LCW Conference Brochure 2024 by lcwlegal

Public Sector Employment Law Annual Conference

www.lcwlegal.com

Optional Add-on Sessions Wednesday, February 7 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Option 1: Costing Labor Contracts The keys to successful negotiations include planning and costing. Just like planning a vacation, the amount of time and effort you put into planning and costing can determine the success of the trip. Costing contract proposals is similar to costing excursions on a vacation - they all sound like a good idea but can we afford them? Join us at this workshop to learn the importance of costing and the methods you can use to make costing easy. Participants will not only be provided with the tools to cost proposals, but will engage in interactive exercises where they set up an MOU Master Spreadsheet and proposals to cost. Bring your laptop and your Excel skills.

This workshop is also part of our Labor Relations Certificate Program. We’ve added Bonus Content, since it is also our optional add-on session: Compensation Surveys & Collective Bargaining! As a bonus to this year’s pre-conference workshop, additional information on the development, impact, and usefulness of compensation surveys in collective bargaining will be highlighted and shared with attendees! Materials will be provided by email and made available onsite. A laptop will be needed for this training. Laptops not provided. Who Should Attend? Experienced and Aspiring HR and Labor Relations Professionals.

Please Note: Individuals employed by a union, a union-side law firm, or a union-side consulting firm that, in labor relations matters, exclusively represents unions and employees, may not register for Liebert Cassidy Whitmore’s Labor Relations Certification programs.

Option 2: Investigations and Discipline in Critical Incidents The legal and political environment in which decisions about use of force investigations and discipline must be made is very different than it was just a few years ago. Civil liability is not necessarily the predominant concern anymore. This seminar will examine issues related to the investigation of critical incidents involving officers. More specifically, this seminar discusses the issues surrounding criminal, civil and administrative investigations of these matters, particularly the administrative investigative issues. In this training, you’ll hear from experienced public safety attorneys examine best administrative practices that your agency should follow and how to evaluate issues ranging from the implications of SB 2 to SB 16 to potential criminal prosecution of officers. Presenters will walk the audience through complex scenarios that can arise throughout the investigation and will explore the practical effects that will assist decisions law enforcement leaders have to make.

Optional Add-on Sessions Wednesday, February 7 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Option 3: Training Academy for Workplace Investigators The Civil Rights Department (CRD) guidelines recommends that all investigators receive a full day of investigation instruction that covers information about the law shaping investigations, recommended practices, and skill-building exercises. This preconference session meets these CRD guidelines and recommended best practices. Presented by two leading workplace investigators, this session includes: • When to investigate • Standards for conducting a legally compliant investigation • Investigator qualifications • What to investigate • How to investigate • Core investigative skills ◦ Planning the investigation ◦ Reviewing relevant documents ◦ Identifying and interviewing witnesses ◦ Making credibility determinations ◦ Analyzing the evidence and making factual findings ◦ Writing the report • Skill-building exercises

MCLE/HRCI/POST: Liebert Cassidy Whitmore is an approved MCLE provider. Participating attorneys are eligible for 6 hours of MCLE for any of the optional add on sessions. Additionally, each session has been submitted for HRCI credit and Option 2 has been submitted for POST credit. We will update once approval has been granted.

RATES

Early Bird: $475 (end December 31st) Regular: $550

Registration: Click here to register for the Conference AND one of the optional add-on sessions. Click here if you are ONLY interested in attending a one day optional session.

Cancellation Policy: cancellation requests must be received by January 19, 2024, to receive a full refund, less a $40 administrative fee. No refunds will be given after that time. Participant substitutions are accepted any time prior to February 5, 2024. LCW reserves the right to refuse registration. Note that individuals employed by a union, a union-side law firm, or a union-side consulting firm that, in labor relations matters, exclusively represents unions and employees, as well as persons who represent employees rather than management or individuals from other law firms may not register for LCW programs. Those registrations will be denied and monies returned, less a $40 administrative fee.

