October 2016 issue

Volume 6 : Issue 10 TM

www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

Top Attorneys in Labor and Employment Law

Cost Dynamics and How Healthcare Data Powers Your Business

Understanding the

Gig Economy in the Modern Workforce

Highlights from

2016 KYSHRM

Conference

The 2016 Election and the Workplace

Danielle Barnes,

SHRM-SCP, SPHR, IPMA-SCP Deputy Commissioner & General Counsel

TN Department of Human Resources

Implicit Bias -

Recognition and Solutions

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The things employees say when you’re not around can cause legal troubles for you. Fisher Phillips provides practical solutions to workplace legal problems. This includes helping you find and fix these kinds of employee issues before they make their way from the water cooler to the courthouse.

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Bringing Human Resources & Management Expertise to You

83%

of employees working full time have financial stress www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com Editor

Cynthia Y. Thompson, MBA, SHRM-SCP, SPHR Publisher

The Thompson HR Firm, LLC HR Consulting and Employee Development Art Direction

Park Avenue Design Contributing Writers

Bruce E. Buchanan William Carmichael Deborah M. Clubb Harvey Deutschendorf Neemah Esmaeilpour David Estel Jasmine Gordon Jimmy Hinton Jennifer Hagerman Robbin Hutton Chris Menard Kerstin Nemec Tim Norwood J. Randall Patterson Robert Ratton Blake Rogers Larry J. Tolbert Antonio Williams Board of Advisors

Austin Baker Jonathan C. Hancock Ross Harris Diane M. Heyman, SPHR John E. Megley III, PhD Terri Murphy Susan Nieman Robert Pipkin Ed Rains Michael R. Ryan, PhD Contact HR Professionals Magazine: To submit a letter to the editor, suggest an idea for an article, notify us of a special event, promotion, announcement, new product or service, or obtain information on becoming a contributor, visit our website at www.hrprofessionalsmagazine. com. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts or articles.

All manuscripts and photos must be submitted by email to Cynthia@hrprosmagazine.com. Editorial content does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher, nor can the publisher be held responsible for errors.

HR Professionals Magazine is published every month, 12 times a year by the Thompson HR Firm, LLC. Reproduction of any photographs, articles, artwork or copy prepared by the magazine or the contributors is strictly prohibited without prior written permission of the Publisher. All information is deemed to be reliable, but not guaranteed to be accurate, and subject to change without notice. HR Professionals Magazine, its contributors or advertisers within are not responsible for misinformation, misprints, omissions or typographical errors. ©2016 The Thompson HR Firm, LLC | This publication is pledged to the spirit and letter of Equal Opportunity Law. The following is general educational information only. It is not legal advice. You need to consult with legal counsel regarding all employment law matters. This information is subject to change without notice.

Features

WEB EXCLUSIVES

Employee Benefits

Top Labor and Employment Law Attorneys

6 note from the editor 7 Profile: Danielle Barnes, Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel TN Department of Human Resources 23 Can You Show ROI for Your Talent?

26 Diploma Mills: How to Detect a Fake 50 An Employer Alliance Debuts Oct. 20 at Workplace-DV Conference 52 Book Look: The Sales Boss - The Secret to Hiring, Training, and Managing a Sales Team

http://hrprofessionalsmagazine. com/web-exclusive-why-louisianiasperpetual-workforce-developmentprogram-is-a-winner/

16 Expect Clarity on Fiduciary Rule to Develop Over Time 20 The High Cost of Financial Stress on Your Employees 21 MSBGH and MC School of Business Present the 7th Annual Healthcare Summit 28 Are We Managing Cost? Cutting Cost? Both? Or Neither?

51 What You Need to Know About Millennials and Your Employee Benefits Program 54 Highlights from 2016 MBGH Wellness & Health Benefit Conference

Employment Law

12 Freelancing in the Age of Unicorns: Understanding the Role of the Gig Economy in the Modern Workforce 14 The Impact of the 2016 Election on the Workplace 18 Facing New Payroll Laws: 2016 Legislative Churn is Inevitable 22 Changing Course – Arkansas’ Revised Non-Compete Agreements to Be Enforced 24 Implicit Bias – Recognition and Solutions 48 Calculating and Counting FMLA Leave: An Increasingly Complex Task 49 2016 HR Legal Summit in Memphis October 13 53 5th Circuit Overrules Decision on $226,000 Penalty on Remote Hire Issues and I-9s

30 Fisher Phillips 31 The Kullman Firm 32 Ogletree Deakins 34 FordHarrison 35 Bass Berry Sims 36 Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP 38 Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP 39 Wimberly Lawson Wright Daves & Jones, PLLC 40 Waller Landsen Dortch & Davis, LLP 41 Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Galchus, P.C. 43 Littler Mendelson, P.C 44 Baker Donelson 46 Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP 47 Burch, Porter & Johnson, PLLC

Industry News

8 Highlights from the 32nd Annual KYSHRM Conference & Exposition 15 SHRM-Memphis HR Excellence Awards 19 Wimberly Lawson 37th Annual Labor Relations & Employment Law Update Conference in Knoxville November 3-4 27 WTSHRM 7th Annual HR and Employment Law Conference in Jackson, TN

Next Issue

Employee Benefits Planning and Compliance www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

5

a note from the Editor

We had the privilege of being media sponsors for the 2016 TNSHRM Conference in Memphis on September 14-16, and the ARSHRM Employment Law and Legislative Conference in Little Rock on September 15-16. We ended the month of September in Augusta, GA at the 2016 SHRMGA Conference, September 17-20. It was exciting to see Mike Aitken, SHRM VP of Government Affairs, in Little Rock, and again in Augusta. He presented “The Washington Outlook” and provided great insights on the impact of the 2016 Presidential Election and expected legislation for 2017. We will have highlights of all of these fantastic conferences in our November issue.

T

Cynthia with Dr. Bob Nelson, thought leader and expert in employee recognition, reward and retention. He is the author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees and his latest book, Recognizing & Engaging Employees for Dummies. I caught up with Dr. Bob at the KYSHRM Conference in Louisville.

his month our emphasis is on employment law. We are honored to have Danielle Barnes, Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel for the Tennessee Department of Human Resources. She holds certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), and International Public Management Association Senior Certified Professional (IPMA-SCP). Danielle is also a Rule 31 Listed Mediator. She received her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. You will enjoy reading her full profile on Page 7.

What a fantastic September we had! We kicked off the SHRM fall conferences in Louisville with the 32nd Annual KYSHRM Conference at the Galt House on August 30 – September 1. I was honored to be one of the preconference presenters, speaking on “Financial Intelligence for HR Professionals.” The exhibitor reception featured a circus theme and was great fun! There was also an exciting networking reception on the Louisville Belle with a fabulous dinner and karaoke. Hats off to the Kentucky Chamber for their assistance making this one of the best KYSHRM Conferences ever! We have highlights from the Conference on Pages 8-11.

As always in October, we bring you the Top Labor and Employment Law Attorneys chosen by the highly respected Chambers USA Guide. We hope you will enjoy reading their accomplishments, and that you will use this special section as a reference tool when seeking legal guidance all the new regulations impacting our workforce. With the presidential election coming up in November, we encourage you to review the voting laws in your states as some require paid leave for voting. Be sure to read Robin Hutton’s excellent update on Page 12.

Our October webinar sponsored by Data Facts will discuss the impact of the election on 2017 legislation. What changes can you expect next year? Will ACA be repealed? Will the Republicans maintain control of the Senate? We will discuss the “what ifs” and how they will affect our workplace. Join us October 27 at 2 PM CST. Remember that you earn SHRM and HRCI recertification credits each month when you attend our webinar. Watch your email for your invitation. If you are not currently on our email distribution list, just let me know and we will be delighted to add you.

