HR Essential Tools

Council is excited to introduce HR Essential Tools, the most organized, all-in-one, Web-based management and HR resource service available. The information you get with HR Essential Tools is targeted, on point, and reliable. Plus, it is regularly updated so you always have the most current information available.

With HR Essential Tools you get fast answers to your HR and employment law questions, an HR policy handbook that will help you customize hundreds of sample policies, thousands of custom job descriptions you can create using a convenient question-and-answer format, and weekly updates on significant HR and employment law news and trends. Click here for more information.

Certificates, Seminars, and Workshops

Certificate in Human Resource Management

Recent Developments in Public Sector Employment Law 2007

Recent Developments in Employment Law 2007

Workers' Comp Update 2007

FMLA Update 2007

Webinar Topics

Document Retention and Destruction: Complying with Documentation Retention Laws and Protecting Employee Privacy When Destroying Files

FMLA Hotspots:  What Constitutes Notice of the Need for FMLA Leave and Acquiring Adequate Medical Certification to Confirm a Serious Health Condition

Does Your Employee Really Have a Disability?  Recent Developments in ADA Disability Law:  Impairments, Substantial Limitations, and Major Life Activities

Form I-9 Compliance: Avoiding Common I-9 Errors That Can Expose You and Your Employer to Costly Fines

Avoiding Costly ADA "Regarded as Disabled" Discrimination Claims

Serious Health Conditions and the FMLA:  Applying Recent Developments to Situations You Could Face

Designing Safety and Wellness Programs to Reduce Accidents, Injuries, and Costs

Training Your Managers and Supervisors to Comply with the FMLA and Avoid Personal Liability

Innovative Strategies for Conducting Workers' Comp Accident Investigations to Determine Root Causes and Prevent Future Injuries

A View from the Other Side: A Workers' Comp Claimants' Attorney's View on What You Can Do to Prevent Contested Claims and Litigation

Violent Behavior, Alcoholism, and Drug Addiction:  What's Protected by the ADA and FMLA, What Isn't, and What You Must Do to Comply

FMLA Breaking News: The DOL's June 28 Report on FMLA Comments

Certificates, Seminars, and Workshops

Certificate in Human Resource Management

ALL NEW!

This seminar, brought to you by Council in association with our academic partner, The George Washington University, brings you the best of both employment law and HR best practices. It features a distinguished faculty of leading employment law attorneys and seasoned human resource trainers. You will learn the critical information you need to stay in compliance with the law and avoid expensive litigation. Plus, our HR experts will cover all aspects of human resource management, including the latest cutting-edge strategies.

This all-new program includes interactive sessions that will provide you with experience in applying your knowledge to challenging real-life scenarios. Attending this program will provide you with:

• The most recent employment law developments
• A variety of practical tools to tackle your most challenging HR management dilemmas
• The latest trends and technological advancements in human resource management

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Recent Developments in Public Sector Employment Law 2007

The public sector workplace can be a dangerous place filled with legal land mines and traps. With juries awarding outrageous damages and settlements skyrocketing, one mistake can seriously damage your organization. That is why it is absolutely essential that you stay completely up to date on state and federal employment law developments that impact public sector employers.

This Council event will provide you with the most critical employment law developments for today's public sector employers. This program features leading employment law attorneys from your state who have expertise in the public sector workplace. A few of the topics in this program include:

• New public sector case law and legislative and regulatory developments
• Minimizing liability risks from discrimination and retaliation
• Enforcing disciplinary action while avoiding expensive liability
• Preparing for the approaching tidal wave in wage and hour litigation
• Protecting your organization from liability for breaches of data privacy
• Ensuring your organization is prepared for government audits and investigations

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Recent Developments in Employment Law 2007

In this program, Council will bring you all the updates you need on recent state and federal legislation and case law, along with best practices for managing your workforce and remaining legally compliant. Our panel of leading employment law attorneys from your state will provide you with the information you need to:

• Protect your organization from costly liability risks
• Stay in compliance with multiple employment laws
• Reduce the risk of litigation and prepare to win if you end up in court
• Manage difficult employees, risky terminations, and more
• Ensure your organization is prepared for government audits

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Workers' Comp Update 2007

Workers' compensation costs keep rising every year. With each workplace injury, you may be confronted with the nightmares of lost time, overtreatment, fraud and malingering, or potential litigation, all having a huge impact on your bottom line. So, how can your organization control costs and get workers back on the job while ensuring quality medical care for employees?