Conference Schedule Thursday February 8 Opening Session 8:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

We welcome you to beautiful San Francisco with an opening session designed to get you up to speed and on your way! We kick off our annual conference with a quick rundown of the biggest legal issues facing public agencies today and identify matters we’re monitoring for future impact.

Concurrent Session #1 10:20 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. Public Safety Legal Update The Public Safety Legal Update is a conference staple. During this session, the most significant new court decisions, administrative decisions and statutes impacting personnel management of employees in law enforcement and fire departments will be discussed. Please join the presenters in an analysis of how these new laws impact your public safety agency, and learn practical tips for navigating new challenges that these laws create for managers, supervisors and human resources professionals. When Elected Officials Misbehave: How To Navigate And Investigate Allegations Of Misconduct Against City Councilmembers, County Supervisors and Board of Directors Managers and supervisors across California’s public agencies have long understood the importance of timely investigations into allegations of employee misconduct and taking appropriate action to uphold consequences and prevent liability or inefficiency – whether it be performance issues, violations of personnel rules, or complaints of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. However, it may seem like quite a different matter to investigate allegations of misconduct against an elected official or manage an elected official’s interaction with agency staff. Managers and supervisors may wonder, “Elected officials are not employees – how do we investigate allegations of misconduct, enforce and advise on agency rules and ordinances, and prevent liability?” LCW has assisted numerous agencies across the state traverse these difficult issues including how to begin and manage investigations into an elected official’s alleged misconduct and advise managers, and supervisors on how to handle alleged misconduct that may violate the law or agency rules and policies. In this training, we will break down how to navigate the perils and pitfalls in conducting investigations into an elected official’s possible misconduct, how to advise elected officials on rules, laws, and best practices on interacting with agency employees, and tips to ensure elected officials stay in their own “legal lane” to avoid liability. Best Practices To Avoid And Manage CPRA Litigation The California Public Records Act (CPRA) was intended to provide access to information concerning the conduct of public agencies in order to further government transparency and accountability. However, agencies have seen increased challenges complying with some responses as the amount of data being stored electronically across a variety of devices has exploded, in combination with recent case law clarifying whether compliance with particular request might be overly burdensome. This presentation will offer tips for responding to broad or complex CPRA requests with an emphasis on best practices for collecting and reviewing large amounts of data and assessing whether there is any exemption to disclosure under the CPRA. This presentation will also offer practical insights for defending against CPRA litigation and cover some issues unique to responding to CPRA requests directed to public agencies in light of SB 1421 and SB 16.

Conference Schedule Thursday February 8 Your Road Map To Navigating Challenging Labor Relations Issues Across the state, public employee unions are exercising their power more than ever and creating increasingly challenging conditions for public agencies to navigate. In this session, we will discuss some of the most difficult labor relations issues that public employers face and provide guidance from our experience helping public agencies prepare for these obstacles and chart a path through and around them. Topics will include impasses, slowdowns, sickouts and strikes, to name a few. We will discuss strategies and tactics that public agencies can employ to maintain positive labor relations with employee unions while achieving your agency’s objectives and serving your constituents.

Lunch 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Concurrent Session #2 1:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Managing Public Safety Injury leave: How To Navigate Overlapping Obligations Under Workers Compensation, Disability Accommodation And Disability Retirement Injury leave for your public safety personnel presents a myriad of compliance challenges. Legal requirements under workers’ compensation, interactive process / accommodation, industrial disability retirement, and statutory leaves come together to create a morass of rights and obligations to be applied by your agency. Join two of LCW’s experts for practical, comprehensive guidance for effectively managing public safety industrial injuries. We will also discuss best practices for light duty, fitness for duty and return to work policies and procedures. Your Remote/Hybrid Work Policy Is Important Now More than Ever Remote and hybrid work may have been a temporary necessity during the pandemic, but the reality is that remote and hybrid work is here to stay for many public agencies. Employees and applicants are demanding teleworking on a permanent basis. Rather than winging remote and hybrid work processes, agencies should have robust policies and agreements in place. These policies and agreements are essential to reducing workplace complaints, injuries, absenteeism, off-the-clock work, and reimbursement demands. These policies also ensure agencies are utilizing techniques so employees can collaborate, communicate effectively, and provide essential public service whether remote or in person. This session will provide an in-depth discussion on the necessary components of remote and hybrid work policies and agreements, and will also include a legal update on the grievances, lawsuits, and other employee claims we have seen arise out of teleworking. Investigations 101: Effective Witness Interviews And Their Role In Defensible Workplace Investigations The goal of this session is to arm you with the tools necessary to conduct a legally defensible investigation. In this session, seasoned investigators and litigators will examine how workplace investigations are used by employers and employees in pending lawsuits where the employer agency is being sued for harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation. They will lay out not only the purpose and importance of investigations in lawsuits, but also how the investigations can be criticized and questioned. Then they will explain how to interview witnesses in such a way as to protect the investigation from attack in litigation. This will include how to remain impartial, gain the cooperation of reluctant witnesses, ask effective questions, and assess credibility.

