Advancing the World of Work Through Law
The Labor and Employment Law Program (LEL) merges law and social science research to provide attorneys, legislators, social scientists, and policymakers with multifaceted perspectives at forums and conferences. Current and emerging legal issues affecting the workplace are analyzed with the goal of influencing research, legislation, policy, and litigation.
NEW CLE WEBINAR
A Discussion with NLRB GC Jennifer A. Abruzzo
Wednesday, October 6, 2021 - 12:30-2:15 Eastern
This program was not recorded.
Jennifer Abruzzo, recently confirmed General Counsel of the NLRB, had previously worked for the NLRB for over two decades, including as Acting General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, Deputy Assistant General Counsel, Deputy Regional Attorney, Supervisory Field Attorney, and Field Attorney. Prior to her confirmation, she served as Special Counsel for Strategic Initiatives for Communications Workers of America (CWA). As the Board’s top official managing its investigative and prosecutorial functions, Ms. Abruzzo has tremendous prosecutorial discretion in what legal issues she will emphasize in issuing complaints and litigating cases before the Board and the courts. For the first time in history, the NLRB has women in the two top leadership roles, Chair and General Counsel.
In this forum, Ms. Abruzzo presented her view on current challenges and opportunities, initiatives she is considering, and future potential effects on workers, employers, unions, and the general public on the workplace protection and enforcement realm.
Providing commentary were:
James W. Bucking, Partner, Foley Hoag, LLP
Susan Davis, Partner, Cohen, Weiss and Simon, LLP
Moderator: Esta R. Bigler, Director, ILR Labor & Employment Law Program and NYC Governmtnment & Community Relations
When:
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Time:
12:30-2:15 pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)
CLEs:
1.5 NYS CLE - Professional Practice (Transitional and Non-Transitional)
For questions about this or other programs, e-mail us at: esta_bigler_ilr-lel@cornell.edu.
RECENT WEBINARS
A Conversation with NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran
Wednesday, February 24, 2021 - 12:00-1:30 PM Eastern Time
This program was not recorded.
Lauren McFerran was named Chairman of the NLRB by President Biden on January 20, 2021. Ms. McFerran served on the Board from December 2014 to December 2019 and was reappointed to a second term in August 2020. Chairman McFerran joined us to discuss the state of the NLRB at the end of the Trump Administration and recent Board decisions.
Respondents for this program were:
Allyson L. Belovin, Partner, Levy Ratner PC, representing unions
Philip A. Miscimarra, Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP and former NLRB Chairman under President Trump, representing management
Moderator: Esta R. Bigler, Director, ILR Labor & Employment Law Program and NYC Government & Community Relations
When:
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Time:
12:00-1:30 pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)
CLEs:
1.5 NYS CLE - Professional Practice (Transitional and Non-Transitional)
COVID-19: Permanent Impact on the Public Sector Workforce
Welcome: Esta R. Bigler, Director, ILR Labor & Employment Law Program and NYC Government and Community Relations
Introduction: Ariel Avgar, ILR Associate Dean for Outreach and Associate Professor Labor Relations, Law, and History
Speakers:
- David M. Cohen, Executive Deputy Commissioner and Chief Administrative Officer, NYC Department of Environmental Protection
- Dina Kolker, Partner, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
- Daren Rylewicz, General Counsel and Director of Legal Services, Civil Service Employees Association, Local 1000
- Michael Volforte, Director, NYS Governor’s Office of Employee Relations
Moderator: Susan Panepento, Chair and Director, NYC Office of Collective Bargaining
When:
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Time:
1:00 pm-2:30 pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)
2020 WEBINARS
Shared Work Program: Saving Jobs, Maintaining the Workforce
In case you missed the program live, click here to view the video; unfortunately, we can't offer CLEs for the recorded version.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020 - 1:30-3:15 PM
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on NYC and NYS workers and employers. Supervisory, technical, and logistical challenges of rapidly moving employees from on-site to remote or radically restructured locations required flexibility and reexaminations of work processes and service delivery. The collective bargaining process had to keep pace with the need to reassign staff, change hours and work expectations. Join us for a discussion about how some public sector organizations have made changes, which changes have worked and which have not, and what the workplace might look like when we go back to “normal.”