Next month our emphasis will be on employee benefits planning and compliance. We are working with our sponsors to bring you the most up to date information including national benchmarks from the SHRM annual benefits survey.

cynthia@hrprosmagazine.com

Sign up for our RSS News Feed to receive up to the minute HR Alerts on changing legislation affecting our workforce. www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com.

6

www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

Danielle on the cover

BARNES

DANIELLE BARNES, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, IPMA-SCP Deputy Commissioner & General Counsel Tennessee Department of Human Resources Danielle Whitworth Barnes serves as the Deputy Commissioner & General Counsel for the Tennessee Department of Human Resources. In her capacity, she oversees all legal issues within the Department, offering counsel and advice to her agency, other state agencies and individuals on employment law Ms. Barnes holds certification

matters. One of her greatest accomplishments has been co-authoring and implementing the Tennessee

as a Senior Professional in

Excellence, Accountability and Management Act (T.E.A.M. Act), an overhaul of the State’s antiquated

Human Resources (SPHR),

civil service employment practices. This Act created the Board of Appeals and the Tennessee Employee

Society for Human Resource

Mediation Program, both of which fall under her areas of responsibility.

Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP),

In addition, all matters dealing with departmental legislative affairs, employee relations, workplace

and International Public

discrimination and harassment, as well as the review of certain statewide employee transactions fall

Management Association

under her review. Further in her capacity, she oversees the administration of state government’s Perfor-

Senior Certified Professional

mance Management Program, which was recently overhauled to focus on objective performance

(IPMA-SCP). In addition, she

outcomes. Along with that program, Ms. Barnes is charged with the design and implementation of

is a Rule 31 Listed Mediator.

She earned her undergraduate degree from Spelman College and her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. She is a graduate of Tennessee Government Executive Institute, LEAD Tennessee, Leadership Nashville and Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law. She was recognized by the Top Ladies of Distinction for Top

pay for performance in State government.

Ms. Barnes has experience in various matters pertaining to Title VII, the ADEA, ADA, FLMA, FLSA, THRA, and other state and federal employment laws. She has experience in all types of employment matters and has counseled clients regarding discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wage and hour issues, and affirmative action. She initially joined the Department of Human Resources in October 2007 as the Assistant General Counsel, Director of Equal Employment Opportunities Division and Legislative Director.

Prior to joining the Department, she served as the Legislative Coordinator and Assistant General Counsel for the Tennessee Department of Human Services. Her responsibilities in that role included representing the Department before the Tennessee General Assembly. She also served as legal counsel to the Department in various matters, including matters before the EEOC and THRC, general

Women in the Law and was

employment law consultation, contract disputes, and administrative hearings. Ms. Barnes also worked

a finalist for the Nashville

for a private law firm in Nashville and Memphis, practicing in the areas of employment law, insurance

Athena Young Leaders Award.

defense, general civil litigation, contract matters and government relations.  www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

7

HIGHLIGHTS

1

2

3

1 Lynn Ingmire, Chair of KYSHRM, welcomed attendees to the 2016 KYSHRM Conference. 2 Dr. Bob Nelson, with Nelson Motivation Inc. and author of several books on employee recognition, led a preconference workshop on “Recognizing and Engaging Employees Today” on Tuesday. 3 Cynthia Y. Thompson, MBA, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, founder and principal of The Thompson HR Firm LLC, was a preconference speaker on “Financial Intelligence for the HR Professionals.”

4

5

6

4 Lyle Hanna with Hanna Resource Group introduced the closing session keynote speakers on Tuesday. 5 & 6 Jay Box with Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) and Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Secretary Hal Heiner spoke on “Meeting Kentucky’s Workforce Challenge.”

Get Your Credits!

7

8

7 & 8 The welcome reception on Tuesday with sponsors and exhibitors in the HR Marketplace had a circus theme.

8

www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

kyshrmconference.com

presented by

9

10

11

9 Mitzi Root, PHR, with Integrity HR and KYSHRM Legislative Affairs Director, spoke on “An Insider’s Look at Work/Life Balance” on Wednesday morning. 10 Jeff Calabrese with Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC spoke on “Getting Worker Classification Right” on Wednesday morning. 11 Jeff Nally with Nally Group, Inc. spoke on “Take the Fear Out of Feedback.”

NEW Dates and Location!

Tue., Aug. 30 – Thu., Sept. 1, 2016 Galt House Hotel • Louisville

12

13

14

12 Attorneys with Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP presented a two-part session mock trial on Wednesday. 13 Attendees had a great time on the Belle of Louisville at the Networking Reception sponsored by KentuckyOne Health. 14 Jeanne Fisher (L) with ARGI Financial Group presented a preconference workshop on Financial Wellness Programs on Tuesday.

BOX

HANNA

Meeting Kentucky's Workforce Challenge DR. JAY BOX President, KCTCS LYLE HANNA, SPHR, SHRM-CP President & CEO, Hanna Resource Group

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The Humans are Coming!

The Humans are Coming!

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GORMAN

16

17

14 The KYSHRM Exhibitor Booth. 15 & 16 Lotoi Mayo and Jay Inman with Littler presented Working on Overtime: Preparing for DOL’s Changes to FLSA SECRETARY HAL HEINER Overtime Regulations on Thursday.

Education and Workforce Development Cabinet

Don’t miss the keynotes! Be inspired.

17 William A. Shiemann with Metrus Group was the keynote speaker at the opening general session on Wednesday. His topic was “Rise of HR: Catalyst Getand Your to Both Organizational Individual Fulfillment.”

18 China Gorman, Director at People Strong in Las Vegas, NE, was Credits! the closing keynote luncheon speaker on Thursday. Her topic was, “The Humans are Coming! The Humans are Coming!”

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bcbcbcbcbcbcbc Freelancing in the cbcbcbcbcbcbcb Age of Unicorns: Understanding the Role bcbcbcbcbcbcbc of the Gig Economy in the Modern Workforce cbcbcbcbcbcbcb bcbcbcbcbcbcbc cbcbcbcbcbcbcb

By ROBERT RATTON

M

obile devices that connect the worker with the in-need consumer have become a mainstay of our marketplace in the past five years.

Whether you take Uber to the airport or stay at someone’s home using Airbnb, millions of consumers around the world are tapping into these new markets. According to a PriceWaterhouseCoopers study from 2014, almost 20% of US adults had participated in the sharing economy via the internet. In this article, we will seek to understand the terms that describe this new facet of the economy, legal problems created when the 21st century work model meets 20th century labor and employment laws, and predictions for how law and regulation will catch up with what is at least perceived as a new workforce reality.

A Gig by Any Other Name The term “gig economy” is bandied about with such regularity we rarely stop to think about what it means or the section of the economy in which it represents. Based on a term frequently used by musicians, the term “gig economy” was coined in 2009 to describe the rather unfortunate economic reality of the Great Recession. From February of 2008 to February of 2010, the U.S. economy lost a staggering 8.7 million jobs.

To fill in the gaps created by job loss or underemployment, people started reaching out to new methods to generate income. Around this time, gig economy powerhouses such as Uber and Airbnb came into existence.

Broadly speaking, the gig economy includes any industry where you match up a contingent workforce (i.e., someone who doesn’t mind working a series of one-off tasks, or “gigs”) with a willing consumer via an electronic platform, usually a mobile device app. There are a number of subgenres within these markets that make up the gig economy. Peer-to-peer service exchanges, such as TaskRabbit, connect an individual with a particular need to a freelancer with a particular skillset. Companies such as Lyft and Uber allow individuals to exchange services. By the time you have finished this article, it is safe to assume that some enterprising individual will have found another market appropriate for the gig economy.

