In March of 2020, employers were scrambling to keep their businesses afloat. Now, they’re updating processes and procedures to ensure that they’re prepared for any challenge that may come their way.In their fifth and most recent survey, the Blank Rome team asked employers about their biggest challenges, their return-to-work models, and how the pandemic has affected work environments and operations. What they found is that procedures are changing and affecting businesses and their people for the better.Now, employers are more prepared than ever for future business disruptions. According to the survey, 69.54% of employers now have an emergency plan of action in place. They’ve familiarized themselves with the challenges and protocols, and now they know what it takes to pivot. Many are lifting safety protocols, including mask regulations and remote-only meetings, however, they’re prepared to reinstitute protocols should another COVID surge take place.  Although employers are prepared for future disruptions, many are facing a plethora of new challenges right now. At the top of each employers’ list of challenges is the Great Resignation. Employees are leaving their jobs at an excessive rate, and employers are working to combat this by changing up traditional models. They’re also focused on revamping hiring and retention practices and wage policies to cater to the needs of employees.Apart from the Great Resignation, the pandemic has brought about plenty of other challenges. But these challenges have proved that great things can come from difficult times. Not only are employers improving hiring and retention procedures, but they’re also more focused on the physical and mental health of employees. Additionally, they’re advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as well as environmental and social governance. What other changes, challenges, and positive advancements have been brought about by the pandemic?  In this episode of BR @ Work, host Blank Rome Labor & Employment partner William J. Anthony talks with Brooke T. Iley, partner and Labor & Employment co-chair, and Susan L. Bickley, partner. Will, Brooke, and Susan examine the results of Blank Rome’s sixth Employer Workplace Survey and discuss how companies can address the high-stakes obstacles that will play a pivotal role in positioning their businesses for “What’s Next.”🎙️ Meet Your Host 🎙️Name: William J. AnthonyWhat he does: As a Partner at Blank Rome, Will’s labor and employment practice focuses on class, collective, and multi-party actions. He also provides training on management skills, discrimination, harassment, and other labor topics nationwide. Company: Blank Rome LLPWords of wisdom: “It does seem like we should be prepared for disruption for probably forever.”Connect: LinkedIn | Email🎙️ Featured Guests 🎙️Name: Susan BickleyWhat she does: Susan is a Partner in Blank Rome’s Labor and Employment practice, and she’s the Chair of their Houston office. Susan has over 30 years of civil trial and appellate experience in employment litigation for private and public employers, litigation involving commercial and business disputes, trade secret litigation, and the defense of claims against professionals. She serves a diverse range of clients, including publicly held corporations, smaller companies, and start-ups, as well as public entities and their officials.Company:

New legislation is changing the way employers resolve claims.On March 3rd, President Biden signed into law the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act. A culmination of the MeToo movement’s efforts, this law amends the Federal Arbitration Act to prohibit mandatory pre-dispute arbitration agreements for sexual assault and sexual harassment claims.However, many claims other than sexual assault and harassment cases can be pushed to arbitration. The Blank Rome team analyzes the various benefits of arbitration, including confidential proceedings, cost savings, and the class waiver to protect from class actions.Another act that may affect employers in the future is the FAIR Act. This act would prohibit all forms of mandatory employment arbitration. While the FAIR Act likely lacks the bipartisan support to pass the Senate, employers should monitor this legislation for developments.In this episode of BR @ Work, host Will Anthony talks with Alix Udelson, Associate at Blank Rome, and Ted Meyer, Partner at Blank Rome. They examine the new arbitration agreement changes, legislation in the pipeline, and address what employers can do to ensure that their policies and procedures meet contemporary standards.