Ogletree Deakins Podcasts Ogletree Deakins

In this podcast recorded at Ogletree Deakins’ national Workplace Strategies seminar, Karen Morinelli (shareholder, Tampa), Burt Garland (shareholder, St. Louis), and Mike Matula (shareholder, Kansas City) discuss the increasingly common scenario of employees and managers making secret recordings in the workplace. Our speakers review when surreptitious recordings are lawful and when they might run afoul of the Federal Wiretap Act, federal labor laws, or state laws. They also discuss employers’ rights and risks when implementing and enforcing “no-recording” policies in addition to strategies for dealing with secret recordings when they are first disclosed in litigation.

In this podcast recorded at Ogletree Deakins’ national Workplace Strategies seminar, our panel discusses the latest requirements for multistate employers’ handbooks and how employers can keep up with the patchwork of federal, state, and local laws. Dee Anna Hays (shareholder, Tampa), who is chair of Ogletree Deakins’ Multistate Advice and Counseling Practice Group, joined by Todd Duffield (shareholder, Atlanta), and Heather Ptasznik (shareholder, Detroit (Metro)), cover trends regarding parental leave policies, the EEOC’s new guidance on harassment, and unlawful policies under the National Labor Relations Act. Todd and Dee Anna close out with a discussion of the tests the National Labor Relations Board uses to evaluate employer policies.

In this podcast recorded at Ogletree Deakins’ national Workplace Strategies seminar, Nonnie Shivers (shareholder, Phoenix) and Scott Kelly (shareholder, Birmingham) discuss what the Supreme Court’s ruling that race-based college admissions are unconstitutional means for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in the workplace. Scott and Nonnie discuss the legal framework for employers to consider when evaluating their voluntary DEI programming, including how to conduct a risk assessment of DEI programs, conflicting state laws, and questions specific to federal contractors. The speakers offer practical tips for designing and sustaining legally defensible DEI initiatives, including creative strategies to meet company goals without running afoul of the law.

In this podcast recorded at Ogletree Deakins’ national Workplace Strategies seminar, Nonnie Shivers (shareholder, Phoenix) and Tiffany Cox Stacy (office managing shareholder, San Antonio) discuss the EEOC’s final guidance on harassment in the workplace. Tiffany and Nonnie cover the ways in which the new guidance, which the agency issued on April 29, 2024, updates, consolidates, and replaces the agency’s previous guidance. They also explain the guidance’s 70+ examples illustrating unlawful workplace harassment situations, covering both circumstances emerging in the office and in the ever-growing virtual workplace. Finally, Nonnie and Tiffany discuss what the EEOC’s new guidance means for employers as they seek to keep their harassment policies and processes effective and compliant.

In this installment of Ogletree Deakins’ Safety Basics series, shareholders Frank Davis (Dallas) and John Surma (Houston) discuss the details of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) rulemaking process. Frank and John cover OSHA’s regulatory agenda and timeline for standards and regulations under development or review, the distinction between regulations and standards, petition requests, rejections, and appeals, notices of proposed rulemaking, oral hearings, including comments and objections, and more.

In this podcast, Karen Tynan (shareholder, Sacramento) and Kevin Bland (shareholder, Orange County) discuss the construction industry in California, including top citations, how to avoid them, and what employers can expect to see in these unique workplaces. Karen (who is the chair of the Ogletree West Coast Workplace Safety Practice) speaks to Kevin about the importance of training and accident prevention, the applicability of safety orders, as well as current and new/proposed regulations covering construction activities.