While it appears that the gig economy is predominated by these internetbased organizations, this assumption is greatly misleading. A recent study

by Lawrence Katz of Harvard University and Alan Krueger of Princeton University revealed two surprising realities about the gig economy’s preva12

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lence in the modern workforce. Internet-based gig economy freelancers account for only a fraction of all workers in 2015. However, what has risen meteorically are the number of workers who rely on “alternative work arrangements,” which can include internet-based intermediaries. An alternative work arrangement includes independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary agencies and contract workers. Individuals involved in an alternative work arrangement increased from roughly 10% of the workforce in 2005 to 15% of the workforce in 2015. The most prevalent increase has been among independent contractors. Notably, of all participants in the survey, 19.4% stated that they sold goods or services directly to a customer, the hallmark of the gig economy. However, only .5% of these workers use an online intermediary.

None of this is to diminish the rising importance of the gig economy.

The workforce is undoubtedly shifting toward work arrangements that fit the gig economy model. The fundamental question is why so much emphasis has been foisted upon the internet-based intermediaries. It is likely two forces. First, the novelty factor of technology has been driving a great deal of the attention. Most of us don’t use services where groceries are delivered to our home, but the possibility of never again slogging through a crowded grocery store is an exciting prospect. The other, more likely factor is the world’s fascination with the ever elusive unicorns. A unicorn is a startup business valued at $1 billion or more. The online gig economy has an impressive stable of unicorns. It is this combination of new technology and massive pay out that helps fuel a national obsession.

Square Pegs, Round Holes The greatest dilemma from a legal perspective is trying to wedge a freelancer who uses a web-based interface as the predominant link to customers into our current employment law strictures. If you have had access to any form of media over the last year, you have probably heard of the titanic legal battles of Uber. At the heart of this disagreement is whether Uber exerts a level of control over its drivers to categorize them as independent contractors or employees. The ramifications of this decision are tremendous. If deemed employees, Uber has a whole new level of responsibility, and cost, associated with its drivers.

Even in the traditional work arena, it is often difficult to determine who is an independent contractor. The IRS, the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board, along with courts and state agencies, implement different tests and standards to determine if independentcontractor status is appropriate. The IRS looks at over 20 factors focused

c b c b c b

on the amount of behavioral control, financial control and the relationship between the employer and the worker to determine the propriety of independent-contractor status. This determination becomes even more complicated when one looks to the peculiar relationship between Uber and its drivers.

While independent contractor status has taken center stage, there are numerous other issues that crop up. For example, how does traditional civil rights law function in the gig economy? Technically, Title VII applies to employees, but few individuals are likely comfortable with a large percentage of the workforce having no civil rights protection. There are also issues with benefits, trade secrets and workplace safety that have not yet been answered. Right now, we are at best trimming the corners of the square peg to squeeze it into our current labor and employment model.

New Classifications For better or worse, it is unlikely that our government will allow the gig economy to continue without new laws and regulations. The Hamilton Project, a think tank within the Brookings Institution, has proposed the creation of a new class known as the “independent worker.” An independent worker is the hybrid between a traditional employee and an independent contractor. In this scenario, the employer would exert some control over the means and methods of work by the independent worker, but not to the extent of a traditional employee relationship.

The Hamilton Project’s proposal is that a compact exist between the independent worker and his or her “employer.” The “employer” of the independent worker would allow the right to collectively bargain, provide civil rights protection and handle some tax withholdings.

However, the employer would not be responsible for overtime pay and/ or unemployment insurance.

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This new definition will create a ripple effect across many legal concepts.

For instance, a group of independent businesses banding together to set a price, as requested in the collective bargaining portion of the compact, would normally constitute price fixing in violation of antitrust laws.

Regardless of these effects, it is likely the cost of maintaining the status quo will be too high.

Conclusion The prevalence of the gig economy in the modern economy is still undecided. We are coming out of a rough job market where people with college degrees competed for unskilled jobs barely above minimum wage. It’s not hard to leave a job making ten dollars an hour with a rigid schedule and no benefits for the potential of greater money and freedom as a freelancer.

Regardless of the effect of an improved economy, the gig economy will undoubtedly play a role in the workforce of the future. Currently, we have a labor and employment legal structure designed to support a pre-internet workforce. This has kept us going for some time. Except now, we are moving away from a gold watch retirement culture, frequently prizing autonomy over security. If the old expression “may you live in interesting times” has any positive connotation, those who practice human resources and employment law are truly lucky.

Robert Ratton, Attorney Fisher Phillips rratton@fisherphillips.com www.fisherphillips.com

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13

The Impact of the 2016 Election on the Workplace

By ROBBIN HUTTON

The 2016 election cycle has garnered much attention, in large part because it has been excessively contentious. The right to vote is a fundamental right protected by constitutional amendments and federal law. While federal law protects a citizen’s right to vote, there is no federal law requiring employers give employees time off to vote. Thus, individual state laws dictate the rights of employees to take time off to vote. As the general election approaches, Americans are preparing to exercise their right to vote, and employers should be aware of their obligations on election day as they pertain to allowing their employees time off to vote and whether the employee must be paid for this time off.

The majority of states with voting leave laws require employers to provide employees time off to vote. Whether employees must be paid for this time off varies from state to state. The laws vary in other respects as well. For example, some states require employees to provide notice of their intent to vote. Other states permit employees to take time off only if the employee does not have enough time to get to the polls before or after work. Almost every state prohibits employers from disciplining or firing an employee who chooses to take time off work to vote.

Currently, 20 states have no laws requiring employers to provide their employees time off to vote. The following chart lists the area states which mandate some form of voting leave and the requirements of each state’s law.

Local Area States That Require Employers to Provide Unpaid Voting Leave State

What Time Off Is Required?

Is Advance Notice Required?

Alabama

“Necessary” unpaid time off to vote, not to exceed one hour, unless polls open at least two hours before and close at least one hour after regular working hours.

Yes, employees must provide “reasonable” notice.

Arkansas

Employers must schedule work hours that permit employees an opportunity to vote.

No.

Georgia

Up to two unpaid hours, unless polls are open two hours before or after working hours.

Yes, employees must provide “reasonable” notice.

Kentucky

At least four unpaid hours to vote or cast an absentee ballot.

Yes, prior to the election date.

Mississippi

Employers may not deny employees time off to vote.

Not addressed

Other states, including Florida, Idaho, Louisiana and Michigan, do not have laws requiring that employers provide time off to vote, but do prohibit terminating or taking other adverse actions against employees for voting or not voting or in an effort to influence an employee’s vote.

Local States That Require Employers to Provide Paid Voting Leave The majority of the states that require voting leave mandate some form of pay for the leave.

State

What Time Off Is Required?

Is Advance Notice Required?

Missouri

Up to three paid hours, unless polls are open three consecutive nonworking hours.

Yes.

Tennessee

Two paid hours, unless polls are open two consecutive nonworking hours.

Yes, before noon on the day prior.

Texas

Employers must permit employees to take time off to vote, unless polls are open two consecutive nonworking hours. It is unclear whether time off must be paid, as employers may not threaten a loss of wages for voting.

No.

14

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Political Discussions This presidential election has sparked much political debate and discussion and brought politics to the forefront of conversations at social events, family affairs, and at work. These political discussions can become heated, and the ramifications for employers can be seen in morale and productivity issues. Employers have wide discretion in limiting employees’ political expression in the workplace.

While the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects an individual’s right to free speech, this protection only applies to state action—that is, action taken by federal, state or local governments. The First Amendment does not protect employees from action taken by private employers. Indeed, employers can regulate speech and even bar political discussion entirely. There is no U.S. federal law that protects private-sector (nongovernmental) employees from political affiliation discrimination, and only a few states prohibit such discrimination.