Welcome: Roberta Reardon, Commissioner, NYS Department of Labor
Speakers:
Elizabeth Baker, Director of Bargaining and Employer Relations, SEIU Local 32BJ’s New York Metro Divisions
Jane Lauer Barker, Partner, Pitta LLP
Stephen Ryan, Director of Career Center Operations and Business Engagement, NYS Deptartment of Labor
Robert Schwartz, Executive Vice-President, Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, Inc.
Moderator: Esta R. Bigler, Director, ILR Labor & Employment Law Program, and NYC Government & Community Relations
When:
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Time:
1:30 pm-3:00 pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)
CLEs:
1.5 NYS CLE - Professional Practice (Transitional and Non-Transitional)
Agenda
Bios
Materials List with Links
Litigating Workplace Health and Safety -
Palmer v. Amazon: A Case Study in a Pandemic
In case you missed the program live, click here to view the video; unfortunately, we cannot offer CLEs for the recorded version:
Thursday, August 13, 2020 - 2:00 pm-3:30 pm
COVID-related litigation involving the issue of employer responsibility to protect the health and safety of workers, their families, and the public has been increasing, particularly in the absence of emergency regulations or active enforcement by OSHA. A federal lawsuit brought by workers and their family members against Amazon challenging conditions at its facility in Staten Island, NY, claims that the company has violated workplace safety requirements and created a public nuisance endangering the health of workers, their families, and the larger community. The suit primarily seeks injunctive relief to mandate that Amazon follow public health guidance on such requirements as social distancing, hand washing, sick leave, and contact tracing.
Our panel will address the issues facing workers and empoloyers during this unprecedented pandemic, which shows no signs of abating.
Speakers for this program are:
Deborah Berkowitz, NELP Worker Health and Safety Program Director; formerly OSHA Chief of Staff in the Obama Administration
Martin L. Schmelkin, Partner, Jones Day
Juno Turner, Litigation Director, Towards Justice, one of the four organizations representing the plaintiffs
Moderated by Esta R. Bigler, Director, ILR Labor and Employment Law Program
When:
Thursday, August 13, 2020
Time:
2:00 pm-3:30 pm Eastern Time (US and Canada)
CLEs:
1.0 NYS CLE - Professional Practice (Transitional and Non-Transitional)
Duty to Bargain During the COVID-19 Pandemic
https://youtu.be/DqdvdWrUdAw
2:00 PM - 3:15 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Unionized employers generally cannot make unilateral changes in wages, hours, and working conditions. However, employers and unions are facing an unprecedented situation as they deal with COVID-19. New and frequently changing guidance issued by the CDC, the EEOC, OSHA, and orders by local and state governments have necessitated decisions about layoffs/furloughs, changes in work hours and location, health and safety requirements, reopening facities, etc. On March 27, NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb issued GC memo 20-04, summarizing case law on exigent circumstances that may allow an employer to make unilateral changes without bargaining with the union(s) representing its employees. Join us for a legal and practical discussion of these critical issues facing unions and employers.
Speakers for this program are:
Allyson L. Belovin, Partner, Levy Ratner PC
Karen Fernbach, Arbitrator and Former Regional Director of NLRB Region 2
Michael J. Lebowich, Partner and co-head of Labor-Management Relations Group, Proskauer Rose LLP
Esta R. Bigler, Moderator; Director of ILR Labor and Employment Law Program, Cornell University
When:
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Time:
2:00 PM-3:15 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
CLEs:
1.0 NYS CLE - Professional Practice (Transitional and Non-Transitional)
MATERIALS
Agenda
Materials List with Links
Bios
ADA Employment and Accessibility Issues Impacted by COVID-19 Reopening Measures
In case you missed the program live, here is the link to the video; unfortunately, we cannot offer CLEs for the recorded version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcHSY5k9P_I
Thursday, June 25, 2020
2:00 PM - 3:15 PM
As businesses reopen and put COVID-19 safety measures into place, building owners and employer tenants will be facing a new world. Reduced numbers of people will be allowed in building lobbies and elevators. People entering will have their temperatures taken, be required to wear masks and socially distance, and may be asked to complete a health questionnaire. If positive cases of COVID-19 develop, contact tracing will be required and building owners and employers will be providing information to anyone potentially exposed to COVID-19.
