Kelley Drye Webinar: Disability Laws and LGBT Rights in the Workplace

On April 19, from 12:00pm-1:00pm, Kelley Drye's Communications and Labor and Employment practice groups invite you to their latest in a series of webinars on labor issues affecting communications and technology companies.

Among the top priorities of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s 2016 “Strategic Plan” is enforcement of the alphabet soup of disability laws (the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, or ADA, FMLA, and GINA) – as well as championing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees in the workplace. We saw this in action in February, when the EEOC filed its first lawsuit claiming sexual orientation discrimination, with more to come. Combined with a steady uptick in disability-related claims, we can expect LGBT issues to be at the forefront of lawsuits, enforcement actions, and employers’ liability.

This webinar will explore these intersections. For example:

  • Is sexual orientation protected under federal law or not? And what does that mean for employers?
  • What would your company do if a transgender employee asked for accommodations relating to his/her physical condition or “transition”?
  • How do you deal with the “bathroom” issue?
  • How do you deal with a workforce that may be less comfortable with the “new normal” in LGBT issues than the EEOC is?
  • When an employee due back from a leave says “I need another two weeks” or “I can come back, but can’t travel anymore,” do your managers know how to handle these situations?
When employees are injured, disabled or become ill on the job, they may be entitled to medical and/or disability-related leave under federal and state disability laws. It is imperative that employers understand their responsibilities related to medical and disability-related leave, including information about where the laws intersect and overlap. Some of these same laws may also apply to the transgender employees.

This webinar presentation will discuss these laws and strategies employers can use to handle disability-related absences, payments to employees who are not working and replacement costs, and address the difficult questions related to workplace rights being asserted by LGBT employees and “reasonable accommodations”.

To register for this webinar, please click here.

Speakers:

Steven A. Augustino, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Barbara E. Hoey, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Mark A. Konkel, Partner, Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

For more information, please visit the Communications and Labor and Employment practice group pages.

CLE Information:

Kelley Drye is an accredited provider of NY & CA CLE. This non-transitional continuing legal education program has been approved in accordance with the requirements of the Continuing Legal Education Board for 1.0 NY Professional Practice credit and 1.0 CA General credit. We will apply for CLE credit in other jurisdictions, upon request, but cannot guarantee approval. If you are interested in applying to receive CLE credit, please include your desired jurisdiction and your bar registration number when you register.