Accordingly, an employer can discipline or discharge an employee for legitimate, business-related reasons, even if the conduct involves political expression at work. Such actions, may, however, violate other federal laws, such as the National Labor Relations Act. Additionally, the employer must ensure that it does not take an action that conflicts with discrimination laws (including those protecting political expression, religious beliefs, race, gender, religion, or adverse or retaliatory treatment based solely upon an employee’s political expression).

Employers generally are free to limit employees’ political speech during working time and in the workplace. Private employers may ban from the workplace any non-workrelated activities, including political activities, and generally may prohibit employees from displaying campaign or issue-oriented materials at their workstations, distributing “political” materials or leaflets in the workplace, soliciting support or donations for candidates or issues, wearing political insignia advocating candidates or issues, and using the employer’s computers or communications systems for political speech.

Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, and Kentucky do not have any state laws protecting employees from adverse employment actions based on political activities or limiting employers’ restrictions regarding political activity.

Conclusion Employers should review their policies to ensure they are compliant with voting leave laws in the state(s) where they do business and consider implementing a specific section in their Company policies addressing political discussions at work. FordHarrison has prepared a 50-state survey providing an overview of state laws addressing leave for voting. For a copy of this survey, please contact clientserviceteam@fordharrison.com.

Robbin Hutton, Partner FordHarrison LLP rhutton@fordharrison.com www.fordharrison.com

Awards Ceremony

The SHRM-Memphis Human Resource Excellence Awards will offer an exciting opportunity to recognize organizations both large and small as well as Individuals for outstanding human resource initiatives that significantly advance the field of Human Resource Management.

NOW OPEN FOR NOMINATIONS:

Tuesday, November 15, 2016 Breakfast 7:30 to 9:00 am Holiday Inn University of Memphis

www.SHRM-Memphis.org

SHRM-Memphis Human Resource Excellence Awards

WHY ENTER?

Keynote speaker: Cynthia Y. Thompson, MBA, SHRM-SCP, SPHR

Showcase your

organization’s excellence in employee management—educate, motivate and inspire

Benchmark your

company across the industry

Celebrate your hard

work

The Thompson HR Firm LLC Editor/Publisher HR Professionals Magazine

Award Presentations:

HR Student of the Year HR Emerging Leader George Mabon HR Executive of the Year Memphis HR Champion Lifetime Achievement Award Email hrexcellenceaward@shrm-memphis.org with questions www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

15

Expect Clarity on Fiduciary Rule to Develop Over Time

By LARRY J. TOLBERT, AIFA © , MBA, CEP

Oh look, I’ve got mail.

Larry, I’ve followed the discussion about the U.S. Department of Labor rule promulgated earlier this year imposing new standards on pension plan sponsors, trustees, advisors and others engaged in providing investment advice to folks with retirement assets. Could you break it down for me and explain what this is all about? JPM Sure thing, JP, thank you for asking. Congress passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in 1974 and since then the U.S. Department of Labor has had responsibility for protecting America’s system of tax-preferred retirement savings. In the past 40+ years, the retirement savings world has changed. It has changed a lot.

The retirement savings marketplace has shifted from employer-sponsored defined benefit plans (traditional pension plans) to participant-directed 401(k) plans along with Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) and annuities.

Over the decades, those changes have increased the importance of sound financial advice for workers, families and plan fiduciaries, federal regulators reasoned. Since the rules governing the marketplace have not changed since 1975, the feds determined it was time to impose some stricter standards on those involved in the $25 trillion retirement services market and require everyone to work in the best interests of retirement investors.

Hi Larry, how is it folks in the retirement services segment of the market have not been required to work in the best interests of their clients all along? MG Through the years, different segments of the retirement services marketplace have been regulated by separate regulators under different laws and held to different standards.

Investment advisors are regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and are already required to meet a fiduciary standard of putting the client’s best interests ahead of their own compensation. Broker-dealers are regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which is subject to SEC oversight, and broker-dealers are required to ensure the investments they recommend are suitable for their clients. The sale and use of various insurance products are regulated by the states.

Many advisors act in the best interests of their clients. However, everyone is not obligated by law to do so and some don’t. The regulators are concerned that sometimes investment pros, brokers, insurance agents and advisors have financial conflicts of interest and incentives to steer customers into particular investment products.

The regulators put it this way: “These conflicts of interest do not always have to be disclosed and advisers have limited liability under federal pension law for any harms resulting from the advice they provide to plan sponsors and retirement investors.

These harms include the loss of billions of dollars a year for retirement investors in the form of eroded plan and IRA investment results, often after rollovers out of ERISAprotected plans and into IRAs. The Department's conflict of interest final rule and related exemptions will protect investors by requiring all who provide retirement investment advice to plans, plan fiduciaries and IRAs to abide by a "fiduciary" standard—putting their clients' best interest before their own profits.”

What do these changes mean to retirement savers and investors? SB

• The changes expand the definition of advice to include recommendations about 401(k) rollovers and benefit plan withdrawals, meaning both the decisions to roll over retirement funds and what investments to roll the funds into must be in the clients best interest; • The changes get market forces working for investors so retirement savers benefit from lower costs, less complexity, and improved investment performance.

Larry, how do these changes impact plan sponsors? JS Well, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce noted earlier this year, the new rule “affects how investment advice is provided to every 401(k) plan, every IRA, and every rollover or distribution to or from either.” So the scope and impact are far-reaching.

The Department of Labor adopted a phased approach to implementation with a transition period from April 10, 2017 when the new rules apply to January 1, 2018, when additional conditions and all new systems and processes must be in place.

According to the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), key points for HR plan managers to understand include: • The employer and any board, management or staff committee involved in decision-making for the plan are already fiduciaries, obligating them to adhere to participants’ best interests when selecting and monitoring plan investments and service providers—and subjecting them to potential liability if they do not.

• Certain financial advisors, including broker-dealers, insurance agents and mutual-fund firm representatives, generally have not been subject to liability under the fiduciary standard.

• Under the new rule, nearly all the types of advisors that a plan would rely on to provide investment advice to plan sponsors and plan participants will now be held to the fiduciary standard.

The rule changes will impact the relationships among plan sponsors and their financial advisors and require well-prepared sponsors to understand, analyze and monitor plan costs and fees.

They will also impact how sponsors and their advisors communicate with participants. Not all communication, especially education about retirement savings, financial fundamentals and investment information, will be deemed fiduciary investment advice.

As you look ahead, if you are uncertain about how well prepared you, your company and your plan participants are to face the requirements of new rules please consider collaborating with a skilled retirement plan advisor who can help protect the best interests of plan participants and fiduciaries.

Larry J. Tolbert, AIFA©, MBA, CEP Founder, Radian Partners LLC Larry.Tolbert@radianpartners.net www.radianpartners.net

The Consumer Federation of America, an alliance of more than 250 nonprofit consumer advocacy groups founded in 1968, believes retirement savers are made better off by the changes for a variety of reasons. Among them:

ABOUT RADIAN PARTNERS Radian Partners, founded in 2004, operates from offices in Memphis and Franklin in Tennessee. The firm provides financial education courses regularly in Middle and West Tennessee, most often through its association with the UT Martin Office of Extended Campus and Online Studies, among other colleges and universities.

• The changes require all financial professionals who offer retirement investment advice to offer recommendations in the best interests of their clients and charge only reasonable fees;

Securities, insurance and advisory services offered through FSC Securities Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC. Additional insurance services offered through Radian Partners. Listed entities are not affiliated with FSC Securities. The offices of Radian Partners are located in Suite 150, 6060 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38119, and may be reached by phone at (901)202-3909.

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The Role of Updated Payroll Systems

Facing New Payroll Laws:

2016 Legislative Churn is Inevitable

By JASMINE GORDON

S

Staying on top of legislative churn — an increase in new laws — is a huge task for payroll and HR departments. In addition, many of the established legal requirements change periodically (e.g., the recently released EEOC regulations on fair pay). With the upcoming U.S. presidential and Congressional elections, there is an expected increase in the number of new laws affecting payroll and HR. For HR leaders, staying up-to-date on new legislation should be a primary area of focus.

