Employment Practices Liability Insurance

Registration and Continental Breakfast

Co-Chairs’ Opening Remarks

John W. Hamlin, Esq.
Chief Counsel, Employment, Benefits and Governance
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.

Mercedes Colwin
Partner
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP

BACK TO THE OFFICE

Back to the Office Dilemmas: How Employers and Insurers are Addressing Evolving Risks Around Mandatory Vaccines

Lisa Parlato LeDonne
VP and General Counsel, Data Privacy/Chief Privacy Officer and Chief Labor & Employment Counsel
Honeywell

Bobby Simpson
Executive Senior Counsel, Compliance, Litigation and Labor & Employment
GE Current, a Daintree Company

Moderator:

Magdelen Bickford
Member, Chair Labor and Employment Group
McGlinchey Stafford

• The continuing impact of the pandemic and the outlook on associated risks for 2022
• Managing discrimination cases brought by employees refusing to get vaccinated based on disability, religion or political views
  • What constitutes “reasonable accommodation” for employees under EEOC rules?
  • Examples of “undue hardship” to the employer
• Recent retaliation claims around providing accommodation for employees who do not/can’t get vaccinated due to a medical disability
  • What are reasonable accommodations for employees suffering from “long-haul” COVID-19
• “At Risk Workers”: Reasonable accommodations for those with weakened immune systems who are at risk if vaccinated and cannot use face coverings
• Employee data privacy: New claims relating to vaccination verification or contact tracing efforts
  • State data privacy laws that differ from federal rules and guidelines
• OSHA compliance:
  • State of OSHA’s ETS rule and associated compliance planning
  • NY HERO Act compliance
    • What are the differences between the NY HERO Act and IL, ME, CT, and NJ workplace safety laws?
  • Recent whistleblower complaints

Audience Polling

The Risk-Benefit Equation for Remote and Hybrid Work: Performance Tracking, Disability and Harassment Claims, Data Protection and Privacy

Elina Basham
Corporate Counsel
Paychex

Jonathan Kurens, Esq.
Senior Vice President
Marsh USA Inc.

Sami Asaad
Partner and Chair, Home Healthcare Practice Group
Ford Harrison

Remote and hybrid work arrangements provide much needed work flexibility, but also present new legal risks and uncertainties.

• Managing requests for a remote work accommodation due to a medical condition
• Dealing with out-of-state remote workers: Cross-border legal and tax compliance considerations
  • Interplay of other states’ civil rights protections and unpaid/paid leave requirements
• Cybersecurity: Using simulated platforms to test employees on threat detection
• The interplay between remote work performance tracking technology and privacy law limits
  • Social media laws (including in Arkansas) that prohibit employers from requesting employees’ login information for social media sites
  • Monitoring and recording telephone conversations, Zoom and Teams calls, emails, and internet usage outside of legitimate business purposes
  • ADA, HIPAA and GINA: Related laws triggered if employers breach employee medical and health information
  • Preventing FCRA pitfalls when making hiring decisions
• Disability claims: Drawing the line between reasonable accommodation and “undue hardship”
  • The scope of accommodation for employees working from home or employees not given the option to work remotely
  • Claims around non-ADA compliant company websites: Understanding Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards and ADA Title III requirements
• Confidentiality, the need for “A Room to Zoom”, and cybersecurity/data protection
• Managing evolving harassment claims amid a remote workforce
• Training managers responsible for implementing a remote workforce policy

Extended Networking Break

STATE OF THE EPLI MARKET

Insurance Carriers and Brokers Discuss the Impact of Biden Administration Priorities, the Anticipated Rise in Claims

Raymond Cashman, Esq., CPCU
Director, Management Liability and Specialty Claims
Nationwide

Samantha J. Manfredini Look, Esq.
Vice President, EPLI, Financial Services Group, Commercial Risk Solutions
Aon

Justin J. Blacklock
Assistant Vice President, North America Financial Lines
Chubb

Moderator:

Lori Armstrong Halber
Partner
Fox Rothschild LLP

• How the EPLI market is evolving: New and anticipated trends to flag now
• Biden Administration priorities and the impact on employers
• Are carriers exiting certain classes of business? Are there any new carriers in the market?
• When underwriters are adding new exclusions to policies
• Lessons from the Bermuda EPLI marketplace: How are policies changing?

Networking Luncheon

INTERVIEW WITH THE EEOC

Keith E. Sonderling
Commissioner
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Moderator:

David Fortney
Co-Founder
Fortney Scott

Don’t miss a highly anticipated interview

Heightening Boardroom Diversity and Inclusion: Legal, Investment and Reputational Issues that Are on the Line

Doreen E. Lilienfeld
Partner, Global Governance and Advisory Practice Leader
Shearman & Sterling

Bruno Bastit
Global Head of Corporate Governance and Sustainable Finance
S&P Global Ratings

Learn about the latest in boardroom diversity through the lens of recent rulings, trends, and an evolving boardroom D&I landscape.