Conference Schedule Thursday February 8

Effectively Using Compensation Surveys in Labor Negotiations Effective bargaining requires data to support your positions. The total compensation of agencies with whom your agency compares in determining how the market is paying, is one of the most important pieces of information in the labor negotiations process. Effectively creating and using compensation surveys in bargaining can make the difference in reaching an agreement with your labor organizations. This workshop will feature two long-time experienced negotiators who have created and used compensation surveys to help them reach agreements. This workshop will discuss: • Different elements of a total compensation survey, and whether it should be included in the survey. • Choosing and amending survey agencies. • How using surveys can help an agency to develop a compensation philosophy. • How to direct your agency’s resources to elements of the survey that will help your agency in its comparison of its relevant marketplace. Numerous survey examples will be shown. The main learning objective will be a greater understanding as to how using total compensation surveys in the bargaining process will make you more effective at the table.

Concurrent Session #3 3:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. Peace Officer Discipline After Reform Legislation Effective January 1, 2022, two landmark police reform statutes dramatically changed the traditional regulation of the law enforcement profession in California. SB 2 effectively converted a POST certificate into a revocable license and imposed a reporting system for POST to track every peace officer in the state. SB 16 continued what SB 1421 started in 2019, and reduced peace officer confidentiality protections in the interest of transparency. Personnel management and the imposition of discipline have become more complicated due to these legislative changes. For example, SB 2 has significantly affected disciplinary decision-making as agencies need to consider the risk that an employee given discipline short of termination will be decertified. Agencies also now need to contend with uncertainty when an officer’s certificate is in jeopardy, and they may need to navigate the use of these laws by police union attorneys and representatives to slow or frustrate the investigation and discipline process. Likewise, the transparency statutes imposed challenges, such as the need to update investigatory timelines and records maintenance practices be updated, and agencies must prepare investigation and discipline documents that will withstand scrutiny by the press and public. LCW attorneys have been navigating these statutes since they took effect and will share their thoughts and experiences.

Conference Schedule Thursday February 8

Better Together: Working As A Team To Achieve FLSA Compliance From what is bargained at the table to what shows up on employee paychecks, FLSA compliance is a shared responsibility with Human Resources, Finance, Employee Relations and Supervisors playing an essential role. This session will identify the responsibilities of human resources, labor relations and finance professionals with respect to key areas of the FLSA such as approving or denying overtime or compensatory time off, negotiating salary increases and additional pays while complying with the regular rate of pay, timekeeping and recording hours worked, work schedules, and employee expectations while on standby and using email or text off duty. This session will also discuss how decisions made by one group can impact supervisors and each other. Our speakers will then offer best practices and practical guidance for how your agency can coordinate decisions and actions to ensure FLSA compliance. Considerations On Whether To Take An Employment Matter to Trial Employment litigation can be high stakes and can often have a profound impact on an agency’s operations and workplace. It can also make California law. This presentation will offer practical insight on what agencies should consider when deciding whether to take an employment case through trial. Topics will include the understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your case (and your witnesses), weighing the settlement demand against the costs of continued litigation and/or the consequence of a loss at trial, the inherent unpredictability of jury trials, litigation deterrence, the impact of media interest, and the overall effect of a high profile trial on an agency’s operation. Writing it Right: Ensuring MOUs, Management Contracts, Separation Agreements and Policies Comply with Retirement Laws Many written agreements contain retirement provision with glaring errors. They are ticking time-bombs waiting to be uncovered and create significant liability for your agency. We will identify these common errors and describe how to fix them. Some of the topics covered will include: • How to properly describe special compensation items in an MOU; • Tips to avoid creating a vested benefit; • How to comply with PEMHCA; • Avoiding the common traps for management employment contracts; and • What is and is not reportable compensation when an employee separates from employment.