While it remains to be seen how labor laws and compliance requirements will evolve, and how they'll impact your organization, being prepared is always a good stance to take.

PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts competing plans will be introduced from both sides of the aisle on tax reform, benefits, economic growth and other issues, all of which have the potential to impact HR leaders and wage and hour legislation.

Here's a review of why compliance readiness is crucial and how to plan for changes, even if you aren't sure what they'll be.

Is Legislative Churn Risky for HR Operations?

The Department of Labor's (DOL) recent update to Fair Labor Standards Act overtime regulations, which will extend overtime pay protections to more than 4 million workers, offers a glimpse into how regulatory changes affect HR leadership and the organizations they support. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) projects 7.4 million businesses affected by the most recent change will spend an estimated $592.7 million on compliance updates. This breaks down to $254.5 million on getting familiar with new regulations, $160.1 million on adjustments and $178.1 million in managerial costs. Compliance isn't cheap, and these estimates don't include any potential increases in payroll expenditures to compensate employees under the new regulations.

The cost of noncompliance is even more shocking. In 2015, the DOL collected $246 million in back wages owed to employees, achieving a 21 percent increase since 2009 in the average amount of back wages owed. ADP's 2015 Midsized Business Owners Study indicated that 36 percent of midsized businesses were hit with unexpected compliance penalties.

Internal Change Management Needs HR leaders should take pains to fully understand how new payroll laws impact their organization and educate their payroll teams because wage and hour laws can impact not just payroll, but other vital systems like time and labor management. According to staffing agency Robert Half International, "Change-management efforts typically falter at the execution stage." The report indicates that for 65 percent of leaders "communicating clearly and frequently" is most important when leading a business through a major change.

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For both multinational and U.S.-based firms, staying on top of fast-changing payroll laws is a huge task. Regardless of how much or how little technology is used in your payroll process, it serves your organization well to be proactive about identifying those systems that could be affected by new or changing legal requirements.

Experts acknowledge a gap between intent and action when it comes to compliance. While HR leaders work hard to comply, their technology could be sabotaging their efforts. ADP research found that two-thirds of executives lack a strategic approach to HCM-driven compliance issues. If your systems aren't ready to pivot when legislative change occurs, you could face inconsistent processes, a spike in manual work, poor data quality and a higher risk of penalties.

By making the necessary preparations to be ready to update payroll and time and labor management systems, especially in light of anticipated changes to wage and hour laws, organizations can simplify the process of future compliance. With systems that are designed to be agile in responding to legislative change, you can adapt more quickly to new requirements and redirect other resources to drive strategic growth.

With next year set to be filled with legislative and national leadership changes, new overtime regulations set to take effect at the end of this year are likely just a precursor to a new year of even more adjustments, including EEOC pay equity reporting, Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces regulations and emerging scheduling restrictions. HR leaders would be wise to anticipate new legal requirements by preparing for compliance with sound change management and smart technology, so that it's possible to facilitate these regulatory transitions and avoid costly penalties. As seen on Spark, powered by ADP (adp. com/spark)

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by ADP, for more insights that can help you ignite the power of your people (adp.com/spark)

Jasmine W. Gordon

(née Jasmine Henry) is a Seattle-based tech writer, essayist, and big data consultant with professional interests in energy, data analytics, and big data technologies. She holds a MS in Informatics & Analytics from Lipscomb University in Nashville, where she also completed a graduate certificate in Health Care Informatics.

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Š

The High Cost of FINANCIAL STRESS on Your Employees

larger each year (starts at $695 per adult).

Human Resource departments spend an extraordinary amount of time and expense trying to craft affordable benefits programs, but no matter the cost, many employees find they simply can’t afford the premium and out of pocket expenses of an employer sponsored plan.

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A solution that controls employee and Financially stressed employees cost

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Insurance Plans (SHIP). By assisting

impacts productivity, causes absenteeism,

eligible employees with education on the

workplace accidents, and employee

benefits of SHIP, and helping them enroll,

turnover. It is not an exaggeration to say

companies can provide the employees who

that employee stress is a silent epidemic

need it most with broader health insurance,

that impacts almost every industry, and is

reduced medical expenses, full family

especially high in companies with a high

coverage, and increased take home pay.

The shift to State Health Insurance provides

number of hourly wage workers.

the employer with savings by shifting that

A recent Harris Poll on behalf of Purchasing

employee’s insurance expense out of the

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company budget.

financial problems are significant, and will

How often can you provide employees with

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a program that puts money back in their

as follows:

pocket? A SHIP Enrollment Plan can be

Š 82 percent of employees working full time have financial stress

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Š 34 percent have trouble meeting monthly expenses

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a program that reduces the out of pocket

success, and the human toll on an

costs on mandatory expenses, like

employee’s well-being, should be evaluated

health insurance.

health care decisions.

employers explore benefits like wellness plans and merchant and employee discount programs, which can be somewhat helpful, but require spending money to see their value. The best solution would be to create

Kerstin Nemec President Med-Enroll, Inc.

within every company. Employers who strategize and empower their employees with

Employees are legally required to have

the financial tools to improve their situation

health insurance, and if they don’t, they

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have to pay a fine to the IRS that grows

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CHANGING COURSE – Arkansas’ Revised Non-Compete Agreements to Be Enforced

By NEEMAH ESMAEILPOUR

O

ccasionally, the topic of employee non-compete agreements makes its way into the “mainstream” news, and rarely in a light positive for employers. A great example was the widely reported story about fast food chain Jimmy John’s requiring employees to agree to not make competing

sandwiches for two years after their employment ended. The public outcry led to investigations by state attorneys general and, this past summer, Jimmy John’s agreed to cease the practice for its New York stores as part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General.

To understand the importance of this change requires consideration of three aspects of a non-compete agreement. First, the agreement must protect a legitimate business interest. The typical interest put forth by employers is that the employee has knowledge of the company’s confidential information (trade secrets, pricing formulas, customer lists, etc.). A common complaint from employers about departing employees is that they have “invested” in its employees, so they should not be allowed to simply depart to the competition. While this is an understandable frustration, it cannot be the only reason if the “investment” is nothing more than basic, on-the-job training.

This is the classic restraint on competition that courts prohibit.

Despite the perception that states may be limiting these agreements, the opposite is true. The long-term trend shows a growing acceptance for non-compete agreements. In fact, Arkansas went dramatically in the other direction last year when it passed a law (Act 921) that reversed long-standing court precedent and increased the enforceability of non-compete agreements.

Some Background Non-compete agreements in the employment context (also called covenants not to compete) have been around for hundreds of years. At early common law, English courts simply refused to enforce them, finding they were against public policy because they were restraints on trade. It wasn’t until 1721 when an English court enforced a “partial” restraint on trade. American courts have also been historically reluctant to enforce covenants not to compete because they discouraged competition. Over the last fifty years, however, U.S. courts have been more willing to enforce these agreements in varied contexts. A notable exception to this trend is California, which generally does not enforce non-compete agreements, except in very limited situations.

Until last year, Arkansas did not have a statute on non-compete agreements in the employment context. Therefore, employers had to look to the courts for guidance on whether a covenant was enforceable; yet Arkansas courts, like most U.S. courts, disfavored non-compete agreements. While courts would occasionally enforce these agreements in limited situations, there was a very important caveat: if any part of the covenant was found to be overbroad or unreasonable, the entire covenant was considered unenforceable and struck down (commonly called the “red pencil” doctrine). Arkansas’ new statute, however, has jettisoned this long-standing principle.