🎙️ Meet Your Host 🎙️Name: William J. AnthonyWhat he does: As a Partner at Blank Rome, Will’s labor and employment practice focuses on class, collective, and multi-party actions. He also provides training on management skills, discrimination, harassment, and other labor topics nationwide. Company: Blank Rome LLPWords of wisdom: “Let's all listen a little bit more, judge a little less, and maybe do something good for others every day.”Connect: LinkedIn | Email🎙️ Featured Guests 🎙️Name: Alix UdelsonWhat she does: Alix is an Associate in Blank Rome’s Labor and Employment sector. She represents and counsels employers across a range of matters, including discrimination and harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, failure to hire, and wrongful termination. Alix routinely devises and reviews employment guidelines and policies and works to address an array of workplace issues.Company: Blank Rome LLPWords of wisdom: “Every so often we get these laws, [and] a good reminder is to re-review policies to begin with.”Connect: LinkedInName: Ted MeyerWhat he does: Ted is a Partner in Blank Rome’s Labor and Employment sector. He has over 25 years of experience representing employers in labor and employment matters, with a background in home building, technology, financial, energy, oil and gas, and mortgage and title industries. Ted counsels national employers, represents large and small companies in litigation proceedings, and provides representation on disputes with departing executives and managers.Company: Blank Rome LLPWords of wisdom: “We've seen these things flip back and forth over the years with political administrations as the winds change. So, who knows where we might be in another two, or four, or six years.”Connect:

In this episode of BR @ Work, host Will Anthony, lawyer and Partner at Blank Rome LLP is joined by Marla Persky, experienced attorney and co-founder of WOMN LLC, and Kim Gacso, Founder of Shine, LLC. Marly and Kim discuss how a strong company ethos adds value to an organization. Creating a strong company ethos can be the guiding factor for decision-making, including decisions related to hiring, talent management, investment, and customer service. Throughout this episode, Will and his guests highlight the importance of operating in a way that aligns with company values. “We've all heard that old phrase, culture eats strategy for breakfast,” says Kim. “From my experience in 25 years of HR, and particularly in leadership development and team coaching, it could not be a more true statement. You can have the best intentions, you can have words on a wall, but if the culture isn't living and breathing what you want that ethos to be, you're never going to execute on the strategy that you've put out.” Will, Marla, and Kim also provide practical tips for HR professionals and legal teams who are struggling behind-the-scenes to manage the many tasks thrown at them on a day-to-day basis. Their advice includes giving professionals in the field permission to try new strategies and shift approaches or when something doesn’t work. New policies and processes don’t need to be perfect to be worth trying. Marla and Kim both stress the importance of strategic prioritization at a time when many teams feel overwhelmed with the number of tasks they’re managing. 🎙️ Meet Your Host 🎙️Name: William J. AnthonyWhat he does: As a Partner at Blank Rome, Will’s labor and employment practice focuses on class, collective, and multi-party actions. He also provides training on management skills, discrimination, harassment, and other labor topics nationwide. Company: Blank Rome LLPWords of wisdom: “I have always encouraged my clients to have a well-publicized, well known, and well used internal complaint procedure, something where people have the opportunity to raise any concerns or thoughts, suggestions — a way to communicate internally.”Connect: LinkedIn, Email🎙️ Featured Experts 🎙️Name: Marla PerskyWhat she does: As a Corporate Board Director/Advisor, Marla has accumulated 20+ years of international senior business and legal experience leading global pharmaceutical, device, diagnostic, biologic, and over-the-counter (OTC) product businesses and legal departments. She has a background in M&A/ROI optimization expertise as a key member of acquisition teams both in the US and globally. Marla is the co-founder of WOMN LLC, a consulting company dedicated to helping women succeed in the business of law.Company: WOMN LLC | BarkerGilmoreWords of wisdom: “We want to make a difference. We want to have an impact. We want to be proud of what we're doing and who we're doing it with. And so the positive message is, take the time to circumvent your life and find what makes you happy and do more of it.”Connect:

Now more than ever, companies need to stay agile in dealing with the various employment law issues that have arisen since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.Companies are being forced to grapple with enforcing vaccination mandates without running afoul of discrimination and accommodation laws. The problems are twofold: disability and religious accommodations.Under disability accommodations, companies now have to determine the extent they can grant vaccination and mask accommodation on account of temporary conditions that would not ordinarily get ADA protection.Surprisingly, many more requests have emerged under the religious accommodation umbrella instead of medical accommodation. Companies must ascertain if an employee has sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, or observances. They also have to decide if that belief indeed prohibits vaccination and if granting that accommodation will cause undue hardship to the company.Beyond these vaccine-related accommodation issues, there is also the challenge of dealing with the demands of hybrid and remote work and the accompanying new discrimination and harassment claims. On top of that, there are social justice movements and their impact on discrimination claims in the workplace.To prevent long-term problems, companies need to gain a firm grasp of these new employment law issues and implement a proactive strategy.In this episode of BR @ Work, host Will Anthony has a candid conversation with Blank Rome partners, Gus Sandstrom, and Stephanie Kaplan. They discuss discrimination, reasonable accommodation, recent developments that have materially impacted the legal landscape for employment discrimination and accommodation laws, and more.