Asking an employee "How are you?" is no longer a simple question. It could lead to sending someone with symptoms home, inadvertently learning about an underlying health condition, or a request for reasonable accommodation. CDC Guidelines for offices mean that workplaces will need to plan for employees who may not be able to see the markings placed on the floor to direct movement, read new signs or lips hidden behind masks, physically tolerate wearing a mask, or maneuver a wheelchair in aisles made narrower by reconfigured workstations or limited building entrances.
All of these factors will raise ADA employment, accomodation, and accessibility issues. Join us for a discussion on how building owners and employer tenants can work together to provide a safe and inclusive workplace.
Our speakers for this program are:
Wendy Strobel Gower, Project Director, Northeast ADA Center, Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, Cornell ILR
Eve I. Klein, Esq., Partner and Chair of the Employment, Labor, Benefits & Immigration Practice Group, Duane Morris LLP
Mark S. Weiss, Executive Vice Chairman, Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.
When:
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Time:
2:00 PM-3:15 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
CLEs:
1.0 NYS CLE - Diversity, Inclusion, and Elimination of Bias (Transitional and Non-Transitional)
MATERIALS & PPTS LIST WITH LINKS (DOCX, 58 KB)
Reopening and Older Workers: The Intersection of the ADA and the ADEA - Legal and Practical Considerations
In case you missed the program live, here is the link to the video; unfortunately, we cannot offer CLEs for the recorded version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6rYkNgF3fY
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
The CDC guidance has identified people who are 65 and above as at higher risk for serious health consequences if they contract COVID-19. Additionally, this group may have age-related health conditions, which increase their risks. As businesses reopen and bring people back to the workplace, both employers and older workers will be confronting this issue. Some members of this population may want to go back to the traditional workplace, while others may not. Employees may want to telework, particularly if they have been working remotely during the shutdown. What if telecommuting is not possible? What will be the employment consequences for older workers and what protections are available under the ADEA? How should employers handle requests for special safety measures or health related accommodations under the ADA? As counsel for employers, workers and unions, what are the options to discuss with your clients?
Our speakers for this program are:
Chai R. Feldblum, Partner and Director of Workplace Culture Consulting, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP; former EEOC Commissioner
Laurie A. McCann, Senior Attorney, Litigation, AARP Foundation
When:
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Time:
2:00 PM-3:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
CLEs:
1.0 NYS CLE - Diversity, Inclusion, and Elimination of Bias (Transitional and Non-Transitional)
MATERIALS LIST WITH LINKS (DOCX, 59 KB)
Employer Liability Protection, Workers' Compensation, and a National Fund
In case you missed the program live, here is the link to the video; unfortunately, we cannot offer CLEs for the recorded version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU-bz1qayVo
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
2:00 PM - 3:15 PM
As the economy continues to open up, employers are seeking to be insulated from liability if an employee gets sick or dies from COVID-19. Do employers need additional protection from negligence lawsuits, given what is currently provided by workers' compensation and tort law? With the high number of deaths from the coronavirus, what is the best way to compensate families for the death of a worker? Should Congress estabilsh a COVID-19 Federal Death Benefits Fund? How would this work with the NYS Workers' Compensation program? Join us for a discussion of what employers and workers need to move forward safely and fairly.
Our speakers for this program are:
John H. Beisner, Partner and Leader of Skadden's Mass Torts, Insurance and Consumer Litigation Group, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP
Joseph W. Canovas, Special Counsel to the New York State AFL-CIO
Robert Snashall, Former Chair of the NYS Workers' Compensation Board
W. Bradley Wendel, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law, Cornell Law School
When:
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Time:
2:00 PM-3:15 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
CLEs:
1.0 NYS CLE - Professional Practice (Transitional and Non-Transitional)
MATERIALS
MATERIALS LIST WITH LINKS (DOCX, 58 KB)