Reception 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Conference Schedule Friday February 9 Morning Walk 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. Concurrent Session #4 8:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. HR Bootcamp: Nuts and Bolts For Supervisors This session is designed to provide first-line supervisors with the knowledge and tips to understand their responsibilities and to refine their supervisory skills. We will review key principles of performance management – communication, documentation and evaluation – which creates the foundation for employees to be successful, or for the agency to proceed with discipline when necessary. We will also identify and discuss the “need to know” legal requirements from a first line supervisor’s perspective, including due process as it relates to public employee discipline and appeals, wage and hour, discrimination and protected leaves. Fostering A Mentally Fit Workforce Americans have never been more attuned to the importance of mental wellness, and with good reason. A person’s mental health affects all facets of their life, including their ability to perform their job duties and serve the public. However, as mental health remains a sensitive topic and implicates employees’ privacy rights, navigating these issues can be complicated. Agencies should consider a two-pronged approach. First, what reasonable steps can they take to promote employees’ mental health and wellness? And second, when an issue does arise, how can agencies best navigate the fitness for duty, accommodation and/or disability retirement processes? Our presenters will provide their insights on these nuanced issues.

Social Media Speech: Protected Or Inspected Recent Court decisions have changed the lawful parameters of social media policies and the First Amendment rights of public employees. The complicated social and political times that we live in have resulted in an explosion of social media communications from public employees that can conflict with the mission and image of the employing public agency. To what extent can a public agency control social media speech from its employees, and when can a public agency discipline an employee for online speech? This cutting edge training will provide the foundation for addressing this rapidly growing reality. Why You Need To Review Your Payroll Calculations For FLSA Compliance Now - When Things Are Quiet Don’t wait until you’ve received an FLSA demand or lawsuit to review your payroll calculations. Start now to get ahead of compliance issues. This workshop will explain why, how, and when you need to review your payroll calculations for FLSA compliance. Participants will learn the tools to make initial FLSA overtime assessments and conduct FLSA compliance reviews of agency payroll practices. We will also discuss strategies on how to implement any needed changes – at the bargaining table or with your payroll vendor.

Conference Schedule Friday February 9 Concurrent Session #5 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Hiring The Best – The Critical Building Blocks For Lawfully Creating A Diverse Workforce, From Recruitment To Application Review To Interview Process California’s public agencies are caught between a rock and a hard place: On the one hand, there has been a surge in interest among public agencies to find ways to serve their communities with a more diverse workforce—often coupled with increased community pressure to do so. On the other hand, the California Constitution prohibits public agencies from considering race, ethnicity or sex as criteria in hiring or promotional decisions. LCW has assisted numerous agencies across the State in navigating this complex legal landscape. In this workshop, attorneys from our workforce diversity team will provide an overview of the legal framework, and provide tools to help agencies assess whether their recruitment strategies, job descriptions and announcements, and application and interview questions help agencies’ diversity goals, inadvertently narrow the diversity of their applicant pools, or even unintentionally consider applicants’ protected classes.

