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WEBINAR SERIES RECAP | Employment & Labor

Client Alert, Multimedia

BMD Partner and Co-Chair of the Employment & Labor Law Group, Bryan Meek, presented this four-part webinar series.

The Future of Non-Compete Enforcement and Methods for Employer Protection

Originally Aired October 11, 2023

Speakers: Bryan Meek and Amanda Waesch

Non-compete agreements are becoming heavily restricted, and proposed regulations from the federal government further threaten their existence as a tool for employers to protect trade secrets, customer bases, and exclusivity. Learn about the restrictive changes coming for non-competes, how employers can prepare, and other tools that are available to employers to protect business interests.


Employee Misclassification and Discrimination in the Workplace

Originally Aired October 25, 2023

Speaker: Bryan Meek

Terminated employees are increasingly filing for discrimination investigations at state and federal level discrimination agencies. These filings range from gender and race-based discrimination to improper coordination of the interactive process under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition, employees are now banding together to bring filings challenging their exemption classifications or classifications as contractors, which lead to class action lawsuits against companies. We discuss the increase in discrimination and wage & hour filings, what employers can do to protect themselves, and what employers should do when they become subject to discrimination and harassment investigations.


Employee Marijuana Use in the Era of Legality

Originally Aired November 8, 2023

Speakers: Bryan Meek and Ashley Watson

Marijuana legalization is taking the country by storm with new states legalizing recreational or medical use of marijuana each year.  Are employers required to allow use of marijuana as a recreational drug outside of work hours? Can employees still be fired if they test positive for marijuana use? Do employers have to allow their employees to use marijuana as prescribed for the treatment of an ailment or disability? Are there added limitations for healthcare workers when it comes to the use of marijuana? Find out the answers to all of your questions regarding the use of marijuana in the workplace.


The New Pregnant Employee Protections in the Workplace

Originally Aired November 15, 2023

Speaker: Bryan Meek

This year, the United States witnessed the biggest changes to pregnant employee discrimination protections since the adoption of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. As a result, pregnant employees and those that are breastfeeding have more significant protections in the workplace than ever before. Get to know the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the Pump Act, as well as how to engage with pregnant employees when seeking accommodations.


CLIENT ALERT: Ohio Incentivizes Cybersecurity Measures

On November 2, 2018, Ohio’s Data Protection Act (“DPA”) went into effect. The DPA incentivizes Ohio businesses to proactively address cybersecurity and data protection by providing an affirmative defense/safe harbor for claims related to data breach. However, the safe harbor is only applicable if the organization can prove “reasonable compliance” to the DPA.

CLIENT ALERT: Update on Discrimination

The “#metoo” presence and the recent Kavanaugh confirmation hearings have brought sexual discrimination issues to the forefront of the American mind. Always an incendiary and confusing topic, it also includes various permutations of issues involving sex, sex stereotyping, sexual orientation, and transgender situations.

CLIENT ALERT: Ohio Supreme Court Rules that a Subcontractor's Construction Defects are Not a Covered "Occurrence" Under a CGL Policy

Although a growing number of states have held that CGL policies provide coverage for damages caused by the defective work of subcontractors, the Ohio Supreme Court has refused to join the national trend. In Ohio N. Univ. v. Charles Constr. Servs., Inc., 2018-Ohio-4057, the Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled that a subcontractor’s faulty workmanship is not a covered “occurrence” under a typical CGL policy.

CLIENT ALERT: Taxpayer Passport Application will be Denied Due to Unpaid Taxes

In late 2015, Congress passed The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST) into law. This law allows the IRS and State Department to refuse to issue a Passport if the taxpayer has a seriously delinquent tax debt. The law also permits the IRS and State Department to revoke a taxpayer’s Passport for these same delinquent tax debts. To be considered a seriously delinquent tax debt, the tax debt must total more than $51,000.

CLIENT ALERT: New Opportunity Zone Incentives Promise to Spur Economic Development

Created as part of the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, “Opportunity Zones” are designed to encourage long-term investments in underserved communities. By offering tax benefits to private investors who choose to invest their capital at the nexus of need and opportunity, the program supports a broad array of investments and offers opportunity for creative problem-solving strategies to address community needs. The program offers investors tiered tax benefits depending on the term of the investment, including a temporary deferral and partial reduction of unrealized capital gains, as well as the potential to exclude all future appreciation on the investment. The program is designed to tap into the estimated $6T+ of unrealized capital gains held by U.S. individuals and companies by incentivizing investors to re-invest that capital in low-income communities to spur economic development and job creation.