• Developing strategies to integrate non-U.S. corporate group members into U.S.-led boardroom DE&I initiatives
• The tech sector’s diversity imperative: Impact of the SEC approval of NASDAQ’s Board Diversity Proposals Rules and Board Diversity Matrix
• Will the NYSE follow suit?
• Comparing and contrasting state-level approaches around boardroom diversity rules, including California’s SB 826 and AB 979
• Institutional investors as a driving force behind board diversity disclosures
• Data privacy risks around collecting board across jurisdictions

Networking Break

The Great Resignation

New Hurdles to Enforcing and Managing Restrictive Covenants amid Extraordinary Employee Turnover

Gerald Maatman
Partner & Co-Chair, Complex Discrimination/Class Action Practice Group
Seyfarth Shaw

Jeffrey Rosier, Esq.
Senior Assistant General Counsel, Employment
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.

• Recent trends in non-competition clauses amid an unprecedented turnover in the workforce
• The importance of considering where an employee works and lives and where the employer operates when interpreting contracts
• An interactive, audience-feedback driven review of sample non-competition clauses and analyses of their enforceability

The View from the Plaintiff’s Bar

The Latest Trends and Claims Coming Down the Pipeline

William D. Frumkin, Esq.
Of Counsel
Frumkin & Hunter Law PC

Davida S. Perry
Managing Partner
Schwartz Perry & Heller LLP

Moderator:

Raymond Cashman, Esq., CPCU
Director, Management Liability and Specialty Claims
Nationwide

During this session, benefit from first-hand perspectives from plaintiff-side counsel on the employment law landscape and new, emerging trends.

Conference Adjourns

Registration and Continental Breakfast

Co-Chairs’ Opening Remarks

John W. Hamlin, Esq.
Chief Counsel, Employment, Benefits and Governance
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.

Mercedes Colwin
Partner
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP

General Counsel Panel

Perspectives on Pressing, High Stakes Issues at the Forefront

Jessica Mastrogiovanni
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Brooks Brothers

Elizabeth Richman
General Counsel
EILEEN FISHER, Inc.

Moderator:

Mercedes Colwin
Partner
Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP

PAGA and the "Gig Economy"

New Liability Risks Arising from Remote, In-Person, and Hybrid Work

Michael Holocek
Partner
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Phillip R. Maltin
Partner, Chair of the Commercial & Employment Risk Control Department
RainesFeldman

• The Gig Economy and wage & hour liability:
  • New, changing legislation and initiatives, including Proposition 22
  • How Proposition 22 is influencing other states’ gig worker laws
  • Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuits over worker classification
• PAGA claims:
  • New, emerging PAGA litigation trends
  • Unanticipated liability arising from work-from-home arrangements, new compensation/bonus plans, staffing issues, and workplace safety requirements
  • Regular rate, wage statement, meal/rest period premium, and timekeeping requirements
  • Developing PAGA litigation strategies regarding the plaintiff’s standing, jurisdiction and venue

Networking Break

Looking Ahead

The Present and Future of D&O Insurance, Policy Language, Restrictive Covenants and Proprietary Data Protection

Jordan Kurkowski
Vice President – Management and Professional Liability
AmWINS

Lisa Z. Jacobson, Esq.
Vice President, Financial Institutions Claims
Sompo International

Securities litigation and regulatory investigations tied to D&O insurance are anticipated to ramp up in 2022. During this session, gain real-world takeaways on the D&O insurance landscape and evolving risk factors.

• Is D&O policy language becoming more restrictive amid the pandemic? Are rates increasing?
• D&O policy “Wrongful Acts” definitions and circumstances
• D&O insurance risk mitigation via a “notice of circumstances” that triggers a policy before a claim arises
• Insolvency/COVID-19 exclusions

Networking Luncheon

Diversity Equity and Inclusion

Return to Work through a DE&I Lens: Real-World Examples and Takeaways

Javaria Neagle
Assistant General Counsel
United Airlines

Nishat Ruiter
General Counsel
TED Conferences

Moderator:

Camille Bryant
Member
McGlinchey Stafford PLLC

• How the pandemic and depressed economy has slowed DE&I program progress
• The impact of workforce reductions on DE&I programs
• An opportunity to reimagine DE&I programs: How the pandemic has reset norms for how employees work and has spurred DE&I progress

BIOMETRICS AND DATA PRIVACY

The Lesser-Known Litigation Trends and Lessons Learned

Chris Williams
Managing Director
Travelers

Laura R. Lapidus, Esq.
Management Liability (EPL) Risk Control Director
CNA Insurance

Moderator:

Jeffrey Rosenthal
Partner, Team Lead, Biometric Privacy
Blank Rome LLP

Litigation under privacy laws protecting individuals’ biometric information has exploded- and will likely continue to increase. During this session, benefit from key updates and emerging trends to monitor

• Laws regulating the use of biometric data and recent litigation examples: Illinois and BIPA
• Biometric claims that could trigger coverage under D&O policies
• Changes to EPLI cyber policies and coverage for biometric screening
• Emerging biometric technologies that support remote workforce management and potential data privacy risks

Co-Chairs’ Closing Remarks & Conference Concludes