Harvey A. Schwartz, Esq.
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| 4:45 |
DISCUSSION AND Q & A |
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| 5:00 |
RELIGION |
- How do the courts define religion?
- When is a religious belief sincerely held?
- What constitutes a “reasonable accommodation?”
- How do you balance an employee’s request for religious accommodation against the employer’s business needs?
- How to balance the rights of all v. the personal beliefs of one
- What should an employer do if an employee wants to display religious items in his work space?
Moderator: Lynn Kappelman
Honorable Michael A. Ponsor, McCray S. Pettway, Esq. and Laura R. Studen, Esq.
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| 6:00 |
DISCUSSION AND Q & A |
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| 6:30 |
MANAGING WORKPLACE DIVERSITY |
- Recent empirical findings on the social effects of diversity
- Preventing unwarranted perceptions of discrimination
- Maintaining corporate culture in a diverse workplace
Moderator: Professor Patrick Shin
Professor Samuel R. Sommers, Jessica A. Foster, Esq. and Rebecca G. Pontikes, Esq.
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| 7:15 |
DISCUSSION AND Q & A |
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| Date: |
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Thursday, September 20, 2007 |
| Tuition: |
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Tuition is $199; $149 for Suffolk alumni, attorneys admitted to the Bar after 2004. The course book is included in the tuition charge.
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| Walk-Ins: |
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Space is limited. Registrations at the door are welcome, but please register in advance to reserve a seat and your written course materials or call 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 can send a substitute, otherwise you will receive the written course materials.
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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 & 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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Unable to attend but are interested in the course materials?
Purchase Here! |
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|
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