Learn best practices for implementing effective whistle-blower protection policies and avoiding pitfalls when handling whistle-blowing complaints. When an employee complaint is whistle-blowing it is not always clear, and mishandling the complaint, or failing to adequately protect the complainant from retaliation, may lead to poor employee morale and costly litigation. This topic will assist you in properly identifying and handling whistle-blow...

Storm water and flooding comprise major and growing risks to cities, transportation systems, people, and the environment. Flooding is the major cause of property damage in the U.S., and recent catastrophic hurricanes such as Harvey, Irma, Sandy and Katrina have raised losses to unprecedented levels. Storm water management requires the organization of public utilities and responses to rain tax politics, consent orders, and demands for green inf...

Know with confidence which items of information to share and which items to keep confidential regarding the Freedom of Information Act. Government officials and employees are well aware that the public has the right to access government information, but it is not always clear what information must be made available and what information should be kept confidential. Additionally, it is not always clear to members of government or the general pub...

Gain valuable insights on new EEO-1 law updates. There has been a tremendous amount of activity at the federal level regarding the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the EEO-1 Report. It has become abundantly clear that now is the time for employers to take steps to proactively assess their hiring, pay, and promotion practices to ensure that they are not vulnerable to equal pay claims. Similarly, it is important to stay up to date on...

A number of significant changes to Federal employment law have taken place in recent years. These changes affected employers’ obligations in areas such as hiring, wages, discrimination, and termination. During this topic, we will: (1) review significant changes in recent years; (2) discuss the current state of the law and anticipated changes in employment law (including EEO developments, leave laws, ADA updates, and examples and case stu...

A number of significant changes to Federal employment law have taken place in recent years. These changes affected employers’ obligations in areas such as hiring, wages, discrimination, and termination. During this topic, we will: (1) review significant changes in recent years; (2) take a look at the employment law changes in 2018; (3) review current and anticipated changes in employment law (including EEO developments, leave laws, ADA u...

The explosion of information held by government agencies presents unique and growing challenges to those that must administer the public's access to government records. Questions persist about the scope of the government's duties in maintaining and producing electronically stored information. Particularly thorny questions arise in the area of personal email accounts. May government officials use their private accounts to communicate about gove...

Gain a better understanding of the rules and requirements of Federal contractors paid sick leave.Federal contractors and subcontractors performing federal service or construction contracts will be required to provide paid sick leave under federal rules that went into effect in January 2017. Although seemingly straightforward on their face, these federal sick leave obligations present a variety of implementation and administrative challenges -...

Good customer service is difficult to find in private business and is almost non-existent in government. Many government employees are beaten down and defensive and hate their jobs but are often trapped and simply marking time until they can get their pension. Most people don't enjoy being difficult, but they have become calloused and just want customers to go away. This topic will help you learn to enjoy your job, maybe for the first time. Th...

Understand government contractors' OFCCP requirements and the impact of new administration.Predicting what policy changes an administration will make is difficult after a typical first year in office . . . but this past year has been anything but typical. The current administration has already followed through on a number of its promises, which included relieving businesses of burdensome regulations proposed, enacted and enforced during the...