🎙️ Meet Your Host 🎙️Name: William J. AnthonyWhat he does: As a Partner at Blank Rome, Will’s labor and employment practice focuses on class, collective, and multi-party actions. He also provides training on management skills, discrimination, harassment, and other labor topics nationwide.Company: Blank Rome LLPWords of wisdom: “In my three decades of practicing employment law and representing employers in workplace issues, I have noticed that new laws, social movements, and job loss are really the drivers of unrest in the workplace and claims being made about that unrest.”Connect: LinkedIn | Email🎙️ Featured Guests 🎙️Name: Gus SandstromWhat she does: Gus concentrates his practice in employment, ERISA and labor litigation and counseling. He defends employers against claims filed with the EEOC and state anti-discrimination agencies. He also has experience in all aspects of litigation, including case management, discovery, depositions, dispositive motions, oral argument, trials, appeals and settlement.Company: Blank Rome LLPWords of wisdom: “Remember the importance of maintaining balance. I think as we are all in a more virtual or hybrid world, spending more time in our home office, it's very easy to let home life and work life mix together and overlap and not have a clear boundary like you had when you left the office, got in your car, got on the subway, got on the bus, whatever, and walked home. And I myself have noticed this, that it can be hard to turn things off for a while and just spend time with your family, or frankly, spend time with yourself. And from a mental health perspective it's essential to have that...

The Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) authorizes individual employees to file lawsuits to recover civil penalties on behalf of the state of California, themselves, and any other aggrieved employees for possible Labor Code Violations.However, it has become like the bounty hunter law. The plaintiff's bar has turned it into a real money-making scheme because it triggers a right to recover attorney's fees.Some employers seek to include PAGA waivers in their arbitration agreements, but PAGA representatives claim it is unlawful under California law. So there have been multiple petitions to the U.S. Supreme court to evaluate whether the Federal Arbitration Act preempts this California prohibition against PAGA waivers. All eyes on that one.Nevertheless, there's another employment law issue in California. A new law prohibits employers from mandating arbitration agreements as a condition of employment or continued employment. What does this mean for employers with many non-exempt employees in California? How do they go around this hurdle for employees to sign these all-important arbitration agreements?In this BR @ Work podcast episode, host William Anthony sits down with Partners at Blank Rome LLP, Caroline Donelan, and Natalie Alameddine. They discuss the shifting world of labor and employment law in California, especially the PAGA, issues around arbitration agreements, the forthcoming vote for the Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act, what every multi-state employer should be thinking about, and more. 🎙️ Meet Your Host 🎙️Name: William J. AnthonyWhat he does: As a Partner at Blank Rome, Will’s labor and employment practice focuses on class, collective, and multi-party actions. He also provides training on management skills, discrimination, harassment, and other labor topics nationwide.Company: Blank Rome LLP Words of wisdom: “In my three decades of practicing employment law and representing employers in workplace issues, I have noticed that new laws, social movements, and job loss are really the drivers of unrest in the workplace and claims being made about that unrest.”Connect: LinkedIn | Email🎙️ Featured Guests 🎙️Name: Caroline DonelanWhat she does: As a trusted adviser and strategic partner to both domestic and foreign clients, Caroline provides advice and defense counsel in all areas of employment law compliance and litigation, including wage and hour class and representative (“PAGA”) actions, wrongful termination/retaliation, discrimination, harassment, trade secret disputes, data protection, and alleged fiduciary breaches.Company: Blank Rome LLPWords of wisdom: “When I talk to my clients that are human resource professionals, I say, when they're making tough decisions, I say put the human back in that human resources. I think kindness is king. That applies to my professional advice to employers..”Connect: LinkedIn Name: Natalie AlameddineWhat she does: Natalie Alameddine concentrates her practice on labor and employment law, where she defends employers in single-plaintiff and class action employment matters. She also represents and counsels employers in a wide range of labor and employment...

