Employer Resource Institute Audio Conference

Originally presented on May 21, 2008
10:30 am to 12:00 noon (Pacific Time)

Order Option       Price   CD Recording Only       $219

As an additional benefit, you will receive a no-risk trial subscription to California Employment Law Answers when you register for this audio conference (or purchase a CD recording). You will receive 3 evaluation issues. If you want to continue to receive the newsletter, simply pay the invoice you will receive in the mail. If you decide the newsletter isn't for you, just write cancel on the invoice and return it. You will owe nothing, and all issues you receive are yours to keep. As with all ERI products, your satisfaction is guaranteed 100%. (Offer good for new subscribers only.)

It's breaking news: President Bush just signed the very first changes to the federal Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) since the law was enacted 15 years ago.

Already, FMLA gives workers up to 12 weeks off each year for birth or adoption of a child, to deal with their own serious health conditions, or to care for an ill child, parent, or spouse. Now, you must also provide leave to employees with spouses, children, or parents who are now serving on (or who have been called up for) active duty in the military. If those loved ones become seriously ill or injured while on duty, you may be required to extend up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave each year.

Employers around the state are scrambling to comply with these changes. What new policies should you put into place to advise your employees about their new rights? Who determines whether a worker's loved one suffered an injury severe enough to qualify for the full 26-week leave period? What's the safest legal way for you to document and respond to these new leave requests? Are California employers affected differently than those in the rest of the country? And is it even possible to question employees about their situations without appearing unsympathetic or even unpatriotic?

Listen to this informative 90-minute audio recording, as our experts explore the dos and don'ts of complying with these new FMLA standards. You'll learn effective strategies for anticipating and managing military-related leave requests, as well as the most troubling mistakes employers could make in the process. And, you'll have the chance to pose questions, via phone or email, for quick answers from two extremely experienced leave-savvy attorneys who practice in California.

You And Your Colleagues Will Learn:

• Which service members are covered by these FMLA changes—active-duty military personnel, Reservists, National Guard troops?


• What's considered a serious illness or injury under the new rules (and who decides that—the military, your employee, or you?)


• Recommended procedures for responding to these new leave requests and documenting your decisions


• How the new FMLA guidelines will interact with other federal and California laws that provide for leave, and the order in which you should apply them


• What language you should now add to your policies and handbooks to explain the new rules to your employees


• The red flags that trigger your new FMLA obligations, even when employees never mention "FMLA" directly


• How far you should go in checking or investigating leave requests under the new rules (without seeming unpatriotic in the process!)

About Your Speakers:

Tracy Cahill, Esq., is a partner at the Los Angeles office of law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, LLP. She focuses her practice on advising California employers on a wide range of employment policies and practices, from wage and hour issues and leaves of absence to workplace investigations and discrimination and harassment claims. She has defended her employer clients in federal and state courts and before many administrative agencies. She speaks frequently and has written many articles on employment law issues. Cahill earned her law degree from the University of Southern California.

Sarah Taylor Wirtz, Esq., is an associate at the Los Angeles office of law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, LLP. She represents management in many different labor and employment issues, and she has drafted comprehensive employee manuals for companies with workplaces in multiple states. Also, she has served as in-house employment counsel for an international food company. Wirtz earned law degree from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Approved for Recertification Credit

This program has been approved for 1.5 recertification credit hour toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI homepage at www.hrci.org.

The Employer Resource Institute is an approved MCLE Multiple Activity Provider, and this program has been approved for 1.5 hours of MCLE credit by the State Bar of California. For more information, please contact our customer service department at (800) 695-7178.

How Do Audio Conferences Work?

An audio conference is remarkably cost-effective and convenient. You participate from your office using a regular telephone. You have no travel costs and no out-of-office time.

Plus, for one low price you can get as many people in your office to participate as you can fit around a speakerphone.

Because the conference is live, you can ask the speakers questions' either on the phone or via e-mail.

With your registration, you also receive conference materials with additional practical information from California Employer Advisor sent to you via e-mail shortly before the conference.

Why You Can Sign Up To Attend This Event with Confidence

As with all California Employer Advisor products, you're completely protected. If for any reason you are unsatisfied with this audio conference, simply let us know and we will return your entire registration fee.