Council's leading workers' comp specialists from your state will provide you with the strategies you need to solve your workers' compensation challenges. Our speakers have years of experience in the field of workers' comp and in solving the complex issues. This information-packed seminar will bring you vital case law and legislative updates, as well as best practices on preventing injuries, claims management, reducing fraud, and so much more! Our program will allow you to:

• Minimize your liability risks when dealing with repeat claimants and preexisting injuries
• Discover how to avoid litigation on contested claims
• Acquire the knowledge to put a stop to employee fraud and malingering
• Contain medical costs and reduce lost time by partnering with medical providers
• Prevent workplace injuries with a cutting-edge safety and wellness program

Plus, Council is offering an outstanding one-day workshop that will help you reduce your liability risks. Our legal experts will use interactive case studies to give you the practical skills you need to navigate complex claims efficiently and effectively. Walk through cases involving fraud, malingering, discipline and termination, and more. Find out what to do, and what not to do, to reduce the liability risks of workers' comp.

Walk through scenarios that include:

• Injuries and accidents with no witnesses
• Overlapping FMLA, ADA, and workers' comp issues
• Discipline and termination of an injured worker
• Dealing with preexisting injuries
• Fraud and malingering

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FMLA Update 2007

The FMLA can be an overwhelming law. With provisions overlapping with other protected leave laws, employees and managers who don't understand requirements, and confusing case law, it is easy to misstep and end up with costly fines or litigation. This program provides everything you need to know to protect yourself and your organization from liability, including prevention strategies and practical solutions you can use everyday:

• Examine recent court cases interpreting key FMLA concepts to ensure compliance
• Prevent costly mistakes by getting clarification on employer and employee FMLA notification responsibilities
• Get answers to your continuing medical certification questions
• Effectively use recertification, second and third opinions, and fitness-for-duty examinations to stop fraudulent claims and intermittent-leave abuse
• Apply lessons learned from recent cases to prevent FMLA retaliation claims
• Untangle the web of FMLA, ADA, workers' comp, and other leave laws

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Webinar Topics

Document Retention and Destruction: Complying with Documentation Retention Laws and Protecting Employee Privacy When Destroying Files

An important function of the HR department is to retain and maintain employee records. An ancillary function is the legal disposal of such records when required retention periods have elapsed. Plus, recent amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure clarify what must be done to retain electronic records when litigation has begun or is anticipated.

• What is a document?
• Document-retention time periods
• How documents should be filed: What goes where?
• Safeguarding files to protect employee privacy
• Legally disposing of personnel records
• Retention of records in anticipation of litigation

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FMLA Hotspots:  What Constitutes Notice of the Need for FMLA Leave and Acquiring Adequate Medical Certification to Confirm a Serious Health Condition

As time passes since the enactment of the FMLA, the list of areas of contention and litigation grows. Two of the hottest areas of FMLA litigation are whether the employee gave adequate notice of the need for leave (does the employer have to be a mind reader?) and how to get medical information to confirm a serious health condition. This Webinar will address these threshold issues of FMLA leave entitlement.

• What notice must an employee give of his or her need for FMLA leave?
• What constitutes adequate notice?
• Examining cases where notice was not adequate
• What medical information can you request to support the need for leave?
• How to handle an employee's failure to provide medical certification
• What to do if an employee submits an incomplete medical certification

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Does Your Employee Really Have a Disability?  Recent Developments in ADA Disability Law:  Impairments, Substantial Limitations, and Major Life Activities

EEO statistics indicate that employees are filing more discrimination claims based on disabilities related to depression, alcoholism, allergies, etc., and employers need to know how to protect their bottom line. This one-hour webinar will cover how to determine when an employee has a disability so that you know your obligations under the ADA have been triggered. Join Council and our dynamic employment law attorney to discover how to ensure that your organization is in compliance with the ADA and avoid costly liability.