Join Will Anthony, lawyer and Partner at Blank Rome LLP, in this inaugural episode of BR @ Work to discuss the current landscape of labor and employment law.The pandemic years have brought numerous challenges to employers, and high on that list is employment litigation. A number of things have led to the shakeup, from social movements to job loss, to whether a job is performed remotely, in-office, or hybrid.In this episode, Will gives an overview of the field, a short history of how we got to this point, the factors leading into employment litigation, and how you can perform a high-level risk analysis for your company.Ultimately, Will says that company culture is what determines success in creating a positive workplace that retains employees and proactively prevents litigation.“Now more than ever, employers need to let employees know that they will be treated fairly, they will be compensated fairly, they will be supported, they will be listened to, and that management has empathy for all that they're going through as employees and outside of the workplace,” says Will.Over the coming episodes of BR @ Work, Will, his colleagues, and guests will dive deeper into the shifting world of labor and employment law, covering topics such as OSHA, class action lawsuits, pay equity, systemic discrimination claims, and how leaders can create a positive workplace that rises above these challenges.🎙️ Meet Your Host 🎙️Name: William J. AnthonyWhat he does: As a Partner at Blank Rome, Will’s labor and employment practice focuses on class, collective, and multi-party actions. He also provides training on management skills, discrimination, harassment, and other labor topics nationwide. Company: Blank Rome LLPWords of wisdom: “In my three decades of practicing employment law and representing employers in workplace issues, I have noticed that new laws, social movements, and job loss are really the drivers of unrest in the workplace and claims being made about that unrest.”Connect: LinkedIn | Email💡 Episode Highlights 💡[02:00] What causes employees to sue? The heart of the matter is unrest, which can be caused by both internal (job loss, place of work) and external (social movements, new laws) factors.[04:54] Why here, why now? Will covers how the ADA, FMLA, and Civil Rights Act of the 1990s got us to the laws and climate we have in workplaces today.[06:53] Riding the wage and hour class and collective suit tsunami. An expert in this field, Will shows how timekeeping practices became a source of upset for many workers.[07:57] 2020 vision became 2020 impact. Massive changes in how we function in society shifted how workplaces operate, leading to disgruntled employees.[09:57] Corporate culture can be your savior. It can’t just be lip service. Company culture directly impacts whether or not you might see employees walking out the door.[13:10] How can I save my company some headaches? Will walks through the factors used to evaluate where your company may have some exposure to litigation.Connect with Blank Rome☑️ Join the conversation on Twitter & LinkedIn.☑️ Subscribe to BR @ Work on Apple Podcasts,

From Blank Rome, this is BR @ Work, the Labor and Employment podcast for in-house counsel and HR executives. We invite you to join us as we explore relevant topics at the intersection of law, business, and current events to help you answer questions, solve problems, defend claims, and attract and retain a talented, engaged workforce. Let’s get to work.To continue the conversation with a team of attorneys that understand your business, your needs and priorities, and the unique risks you face, visit us at BlankRome.com.The insights and views presented in BR @ Work are for general information purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information presented is not a substitute for consulting with an attorney, nor does tuning in to this podcast constitute an attorney-client relationship of any kind.