Employment Law Trainings

Effective frontline management and supervision is often the key to an effective program of enhanced human resource management.

Our Firm presents numerous seminars and workshops open to the general public addressing a myriad of employment and labor relations law topics. We have also conducted workshops tailored to the specific needs of our clients, focusing on practical management and supervision, emphasizing leadership techniques, prompt proper workplace discipline, handling workplace disputes, and offering a working knowledge of the basic legal framework encompassing successful workplace management.

Some of the many workshops our attorneys have presented include:


Leadership Boot Camp

If you want to get your organization to the next level, there is no more important skill to give your key personnel. This work- shop was designed to help trainees acquire a set of leadership skills that will increase their ability to lead and influence others more effectively. The learning objectives for the course involved attendees:

  • Learning the differences between management and leadership
  • Learning how to build and maintain a following
  • Learning the relationship between leadership and ethics
  • Learning the differences between motivation and inspiration and strategies for accomplishing both
  • Learning how to convene and equip a “steering committee” to lead an organization in times of change.

Exempt Status Compliance Guide

This compliance package will guide you through a self-audit of your use of overtime exemptions. Are your “salaried employees” truly exempt?

The Guide addresses each of the exemptions recognized under the Department of Labor regulations, including executive, professional (both learned and creative), administrative, computer personnel and highly-compensated employees. Keep separate documentation for each employee as evidence of your “good faith” determination that an employee is exempt.

The International Employer

The compliance, leadership and workplace culture challenges faced by businesses with international ownership can be profound. We offer training, policy development and managerial assistance designed specifically to help these businesses understand the unique American workplace, minimize legal risks and thrive in an environment often markedly different from their own.

Human Resource Law Compliance Audit

The Human Resource Law Compliance Audit is an in-depth review and analysis of your organization’s employment policies, practices, and related potential liabilities ranging from issues such as hours of work, minimum pay, overtime, employment of minors, hiring, recruitment, employee discipline, discrimination, harassment, Family and Medical Leave Act, disability-related discrimination laws, and many others.

It requires the participation of and interaction with the employer, especially with regard to assembling and presenting the material we need to review to issue our compliance report. Specific suggestions and “red flag” analysis are provided to the organization.

Employee Handbook and Standard Operating Procedures

Sound employment practice decisions evolve from the development and maintenance of a personnel policy structure appropriate to each individual business or corporate need. Our employee handbooks and standard operating procedures reflect a well-thought-out process of employment-related decision making.

“Why Train Us?”

This workshop assists in getting managers “invested” in the training concept, and helps them “buy-in” to the need for supervisory training by addressing the question “why train us?” head-on.

This class attempts to do away with the “blame game” for these problems by explaining the difference between employee training deficiencies and motivation problems, as well as how to motivate today’s workforce.

Participants are introduced to issues that will be addressed in detail, e.g., problem-solving techniques, benefits of different management styles, legal concerns associated with employment decisions, etc.

The Challenge of Modern Management

Through participatory lecture, case history review, audio-visual presentation and open forum discussion, the seminar will highlight some of the most critical areas of the relationship between the manager/supervisor and employee.

It covers the role of the manager, teamwork and communication, securing the appropriate employee, managing the nonperformer, etc. This workshop is often used as the basis for training technically based supervisors with undeveloped "people" skills.

Interviewing & Hiring: Selecting the Best Applicant and Avoiding Discrimination

There are numerous legal pitfalls associated with interviewing and hiring applicants, ranging from employment discrimination to Fair Labor Standards violations to defamation claims. In addition, many managers are untrained in what questions to ask in an interview and how to evaluate the answers job candidates give to those questions.

This workshop provides managers with a proven strategy for a successful employee recruitment process. Participants will learn legally-compliant, standardized protocols for accepting applications, interviewing applicants and performing background checks.

Team Approach to Employee Retention

Retaining quality new employees has become an increasingly important concern for employers. The newest generation of individuals entering the workforce is often misunderstood and mishandled by managers. This misunderstanding and mishandling can result in disgruntled employees and high turnover rates.

One of the most fundamental requirements for effective managing is the ability to understand others’ motives, values, and goals, not imposing one’s own on others. This means understanding and accepting that people are different.

This workshop is devoted to helping managers understand this new generation; what motivates them and what does not motivate them. It suggests a flexible team-management approach that allows for some individual freedom to manage time and work, and stresses feedback and recognition.

Performance Management

This workshop focuses on the important topic of effective employee performance appraisal programs.

It presents managers with both a practical guide to the design and use of such programs and identifies potential legal pitfalls associated with them.

Participants will learn about:

  1. “Management by Objectives”
  2. Making performance evaluation a way of life in your organization
  3. Implementing performance and development programs
  4. How to conduct an effective employee appraisal interview
  5. How to manage a “non-performer"

Managing the Non-Performer

This presentation will instruct participants on:

  1. How to recognize the difference between a training problem and a motivation problem
  2. How to motivate unmotivated employees
  3. How to perform legally defensible progressive discipline, up to and including discharge.

The program will address important aspects of conducting an effective investigation of employee conduct as well as legally sound and practical techniques for documenting the process.

Minimizing the Risk of Employment-Related Lawsuits

This workshop is designed to assist managers in their day-to-day administration of troublesome personnel issues with the objective of minimizing the increasing risks of employment law litigation.