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The second consideration is the scope of the geographic restriction. In short, the geographic scope has to be limited, typically to the company’s trade area. Companies can be overly optimistic and try to prevent competition not just where they currently do business, but next door as well. A potentially fatal flaw (before the new statute was enacted) was the failure to include any geographic restriction at all.

The final consideration is the period of time the restriction lasts. Courts have been historically reluctant to make generalizations on what period of time is too long. In Arkansas, courts rarely upheld non-compete agreements that were more than two years. Furthermore, as we have moved into the information age, what is a reasonable period of time has arguably shortened. Depending on the information at issue, its value as confidential information could be only a few weeks or months (think commodity prices, shipping quotes, customer buying habits).

In sum, the long-standing rule in Arkansas for a covenant not to compete to be enforceable was that it must protect a legitimate business interest, have a reasonable geographic scope and a reasonable time limit, and, if any part of the agreement was overbroad, the entire agreement was unenforceable.

Arkansas’ New Law Act 921 has changed these long-standing principles. First, it expressly states: “The lack of a specific or defined geographic

descriptive restriction in a covenant not to compete agreement does not make the covenant not to compete agreement overly broad.”

Act 921 also states that a post-termination restriction of two years is presumptively reasonably, but this may be rebutted depending on the facts.

Most important, if a court finds that the agreement imposes a restraint on the employee that is greater than is necessary to protect the employer’s business interest, the agreement is no longer struck down in its entirety.

Instead, the court “shall” modify the covenant to cause the limitation to be reasonable and then “shall” enforce the covenant under the reformed terms and conditions. In other words, the court does not have discretion to reform the covenant; it must do so and then enforce the modified agreement. This reformation process goes further than simply deleting overbroad provisions and enforcing the remainder (commonly called the “blue pencil” doctrine). It actually requires the court to draft terms of the contract that were not previously included and agreed to by the parties.

This is a dramatic change that benefits employers.

It is important to note that Act 921 does not apply to the following:

• Medical professionals; • Agreements not to solicit, recruit or hire employees;

Common law principles will continue to apply in these situations.

Therefore, if an employment agreement has provisions regarding the terms and conditions of employment, confidentiality, non-solicitation of employees and a covenant not to compete, Act 921 would only apply to the covenant not to compete section. Moreover, employers still need to have a valid business interest that they are protecting, as opposed to preventing ordinary competition. Act 921 did not make any substantive changes to this requirement.

Take Away for Employers Before Act 921 went into effect, employers had to second-guess what a court would decide was reasonable when drafting non-compete agreements. This led to a lot of uncertainty when faced with an employee who departed to the competition. Act 921 provides brighterline rules for employers. Therefore, businesses should consider whether they should take advantage of the two-year presumption or whether a geographic restriction is necessary to protect their business interest. However, the law does not expressly provide for retroactive enforcement, so employees who have already signed a non-compete agreement should sign a new agreement if the employer wants to take advantage of the statute. Employers should consult with their in-house or outside counsel before making any changes and having employees sign new agreements.

Neemah Esmaeilpour

• Confidentiality agreements;

Associate Attorney Labor & Employment Team Wright Lindsey Jennings NEsmaeilpour@wlj.com www.WLJ.com

• Nondisclosure agreements; and • The terms and conditions of employment or an employment agreement.

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believes that everyone should be treated fairly. Accordingly, such hidden biases are often unknown, difficult to identify, and are extremely difficult to alter.

IMPLICIT BIAS RECOGNITION and SOLUTIONS

By J. RANDALL PATTERSON

E

very person has likes and dislikes; not all of those preferences, most of which are prejudice based, are necessarily illegal or even bad. For example, when we order dinner we might choose tea as a drink, rather than coffee. Or after reviewing a stack of resumes, when faced with making a hiring decision, we might choose the candidate to be called

in for an interview who boasts the higher grade point average, or is a graduate of the more prestigious school. Such routine decisions are part of everyday life, and although they may be "discriminatory" by definition they are generally not maliciously motivated.

Any selective decision begins with some sort of bias, which is normal, and upon which everyone relies to some extent. These reliances may be from an explicit bias, or based on an actual experience or conscious bias such as the sweet or bitter taste of a beverage, or they may result from an unconscious implicit bias of which the decision maker is completely unaware.

The scenario in which the "best" resume is selected could be as neutral as the choice of beverage, but such a decision could also be easily influenced by an improper unconscious bias. For example, if the decision maker concludes from their responses, the race or gender of the applicants, or the age of the applicants, and then allows such information to become a consideration, or even motivating factor, in the choice of who to invite for interviews, such decision could well suggest intentional or even unlawful discrimination. While most individuals do not intentionally make discriminatory decisions or selections on the basis of gender, color, or age, the presence of unconscious bias could still prove to be the driving factor in such decisions because implicit bias against certain stereotypes could eliminate groups of well qualified candidates. Conversely, as the Kirwan Institute observed, implicit biases often tend to make us "favor our own in-group," that is, favor others like us, and prove to include possibly less qualified candidates.

Leading businesses have been conducting inclusion and diversity training for many years.

While such training does reduce the propensity for outright discrimination in the workplace, the training does not have the scope to address the underlying cause of overt discrimination, which is often implicit bias. Many progressive employers, such as Facebook, Coca-Cola, Google and even the federal government have now expanded traditional diversity curriculum to include training on implicit bias.

Implicit biases are motivating tendencies which everyone carries. Such biases are typically the byproduct of the unconscious processing of stereo-types, even when the decision maker consciously 24

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Studies in neuroscience have shown that only about five percent of human cognitive activities are conscious, with the remainder of our activities being driven by the subconscious. These subconscious attitudes and beliefs are typically the manifestation of experience, exposure, or background. Further, both conscious and subconscious beliefs may be shaped by such things as geographic origin, age, sex, race, profession, sexual orientation, education, income, religion, location and many other factors. These myriad influences which bombard an individual throughout life come together to shape subconscious stereo-types, or implicit biases. As early as 2010, a Workgroup Report by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) identified "unconscious bias and perceptions about African Americans" as an obstacle in federal employment decisions.

Implicit bias may be positive or negative, but it is most certainly an attitude toward a person, place, thing or group which an individual holds at an unconscious level. To change or alter decision making so that it is not influenced by implicit bias, it is necessary to understand how such biases work. The influence of a subconscious bias is not unlike that of a schema or mental framework; a schema essentially is a mental shortcut. For example, it is not commonly necessary to engage the conscious thought process when sitting in a chair, picking up those items that you might carry in pockets each day, or even driving to the office.

Similar shorthand schemas often influence how we process other people or groups of people. In some situations, these shortcuts or automatic processing can be helpful, but conversely, they may prove extremely harmful or even unlawful. Consider when a police car drives by, does the sight or sound of the police car promote a feeling of comfort and safety, or does it promote a feeling of threat and distrust? Schemas can be a benefit by helping to quickly and accurately access a situation, or they can lead to inadvertent and improper decision making.

It is common for schemas, and thereby implicit biases, to influence how we perceive others. For example, consider that a small percentage of American men are over six feet tall, yet a disproportionate number of Fortune 500 CEOs are over six feet tall.

These facts might suggest that taller men have higher GPAs or have stronger professional pedigrees than do their shorter counter-parts. Or, does this point to an implicit bias that many people perceive a taller male to be preferred as a stronger and more successful leader?

The Economic Times wrote "A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology a few years back came to the conclusion that every inch may be worth $789 per year more on an average when it came to salaries.

It also suggested that a person who is 6 feet tall is

likely to earn $166,000 more than someone who is 5 feet 5 inches tall, over a 30 year career… Now there is no conspiracy at work to ensure that the shorter guys earn lesser money or are kept out of leadership positions. This is an unconscious prejudice where the tendency is to associate the ability to lead people or do a job well with physical stature and thus ignore other traits required for leadership positions."

