Please join us for our 2019 Annual Big Country SHRM Legal Workshop at Abilene Country Club from 10:00am-1:00pm.
Topic: Legal Update 2019
Speakers: Dustin Paschal, JD and Paul Simon, JD
Summary:
1. Hour 1 - Presentation called Paul Simon, Elton John & Lynyrd Skynyrd: Your Employees' Farewell Tour. We'll also tack on to the end of this one a short update on new and upcoming HR laws for 2019/2020.
Description: One of the jobs HR must deal with is an aging workforce. While HR must and should deal with this issue sensitively, there are considerations and issues that arise that could create a potential legal minefield. Not only must HR address issues implicating the FMLA and the ADA but also must be careful to avoid age discrimination problems. Complicating life for HR are those employees that announce their intentions to retire or transition out of full time work. Is it okay to engage them on these conversations? What if they change their minds? What if you are too far in the transition process to adjust? Are you complicit in "forcing them out" because of their age? This presentation will address these questions and more. Specific focus will be on the ADA and age-related disabilities, the FMLA and age-related leave, the ADEA and the OWBPA. The presentation will provide guidance to HR on how to legally address and handle an aging workforce and those employees going on their "farewell tour."
2. Hour 2 - Presentation called Dilly, Dilly...Off to the Chamber of Misery: Consequences of Failure to Discipline & Failure to Discipline Properly
Description: Although almost every HR professional deals with issuing discipline to employees, do you truly understand the consequences of what you're doing. Are you issuing the discipline at the write time? Are you issuing the correct level of discipline? Are you wording the discipline properly? Are you putting yourself at legal risk based on the discipline you're issuing? The questions surrounding discipline are endless and it's not always as easy as it seems. Through this presentation, you'll learn the consequences of discipline, failing to discipline, and failing to discipline properly. You will also receive guidance on how and when to discipline properly.
3. Hour 3 - Presentation called Lifting the Fog: Understanding the ADA Reasonable Accommodation Process
Description: As with many things in the law, “reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disability Act is largely undefined and vague. HR professionals must provide a reasonable accommodation but what is a reasonable accommodation? And HR professionals must engage in an interactive process but what does that mean? This presentation will provide much needed clarity to both questions and present attendees with clear and well-defined processes, procedures and policies to avoid running afoul of the ADA reasonable accommodation requirements.
Dustin Paschal has always had a passion for employment law. He attended Baylor University where he graduated in 2002 with a B.B.A. in Human Resource Management. While at Baylor, Dustin interned with the Vice President of Human Resources at a national manufacturing company where he experienced first-hand the employment issues facing companies and individuals today. After graduating from Baylor, Dustin attended Baylor School of Law and graduated with a J.D. in 2005. Since graduating, Dustin has practiced exclusively in the area of Employment Law and Business Law.
Dustin represents corporations, small businesses, and individual employees and executives. He handles a variety of employment matters, including discrimination and harassment cases, lawsuits involving non-compete agreements, and multi-state collective actions involving wage and hour issues. In addition to his litigation practice, Dustin reviews individual employment contracts, drafts employee handbooks, and assists companies on a variety of general contractual issues. Dustin takes great pride in helping his clients avoid litigation through proper planning but when his clients need it, Dustin provides aggressive and principled litigation counsel.
Dustin is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Dallas Bar Association. As a former active member of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Dustin served five terms on the Board of Directors and served as a Co-Chair for numerous committees. Dustin also is a Sustaining Life Fellow of the DAYL Foundation, a Fellow of the Dallas Bar Foundation and a former Associate Member of the Patrick E. Higginbotham Inn of Court.
Dustin also serves as President of DallasHR, the Dallas chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management. DallasHR is the premier organization in Dallas serving Human Resources professionals. Prior to his term as President, Dustin served multiple terms on the Board of Directors.
Dustin regularly speaks on a variety of Human Resources and employment law topics to many different organizations, including local SHRM Chapters, Chambers of Commerce, the Dallas Society of CPAs, and many more.
D Magazine honored Dustin as a 2018 Best Lawyer Under 40 and he is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible rating. Dustin also has been selected annually since 2012 as a Rising Star by Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers. Dustin’s peers nominated him for this achievement and he is part of only 2.5% of Texas lawyers classified as Rising Stars. It is this high honor that Dustin strives to match on a daily basis.
As a founding member of Simon | Paschal PLLC, an employment and business law boutique law firm in Dallas, Texas, Paul maintains an active employment and business law practice. Paul has a wide array of experience in employment matters, including Title VII, state discrimination laws, the ADA, the ADEA, the FLSA, the FMLA, employment contracts, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, employee handbooks and numerous other employment laws and regulations. Paul also has a broad business-based practice including, business entity formation and dissolution, operating agreements, and contract drafting and review. Paul was a six-term member of the DAYL Executive Committee, where he ultimately served as its President. Paul also has been selected as a Texas Super Lawyer Rising Star and has been selected more than 5 times as a Texas Super Lawyer. Paul also was selected as a Best Lawyer Under 40 and a Best Lawyer in Dallas by D Magazine in 2018.