What Is Going On With CalPERS? CalPERS Developments That Affect Your Agency With new regulations, circular letters, and administrative interpretations being issued and created all the time, keeping up with CalPERS and avoiding costly mistakes can be challenging for local agencies. With new guidance and interpretations, practices that appeared compliant for years can be challenged or lead to liability. This session will provide an update on new legal issues, new administrative requirements, and emerging issues and interpretations impacting CalPERS agencies. The session will cover new legal issues and guidance including: • Regulatory changes to the limited duration requirements. • New requirements impacting local agency safety disability retirements. • Emerging interpretations and guidance. • Common pitfalls and reporting errors. The session will provide examples and insight to help your agency stay up to date and avoid costly compliance errors.

How To Ensure Your Wage & Hour MOU Provisions Are the Best They Can Be Memoranda of Understanding contain many subjects that are governed by the FLSA and other wage and hour laws. In this session we will review all those important wage and hour issues that show up in MOU’s and are negotiated at the table. Some of these provisions can be very beneficial to your agency while others can have costly impacts. Understanding the difference between what you must do under the law (and ensuring that it is written in the best way possible to ensure compliance with the law) and what you can choose to do based on collective bargaining is fundamental when negotiating in this arena. We will show you exactly how to ensure that you correctly address all of the MOU provisions which address the FLSA and other wage and hour laws and how to write the language and negotiate for modifications to existing language to ensure legal compliance in the MOU. You will leave this workshop with the tools to go back to your agency and make sure all those wage and hour provisions are not only legally compliant, but address the issues most effectively for your agency.

Conference Schedule Friday February 9 Navigating The Intersection Of Discipline And Disability Issues One of the most difficult personnel decisions involves disciplining an employee for conduct that the employee claims is related to a disability. This presentation will explore the intersection of when an employee’s disability impacts an employer’s ability to discipline for misconduct. This workshop will provide a framework for helping agencies choose the path that will reduce the chance of litigation. Using real-life examples and case studies, you will receive practical advice and solutions for addressing this increasingly common issue.

Ask The Expert The Ask the Expert booth will be staffed throughout the conference’s breaks and free time. Stop by to discuss any pressing labor, employment or education law questions you may have.

Thursday:

8:00 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. 1:00 p.m. - 1:20 p.m. 2:30 p.m. - 3:20 p.m.

Friday:

8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. MCLE: Attendees can earn 8.5 hours of general MCLE credit for the conference. HRCI: This program has been approved for 31.25 (HR (General)) recertification credit hours toward aPHR™, aPHRi™, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi™ and SPHRi™ recertification through the HR Certification Institute. (Note: LCW is an approved HRCI provider. LCW’s use of HRCI’s name/seal does not constitute HRCI’s endorsement of the quality of the program.) POST: The Critical Incident optional February 7th as well as the Public Safety track sessions have been submitted for POST credit. Specific hours will be added to the FAQ page upon approval.

Registration Information

RATES Early Bird: Regular: Group Rate (3+ before Early Bird):

$645 per attendee (before 12/31/2023) $675 per attendee (after 12/31/2023) $595 per attendee (before 12/31/2023)

Please note that the Group Rate is not available after 12/31/2023. You must register all attendees at the same time to receive the Group Rate. Cancellation Policy: cancellation requests must be received by January 19, 2024, to receive a full refund, less a $40 administrative fee. No refunds will be given after that time. Participant substitutions are accepted any time prior to February 5, 2024.

LCW reserves the right to refuse registration. Note that individuals employed by a union, a union-side law firm, or a union-side consulting firm that, in labor relations matters, exclusively represents unions and employees, as well as persons who represent employees rather than management or individuals from other law firms may not register for LCW programs. Those registrations will be denied and monies returned, less a $40 administrative fee. Please submit any cancellation notice or substitution request to fderego@lcwlegal.com or jhung@lcwlegal.com.

HOTEL

Hyatt Regency San Francisco The To reserve a room, please visit: DISCOUNTED ROOMS Five Embarcadero Center, https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/groupSOLD OUT. San Francisco, CA 94111 booking/SFORS/G-LIB4/ATTENDEE Please contact the hotel directly for room information.

QUESTIONS?

Please contact: Fiona De Rego: 310.981.2373 | fderego@lcwlegal.com Jaja Hung: 310.981.2091 | jhung@lcwlegal.com