DRI’s Employment Law Committee is a vibrant, active committee that provides education, shared expertise and professional development to its members, who are involved in the practice of labor and employment law. These members include outside counsel, in-house counsel, human resource representatives and claims professionals from various employment practices and liability insurance carriers.
There are opportunities for individuals to publish articles on topics of interest in the employment law area through writing for either The Job Description, the committee’'s quarterly newsletter, or as a part of the committee section in For The Defense, DRI's monthly magazine. In 2009, the committee expects to release a trial tactics compendium on employment law issues and will author a variety of articles for the April 2009 issue of For The Defense. The committee also sponsored a webconference highlighting religious accommodation issues in the work place in August 2008, which generated rave reviews.
The 32nd Annual Employment Law Seminar is scheduled for April 30•May 1, 2009, in Orlando, Florida, at the beautiful J.W. Marriott Grande Lakes Resort. Last year, nearly 400 attorneys and claims professionals from throughout the country attended the program in Chicago.
This year's seminar has something for everyone, including a presentation from the EEOC's newest commissioner on the EEOC’s latest policy initiatives and enforcement guidance, Al Latham's annual employment law case update, a session on the recent expansion of retaliation claims signaled by the United States Supreme Court’s decision of January 26, 2009, in Crawford v. Nashville, as well as presentations on crisis management, surviving reductions in force, and the legal pitfalls of social networking on the Internet. The speakers at the seminar include some of the most accomplished employment lawyers in the country, as well as top-level government and corporate counsel.
Thursday afternoon is topped off by the first of the committee’s two annual business meetings. This provides an excellent opportunity not only to become acquainted with other committee members, but also to become involved in committee projects. The seminar continues to feature “dine-arounds,” which have become legendary, where attendees join each other at area restaurants. After the program, the committee''s young lawyers host a reception, which is open to both young and “old” alike.
The committee’s second business meeting will be held at the DRI Annual Meeting in October in Chicago. During this committee business meeting, we will host a presentation on the top five trends in wage and hour litigation, which will detail the most highly litigated issues and winning strategies in FLSA/wage and hour litigation.
Opportunities to participate in the committee abound, and our current steering committee has over 80 members committed to working to increase membership, market our programs and publications, expand our diversity and respond to legislative and rulemaking initiatives. A large percentage of the steering committee members are new to the leadership of the committee, and we are proud of our commitment to involving new committee members in our leadership.
The committee’s discussion list serve is an invaluable resource for members to share information and ideas on our rapidly changing area of practice. A day does not pass without a member posting a unique issue that has arisen, which receives prompt responses from at least a dozen experienced members sharing their expertise on the issue with the entire list serve.
Of particular note this year is our developing Employment Practice Liability Insurance Carrier Subcommittee, which will address the unique issues our insurers face. This new subcommittee, along with our Corporate Counsel Advisory Subcommittee, brings the needs of members who do not practice as outside defense counsel to the center of our focus.
The Employment Law Committee continues to grow. We hope you will join in our progress.