Similar schemas as those related to height easily extend to gender and race and may adversely impact women and minorities in the workforce. Consider that women comprise nearly fifty percent of the workforce in most industries, yet they represent disproportionately small percentages of directors, executives, and top wage earners. The EEOC found in its Workgroup Report that unconscious bias directly creates "stereotypical assumptions" such as "African Americans who are in high level positions cannot successfully perform because those positions are considered non-traditional for African Americans;" such unconscious bias adversely impacts the success of African Americans in federal employment.

Further, schemas or implicit bias influence perceptions of unknown individuals based solely on such factors such as a name, by association of words. For example, research has shown that resumes with "typically white names" receive significantly more call backs than those with "typically black names." A similar result was found with resumes with "typically male names" as opposed to "typically female names." Biases also come into play which may not have implications under federal or state employment laws.

Consider generational issues such as tattoos, hair styles or other markers.

Could such traits or appearances stimulate subconscious impressions which lead to bias?

THE SOLUTION: Solutions for negating the impact of unconscious bias initially involve awareness, and remaining mindful and conscious of the presence of bias or inadvertent short cuts to conclusions. To negate subconscious bias, we must consciously make decisions which acknowledge the presence of such subconscious beliefs. At the outset, it is necessary to identify discrepancies between conscious ideals and subconscious schemas or bias. If a bias is identified toward or against a particular group, one solution might be to gain more exposure to, or greater awareness of that group. It is equally important to avoid first impressions or knee-jerk reactions to people or situations. Taking additional time in decision making, particularly after acknowledging the presence of an unconscious bias, more often leads to real objectivity.

Finally, it is crucial that we stand accountable for our practices and policies; that may be accomplished through more deliberate decisions, making written considerations and thought processes, or even check lists.

Most importantly, we must maintain a constant awareness of our own personal views and be willing to own those biases, and work toward positive change where necessary.

Implicit (Unconscious) Bias

A New Look at an Old Problem

Save the Date Friday, November 18, 2016 • 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

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Please join us as we bring together nationally recognized experts to explore unconscious bias.

Topics will include: Introduction to the Concepts and Controversy Surrounding Implicit (Unconscious) Bias The Practical Implications of Bias in Our Justice System, the Media and the Worlds of Business and Education Where Do We Go From Here: Solutions and Opportunities

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J. Randall Patterson, Shareholder Baker Donelson rpatterson@bakerdonelson.com www.bakerdonelson.com www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

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Diploma Mills – How to Detect a Fake

By DAVID ESTEL

HR Professionals know just how important education can be as a foundation for shaping a qualified employee.

There are many positions where a bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD. is imperative when choosing the person to fill it.

Unfortunately, this requirement can turn people into, well, truth-stretchers.

Education is one of the biggest areas where job applicants fudge or completely fabricate information on their resumes and applications.

Maybe they lack a few hours from getting their degree, or maybe they never even stepped foot in one single class!

It’s crucial for HR to drill down into the information the candidate provides and verify important pieces, such as education. Otherwise, employers are opening themselves up to hiring unqualified, or even dangerous, people that could be detrimental to the company.

Diploma Mills One way applicants misrepresent their education background is with diploma mills. To put it simply, Diploma Mills are mostly online entities that offer substandard or bogus degrees in exchange for payment and not much else.

These degrees are obtained with little or no work involved outside of signing a, sometimes hefty, check. How is it possible for the applicants to be competent at their jobs?

There are six regional accreditation agencies recognized by the Department of Education: New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Accredits schools in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA.) Accredits schools in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Navajo Nation, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges (MSA). Accredits schools in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Central America, Europe, and the Middle East.

Southern Association of Schools and Colleges (SACS). Accredits schools in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Latin America.

Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). Accredits schools in California, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Palau, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Marshall Islands, and other Australasian locations.

The best bet is for the applicant to have earned a degree from an accredited institution. This is the most widely accepted educational standard by other institutions and employers.

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A tarnished reputation: If the business practice suffers because of an unqualified employee, word can spread. A once great reputation could fall to mediocre or subpar levels that could take years to turn around.

Litigation. If the unqualified person hurts or kills someone due to negligence, or damages property because of lack of skill, his or her employer could be found liable and subject to steep penalties.

How Your Background Screening Company Helps Your Background Screening partner should use licensed private investigators to contact the school’s registrar’s office to obtain verification.

Data Facts recommends verifying at least the highest degree completed. The last name of the applicant at the time they attended school is needed to obtain the verification.

Other information verified may be: • School attended

HR Professionals must be aware of “diploma mills” that grant worthless degrees, and be adept at spotting them during the hiring process. Your background screening provider should offer a compliant process to verify if a school has been accredited, and then will proceed to look at diploma mills.

There is no phone number on the college website.

The institution employs aggressive sales tactics.

Legitimate institutions, including distance learning programs, don’t advertise through spam or pop-ups or use high-pressure telemarketing calls.

What is the Difference Between an Accredited Institution and a Diploma Mill?

Client losses: If the person claims to have a degree, but cannot perform adequately, he or she could make mistakes that cause clients to leave. This cost is practically unmeasurable.

Warning Signs that a college is a Diploma Mill

A Brief History

• 2005 – The U.S. Department of Education launched a database to include the names, addresses and enrollment of all schools with recognized accreditation.

Turnover: When the unqualified person doesn’t work out, HR must shell out additional resources for recruiting and training a person to take his place.

• Dates of attendance

The name of the college is foreign.

• 2003 – North Carolina – Manslaughter Malpractice Laurence Perry kills and 8-year-old with a lethal dose of insulin. Perry was a diploma mill ‘doctor.’

Not catching a diploma mill “degree” can cost companies big in several different ways.

Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges (NWCCU). Accredits schools in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

This concept is nothing new.

• 1998 – Brooklyn, NY – A high school principal created a website to offer fake grades, no-work classes and modified regents exam results.

The Cost of Fake Degrees

They charge a flat fee. Legitimate colleges charge by the credit, course, or semester, not a flat fee for an entire degree.

They offer accelerated programs. If the institution claims you can earn a degree in a few days, weeks or months, it is likely a diploma mill.

Tips employers can use to see if a particular institution is legitimate 1. Call the registrar’s office of a local college or University and ask if it would transfer credits from the referenced college or university in question.

2. Contact your state attorney general’s office to make sure the school is operating legally.

• Field of study • Degree earned - if any • Date of graduation or last attendance

Keep in mind, if a school cannot verify data, the consumer should be given an opportunity to explain before assuming they have lied since there can be an explanation for discrepancy.

Understanding how diploma mills operate helps HR go a long way toward ensuring each employee indeed has the education he or she is claiming, and is qualified for the position in question.

David Estel National Account Executive Background Screening Data Facts, Inc. destel@datafacts.com www.datafacts.com

You’re invited to attend the

7th Annual

Human Resources & Employment Law Fall Conference Presented by: THE WEST TENNESSEE SOCIETY FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT In coordination with: THE LAW FIRM OF RAINEY, KIZER, REVIERE & BELL, P.L.C. Join us for an informative day where you will explore crucial HR compliance topics including:

November 2, 2016 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Union University Carl Grant Event Center 1050 Union University Dr. Jackson, TN 38305

 FLSA Check-Up on Salary Basis Revisions – A review to make sure are you ready for the new revisions to the Fair Labor Standards Act that are effective December 1.  Case Studies - An interactive discussion of recent employment law cases and the application of relevant concepts and HR strategies.  Employment Law Update – A survey of recent changes to federal and state employment laws.  Breakout Sessions: OSHA Revisions and Wellness Plans - These sessions will include a study of these timely topics.

Lunch is provided. Take advantage of our impressive showcase of HRrelated exhibitors. Door prizes and more.