The following topics will be covered:

• The basic definition of the term disability: An impairment that substantially limits a major life activity
• Looking at morbid obesity and other conditions to understand what a physiological of mental disorder or condition is
• How an employee's failure to mitigate a disorder (i.e., take medication) affects the determination of disability
• Recent court cases that illustrate the concept of substantial limitation
• How courts are defining the term major life activity: What is, what isn't, and why
• Work as a major life activity: Physical presence, lifting restrictions, chemical sensitivity, smoke allergies, and other limitations

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Form I-9 Compliance: Avoiding Common I-9 Errors That Can Expose You and Your Employer to Costly Fines

While I-9 forms are deceptively easy to fill out, a large number of them contain errors. This Webinar discusses compliance with federal I-9 requirements and will help you ensure your I-9s are free of errors. Participants will go through the I-9 process from start to finish, with a discussion of common mistakes employers make when completing I-9s. Topics include:

• Recent developments in immigration law
• The new focus on SSA mismatch letters
• Game plan for dealing with SSA mismatch letters
• IRCA basics
• Completing the I-9 form
• Retention of I-9 forms
• Document abuse
• The receipt rule
• Common mistakes

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Avoiding Costly ADA "Regarded as Disabled" Discrimination Claims

"Employer who refused to reinstate employee because of his history of violence and stint in mental hospital regarded him as disabled; Ninth Circuit affirms $500,000 jury verdict"

The ADA doesn't just protect disabled employees; it also protects employees who are regarded as disabled. This greatly expands the universe of potential ADA plaintiffs, because an employee or applicant who can't prove he or she is disabled may still have a viable ADA claim. If you aren't current on the surprising ins and outs of this little-discussed issue, you are opening your employer up to big liability.

• "Myths, fears, and stereotypes"
• The three ways an employer may regard someone as disabled
• The role of impairments, substantial limitations, and major life activities in regarded-as-disabled discrimination
• When an employer's innocent mistakes and good deeds may be evidence that an employee is regarded as disabled
• Who would have thought? Providing reasonable accommodations to employees regarded as disabled
• Case studies: Successful and unsuccessful attempts to claim regarded-as-disabled discrimination and what you can learn from them

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Serious Health Conditions and the FMLA:  Applying Recent Developments to Situations You Could Face

As water passes under the bridge since the enactment of the FMLA, it seems that things just keep getting muddier. No where is this more true than with serious health conditions and the use of leave for the employee's own serious health condition and to care for a family member with a serious health condition. In this Webinar we will sift through the mud to find the information you must have to understand the latest legal developments surrounding serious health conditions and how they apply to situations you could face.

• An in-depth, up-to-date look at what constitutes a serious health condition
• What to do when a health condition isn't serious yet, but might become serious
• When is an employee unable to perform the functions of the employee's position?
• Who are family members and when is an employee needed to care for one?
• Applying what we know about serious health conditions to situations you could face

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Designing Safety and Wellness Programs to Reduce Accidents, Injuries, and Costs

The proven best way to reduce workers' comp costs is to prevent injuries from happening in the first place. With fewer injuries there are fewer claims, less lost time, and less frustration! Safety programs can help your organization keep your employees safe, making them less likely to be injured. Wellness programs help keep your employees healthy, reducing the severity of injuries and time to heal.

This Webinar will give you an overview of how safety and wellness plans can impact your organization, reducing lost time and costs.

Making Safety and Wellness Programs Work for Your Organization

• Identifying your organization's needs to ensure a return on investment
• Elements of a safety program that prevent accidents and injuries
• Determining how a strong wellness programs can impact your bottom line

Encouraging Healthy and Safe Behaviors In and Out of the Workplace

• Integrating safety and wellness for employee health and well-being
• Incentive programs, safety committees, and other ways to promote employee involvement
• Ensuring safety and wellness are integrated into your corporate culture
• Tracking results to keep employees motivated

Navigating the Liability Traps in Safety and Wellness Programs

• Avoiding IRS land mines when using incentive programs
• Taking a look at how HIPAA regulations impact wellness plans
• The ADA: Avoiding discrimination while collecting and using health information
• How much is too much? Where is the line between encouraging wellness and mandating healthy behaviors?