Participants will receive “An Employer's Guide to Minimizing Risk of Employment Law Litigation” which addresses this confusing area of the law in a practical, easily understood way.

It presents the essentials of constructive and effective employee documentation and discipline and also undertakes a practical review of how managers can take a proactive approach in assisting their organizations’ response to an increasingly litigious workforce.

It both “demystifies” key employment law concepts and provides an important working knowledge of the basic legal framework encompassing workforce management.

Workplace Harassment: Essential Training for Fostering a Positive Work Place Environment and for Preventing Costly Claims

This workshop is designed to introduce employee groups or managers to the issues surrounding the dynamics of sexual (and other) harassment in today's workplace.

It works toward a basic understanding of the interpersonal and legal issues underlying employer and employee responsibilities to prevent sexual harassment.

Keys to avoiding harassment and minimizing employer liability related to harassment issues will be presented and fully explored.

The workshop will specifically examine the employer's sexual harassment policy and discusses the practical application.

Meeting the Challenge of the Union Organizer

This workshop addresses the complex subject of National Labor Relations Board union representation proceedings head-on.

It both "demystifies" the process for the frontline supervisor, and provides important working knowledge of the basic legal framework encompassing such matters.

The program empowers supervision by providing specific training in appropriate and effective communication techniques.

Managing in the Unionized Environment

This workshop is designed to assist frontline managers in their day-to-day supervision of bargaining unit personnel.

Effective frontline supervision is the key to effective human resource management. Participants will receive a guidebook entitled, "A Supervisor's Guide to Managing in the Unionized Environment" which helps to simplify the finer points of supervision in the unionized environment.

It presents the basics of understanding the legal significance of the concept of "supervision" under the National Labor Relations Act and works through a practical guide to understanding how the concept is applied in the workplace.

Working from the employer's labor agreement provisions as a guide, the workshop will outline the boundaries of how far supervision may go in resolving daily workplace issues without overreaching, or running afoul of the "direct dealing" provisions of the Labor Act.

It also reviews the important keys to administering workplace discipline fairly, objectively, consistently, and in accordance with the just cause provisions of the employer's labor agreement.

Hiring and Firing

This workshop is designed to assist managers in understanding the legal arena in which employees are hired and fired. Participants are instructed on how to recruit the best applicants while avoiding discrimination and defamation lawsuits.

Participants are also trained with respect to precautions that must be taken in the employee termination process either due to disciplinary matters or otherwise.

Employee Conflict Resolution

This workshop is designed to enable team leaders/supervisors to be more effective at managing interpersonal conflict among team members/employees.

Based on a "team approach" to management, participants will explore the nature and symptoms of conflict, diagnose conflict situations and appropriate behaviors to resolve them.

Participants will also gain awareness of the different styles of handling conflict and familiarize themselves with several meeting/management tools to prevent or minimize conflict.

The Prevention of Workplace Violence

This issue, more than any other, underscores that workplace management takes place at an intersection of concrete organizational goals and procedures, complex legal standards, and the intangible individual characteristics individuals bring to work with them.

This workshop will alert participants to the prevalence of this problem, discuss its origins and provide practical techniques for recognizing and avoiding potentially violent situations.

Participants will also learn what to do in the event that a violent situation occurs at the workplace.

Your Diverse Work Force

This multimedia program will help supervisors develop a greater awareness and knowledge of the issues created by an increasingly diverse workforce.

Specifically, participants will learn the “do’s and don’ts” of recruitment and hiring. Critical EEO concepts are explored, such as job-related, objective and consistent approaches to determining job criteria, qualifications, interview questions and techniques and evaluating applicants.

The program also examines possible EEO and management pitfalls in counseling employees or making reduction in force decisions.

Leadership and Influence

Many supervisors are promoted into supervisory positions from production positions. All too often, these supervisors have difficulty transitioning from "friend" to supervisor.

This seminar will help participants:

  1. Acquire a set of leadership skills that will increase their ability to lead and influence others more effectively
  2. Enhance their ability to prepare for important one-on-one discussions at work, based on an assessment of the tasks and relationships involved.

Running Effective Meetings

At the completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  1. Plan more productive meetings
  2. Lead various types of meetings that achieve the desired result
  3. Demonstrate appropriate group leadership skills to maintain effective working relationships among meeting participants
  4. Handle difficult meeting situations more confidently, thereby reducing conflict and improving outcomes

Dealing with Employee Absenteeism (ADA, FMLA and Workers’ Compensation)

This workshop addresses the potential conflicts caused by overlapping federal and state laws concerning employee leaves of absence, i.e. the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the New York State Workers’ Compensation Law.

It presents managers with both a practical guide to complying with these statutes and helps identify issues related to disability absences and the avoidance of the legal pitfalls associated with this important aspect of human resource management.

An overview of applicable employment laws would facilitate communication and understanding between line supervisors, human resources and upper management.

Team Problem-Solving of Company Problems

This workshop is designed to introduce participants to a proven problem-solving process for company-wide, division-wide or workgroup-wide problems.

The key principles of group leadership are also introduced. Participants will learn that by using this approach to company problems, their subordinates will become “invested” in achieving company goals.

This method also facilitates innovation and invention which can lead to greater success for the Company and the individual employee.