This program is also available via webcast! To register for the WEBCAST please use the following link: http:⁄⁄www.cobar.org⁄calendar⁄eventdetail.cfm?EventID=EM061109W

 

 

 

 

*Selection Issues

*Notice Issues

*Wage Issues

*Severance and Severance Agreements

*Releases

*Exit Checklists and Other Administrative Considerations

*COBRA Rights, Employee Benefits and the Effect of Recent Legislation

*Non-compete, Trade Secret, and Non-solicitation Considerations

*The Top 10 Mistakes Employers Make When Conducting a Layoff and to How to Avoid Making Them!

 

 

*Employment Law Attorneys

*In-house Counsel

*Business Law Attorneys

*Human Resources Professionals

*Corporate Management

*Anyone Who Needs to Avoid Making Critical Mistakes When Conducting a Layoff!

 

 

Our country is suffering through one of the toughest economic recessions in recent memory.  Tragically, many companies are being forced to lay off employees in order to survive these harsh economic times.  Attorneys assisting these companies need to give their clients practical, useful advice on the best way to conduct these layoffs to avoid liability and to ensure that both the employer and employees are treated fairly.  Plaintiff attorneys, on the other hand, need to know the “right” way for an employer to conduct a layoff so that they can evaluate the layoff-related issues in their cases effectively and accurately.

 

This program's experienced employment law instructors will help you answer the most pressing questions about the law of layoffs, including:

 

*What are the most practical approaches for downsizing your workplace in these uncertain economic times?

*What alternatives to layoffs are employers using and why?

*What steps should an employer take when planning a layoff to protect the company from liability for discrimination?

*Who does the WARN Act apply to and what does it mean?

*What are best administrative practices to use when conducting a layoff?

*What does the Older Workers Benefits Protection Act (OWBPA) require for releases in the context of a “group” termination?

*What do employers need to know about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 when conducting a layoff?

*What steps should employers take to keep their valuable intellectual property from leaving with their employees?

*What are the 10 most common avoidable mistakes employers make when laying off employees?

 

Whether you are in-house counsel, outside counsel, an employment law attorney, or a non-attorney professional with a need to know, you owe it to yourself, and to your client or company, to attend this valuable, practical seminar.

 

 

 

 

8:30 AM – 9:00 AM

 

9:00 AM – 9:05 AM

 

9:05 AM – 9:55 AM

 

*Alternatives to a layoff (a.k.a. “reduction in force” or “RIF”)?

   -Furlough (with discussion of FLSA regulatory requirements)

   -Early retirement

   -Voluntary separations

   -Pay freezes or pay cuts

*Federal and state statutes impacting the selection process

*Red flags, including

    -Employees on medical leave

    -Employees with recent workers' compensation injuries

    -Employees who have filed recent protected complaints

    -Employees who are involved in current EEO proceedings

*Documentation of selection issues

 

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM

 

*The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act

*Should layoff notice be addressed in handbooks?  Contracts?  Both?  If so, how?

*Other situations in which the employer should⁄must give notice before a layoff

 

10:30 AM – 10:45 AM

 

10:45 AM – 11:15 AM

 

*Pros and cons of offering severance

*Getting an agreement in return for the severance package

*Drafting sound severance agreements without raising red flags for affected employees

*Timing of presenting a severance offer. 

*ERISA implications of severance and when to call in expert legal help

*Other matters to consider covering in the severance agreement

    -Job rehire

    -Job training

    -Non-disparagement

    -Confidentiality

 

11:20 AM – 12:05 PM

 

*Special age requirements

*Older Worker Benefits Protection Act (OWBPA) considerations when doing a group layoff

*Things that cannot be released

 

12:05 PM – 1:20 PM

 

1:20 PM – 2:10 PM

 

*The exit checklist

    -What has to go in it

    -Why it is important, from a liability standpoint, to make sure the items in the checklist get   done

*How the Colorado Wage Claim Act is in implicated in a layoff

*Other wage and hour considerations when conducting a layoff

*Logistical issues that need to be thought about before the employee leaves

 

 

2:15 PM – 2:50 PM

 

*About employee health care coverage rights after termination (Consolidated Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 - COBRA)

*The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (effective February 17, 2009) and how it affects COBRA rights and responsibilities

*Affects of a layoff on employee benefits plans

 

2:50 PM – 3:00 PM

 

3:00 PM – 3:50 PM

 

*How separation documents can reaffirm non-compete, non-solicitation, and trade secret agreements

 

3:55 PM – 4:45 PM

 

4:45 PM

 

 

 

Jacobs Chase Frick Kleinkopf & Kelley, LLC

Denver, CO

 

Hale-Friesen, LLP

Denver, CO

 

Heizer Paul, LLP

Denver, CO

 

Davis Graham & Stubbs, LLP

Denver, CO

 

Ford & Harrison, LLP

Denver, CO

 

Perkins Coie, LLP

Denver, CO

 

Jacobs Chase Frick Kleinkopf & Kelley, LLC

Denver, CO

 

 

Denver: CLE Classroom, 1900 Grant Street, Suite 300

Grand Junction: 1250 East Sherwood Drive

Colorado Springs: 421 South Tejon Street, Suite 100