Recent News

March 27, 2009

Winds of Change: Labor and Employment Law in the Obama Era

~ written by Christopher Hogan, Chair, Labor & Employment Committee

The Columbus Bar is pleased to offer “Winds of Change: Labor and Employment in the Obama Era.” In his first few months in office, President Obama has already rescinded executive orders viewed as barriers to unionization and has signed legislation that significantly expands employer liability for pay discrimination. He will also likely preside over filling the three vacant seats of the five-member National Labor Relations Board and the implementation of several key regulatory initiatives, including regulations implementing the sweeping expansion of federal disability law wrought by the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008. “The first two years of the Obama administration promise to be a time of profound change, perhaps at a level seen only once in a generation,” explained Christopher Hogan, Chair of the Bar’s Labor and Employment Law Committee. “As significant as the changes have been thus far,” Hogan noted, “they are only the first steps in unwinding an eight-year effort to curtail the scope of federal labor and employment law.”

Matt Austin of Mason Law Firm will kick off this 3-hour CLE by examining key labor and employment legislation likely to become law in the coming year, including a proposed labor law that could cause a spike in unionization. Next Christopher Hogan of Newhouse Letcher Prophater & Moots will provide an update on recent regulatory changes and then sketch the regulatory horizon with particular emphasis on what types of regulations can be expected from the EEOC. Finally, David Ball of Schottenstein Zox & Dunn will conclude the program with a Supreme Court update to include recent labor and employment decisions issued by the Court and a preview of the Court’s docket in this area.

This seminar is being held on June 10 from 9:00am to 12:15pm. Register online or call 614/221.4112. Event code# LE090610. Member $105 prepay, $120 day-of; Non-member $150 prepay, $165 day-of; Non-attorney $75 prepay, $90 day-of.

The answers, my friends, are blowin’ in the wind. Please join us.