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Training Your Managers and Supervisors to Comply with the FMLA and Avoid Personal Liability

Even in small workplaces, most employees are required to call their manager or supervisor when they will be absent from work. As a result, managers and supervisors are the first link in the chain of FMLA compliance. If this FMLA compliance link is weak, you have no hope of abiding by the requirements of the FMLA, and your managers and supervisors may face individual liability for the mistakes they make. This Webinar addresses the training steps you must take so your managers and supervisors can help your organization comply with the FMLA.

• Delivering training that is practical and relevant
• Using case studies to inform managers how the FMLA applies to actual workplace situations
• Training managers and supervisors to recognize "red flags" so you can eliminate sources of FMLA liability
• Ensuring your supervisors are trained to assist employees in designating leave time correctly
• Training supervisors to record absences and the employee's reason for taking leave
• The latest word on individual liability in the private and public sector and when a manager or supervisor can be held individually liable

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Innovative Strategies for Conducting Workers' Comp Accident Investigations to Determine Root Causes and Prevent Future Injuries

Conducting an investigation of each accident and near miss is an important part of any safety program. Our speaker will give you practical tips and tactics for conducting accident investigations, which will help you manage claims, spot weaknesses in your safety policies, and prevent future injuries.

• Taking a look at the legal aspects of an accident investigation
• Determining the best investigator for a claim
• Developing an accident investigation procedure before you need one
• Conducting successful accident investigations
• Collecting the facts after an incident
• Successfully interviewing witnesses
• Compiling documentation
• Writing your report with a root-cause analysis to prevent similar situations in the future
• The difference in reporting structure for root-cause analysis and claims handling
• Looking at the causes of an incident without laying blame
• Applying your incident report to your safety program to prevent injuries

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A View from the Other Side: A Workers' Comp Claimants' Attorney's View on What You Can Do to Prevent Contested Claims and Litigation

Employees usually hire attorneys when they feel like no one is looking out for their best interests. Whether it is lack of communication, no follow-up, confusing statements, or that the employee is feeling attacked, there are ways you can minimize the chance the employee will contest or litigate his or her claim. Hear what our claimants' attorney has to say about ways you can prevent trouble.

• Avoiding the most common costly mistakes employers make when dealing with injured employees
• Keeping the lines of communication clear
• Managing the paperwork without withholding information
• Getting employees back to work with light- or modified-duty plans
• Understanding what a claimants' attorney looks for in cases to take to court: What your organization can do to avoid litigation
• Minimizing the difficulties in managing a disputed claim: Strategies for dealing with employees and their attorneys
• Determining the key issues when looking for a settlement: How to make it a win-win negotiation
• Strategies for successful settlements in disputed claims
• Preventing claims of retaliation when the employee returns to work

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Violent Behavior, Alcoholism, and Drug Addiction:  What's Protected by the ADA and FMLA, What Isn't, and What You Must Do to Comply

One of the most confusing areas of the ADA is complying with the employer's obligations to alcoholic and substance abusing employees. The confusion is partly due to the differing protections for each, which result from political deals made when the ADA was passed. Now you can add another degree of difficulty as courts begin to address bad or violent behavior that is caused by a disability and whether it is protected by the ADA and FMLA. Toss in the interaction of the FMLA, and you have a chef's salad of issues. We will sort through the issues in this Webinar and give you strategies that will help you cope.

• New ADA issue: Is bad or violent behavior that is caused by a disability protected by the ADA and FMLA?
• Alcohol and drug testing under the ADA: What is protected and when can you test?
• What protection does the ADA provide alcoholics?
• What can you require from an alcoholic employee?
• Substance abuse and the ADA
• When is FMLA leave available for troubled employees?
• Strategies and policies that will help you comply with the law

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FMLA Breaking News: The DOL's June 28 Report on FMLA Comments

On June 28, the Department of Labor took the "unique step" of publishing a report titled "Family and Medical Leave Act Regulations: A Report on the Department of Labor's Request for Information." In response to its December 2006 request for information, the DOL received more than 15,000 comments on the FMLA. The DOL's report summarizes the comments. In this Webinar, we will look at the report, what employers and employees view as the major issues in contention, and steps you can take to best handle the hottest issues raised by the report.

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