Registration Fee: $75 for WTSHRM Members $100 for non-WTSHRM Members

Join WTSHRM for only $25 at: wtshrm.shrm.org/join

Register Now!

wtshrm.shrm.org/events

The registration deadline is Thursday, October 27, 2016.

Register early as seating is limited.

You may pay by check or credit card.

Questions: eamicone@raineykizer.com

This program has been submitted to provide up to 5.5 recertification credit hours through HRCI and SHRM.

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Are We Managing Cost?

Cutting Cost? Both? Or Neither?

Understanding Cost Dynamics and How Healthcare Data Powers Your Business

By ANTONIO WILLIAMS

When it comes to making your business successful or even keeping it solvent, the simplest business decisions involve some risk. And since healthcare cost is typically the secondlargest expense a company attributes to its employees, there’s a huge incentive in managing it effectively over time. All risk expected in the renewal period gets rolled into premium rates each year, and many employers don’t understand why they are continuously faced with more and more volatility year after year. Companies can have the most thought out objectives to grow their business, but an improperly managed healthcare program can easily drain the financial resources needed to push key initiatives that drive a company forward.

What Many Small to Midsize Businesses are Asking Q: “How can we control our costs and understand what is behind all the volatility and unpredictability?”

A: “It may be time to upgrade your framework for evaluating the effectiveness of your healthcare strategies.”

Managing healthcare cost is a continuous, cyclical process and it’s no secret that good data drives good decisions. The key to not letting the complexity grow is in breaking down changes into manageable pieces and making progress one step at a time. The goal of good reporting is to help employers make informed strategic decisions that create value and empower results. Some benefits consultants provide employer groups with complex reports that arbitrarily list statistics and fancy charts. Many times, however, the data in this reporting is far from actionable and does not provide any real strategic insight for one very simple reason. Unless a data element can be easily compared to another on a per capita basis, it typically cannot be of much assistance in guiding strategy.

Meaningful Metrics Lead to Positive Change The way to know whether or not a healthcare strategy is working is to translate measurements into simple terms that relate directly to the company’s business model. One set of metrics that every organization has in common is: PEPM(1), PMPM(2), PEPY(3) and PMPY(4). Continuous awareness of how costs are trending on a Per Employee Per Year (PEPY) basis not only supports healthcare cost management, but also creates a way for healthcare cost to stack up against average fiscal year employee productivity.

The profit margins of smaller companies typically don't have room to offer employees anything beyond basic health insurance. At the same time, they are reminded of the importance of balancing this with competitive benefits employees can appreciate. The value in tracking per capita cost breakdowns and evaluating them over time is that strategies and their outcomes can then be compared internally, as well as externally, to better understand performance and competitiveness.

Healthcare Costs PEPY

Regions Insurance Database (Under 1,000 Employees)

$12,124

XYY Company

$11,900

Renewal strategies are heavily influenced by whatever strategy is currently in place. Therefore, it’s important that monthly reporting and the most recent budget forecast can be reviewed side-by-side in an easy-to-understand way.

That is… that they work as a system. When the per capita metrics used to develop annual premium rates are captured on a consistent basis through dashboard reporting, this allows for frequent and continuous budget forecasting.

The renewal process moves away from being a once a year renewal meeting to more of a year-round continuous process where there are no surprises and the key drivers of cost have already been identified and discussed. Also, the more seamless the dashboard reporting is relative to renewal forecasting, the more prepared a group is to implement changes at renewal and determine when there is a need for corrective action.

Linking Current Performance to Risk Management Objectives Plan design and contribution strategy have a direct impact on how much members will utilize the plan and subsequently impact claim cost over time. As these change, risk gets shifted around and those decisions eventually end up connected to certain outcomes. For example, a company may offer its employees two plan options – Plan A with copays for the pharmacy benefits and Plan B (an accountbased, consumer-driven health plan) with coinsurance after deductible for pharmacy coverage. Reporting might reveal that year over year, trend on per capita pharmacy expenses is significantly lower for Plan B. The company might use Plan B’s PEPY averages to benchmark cost and utilization patterns and decide if it should change Plan A to a coinsurance arrangement. A reasonable expectation is that utilization would decrease in Plan A and the overall combined per capita cost for pharmacy would decrease as well. In the next phase, using a simple PEPY metric, it becomes easier to monitor performance against other plans as well as industry norms. The problem, however, is that not all benefits consultants are quantifying these kinds of outcomes and checking to see if these implementations of new strategies worked last year.

A Focus on Strategic Flexibility Proactively managing cost via the simplest metrics leads to greater cost predictability. The cost breakdown used to evaluate performance has to be simple enough to conceptualize different types of emerging data. In addition, reporting exhibits and budgets need consistencies across the data, along with visually informative data views that tell a story employers can use to make good strategic decisions.

Self-funded employers should be constantly reminded of their medical claims costs, pharmacy costs, administrative fees, and reinsurance fees on a Per Employee Per Year basis so that new strategies can be thought out and cost-saving scenarios can be modeled at renewal time.

$12,483

$12,000

$12,100

$12,200

$12,300

$12,400

$12,500

$12,600

Note: this chart is for illustrative purposes only

(1) PEPM is “Per Employee Per Month”, (2) PMPM is “Per Member Per Month”, (3) PEPY is “Per Employee Per Year, (4) PMPY is “Per Member Per Year”

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Great Strategies Are Systems

www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

Antonio Williams Senior Financial Analyst Regions Insurance Group antonio.williams@regions.com

Growth doesn’t just happen.

You have to be doing something right.

Always committed to providing the coverage you need and the guidance you trust SM, Regions Insurance is proud to be one of the ten fastest growing employee benefit brokers in the U.S. with $10 – $50 million in large-group revenue, as presented by Employee Benefit News in partnership with business data analytics firm miEdge.

EBN ranks Regions Insurance as one of the 10 fastest growing employee benefit brokers in the U.S. – May 2016

Tom Hayes Employee Benefits Practice Leader tom.hayes@regions.com 479-684-5259 www.regionsinsurance.com

The Coverage You Need.

The Guidance You Trust.

Find Regions Insurance offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas ©2016 Regions. Regions Insurance is an affiliate of Regions Bank. Products and services are offered by Regions Insurance, Inc., and underwritten by unaffiliated insurance companies.

SM

TOPAttorneys Labor & Employment Law

HR Professionals Magazine congratulates our top labor and employment law attorneys from Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi listed in the 2016 Chambers and Partners Guide. For details about Chambers and Partners research, please visit their website, www.chambersandpartners.com. This list is not exclusive and represents the firms who responded to our inquiry.

Fisher Phillips Fisher Phillips attorneys are ready to help you take a stand: in court, with employees and unions, or with competitors. Fisher Phillips has the experience and resolve to back you up. That’s why some of the savviest employers come to the firm to handle their toughest labor and employment cases.

The firm has more than 350 attorneys in 33 offices. The offices are in Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbia, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Gulfport, Houston, Irvine, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. MEMPHIS OFFICE

ATLANTA OFFICE

Jeff Weintraub is the managing partner of the Memphis office. He is a trial attorney who has represented employers in more than 59 jury and bench trials in the private and public sectors in employment-harassment/discrimination and retaliatory discharge lawsuits. Jeff also handles EEOC charges, wage and hour cases, labor cases, and enforces non-competes in all federal and state courts and agencies, various Courts of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Jeff was selected for HR Executive’s 2016 Top 20 Lawyers in the United States in Traditional Labor & Employment Law, and Best Lawyers in America for 20 years.

Additionally, Jeff is a member of the Chairman’s Circle and Chairman of the Small Business Council of the Greater Memphis Chamber.

C.L. “Tex” McIver is a partner in the Atlanta office.

Over his 40 year career, Tex has assisted clients nationally and internationally in their compliance efforts involving all federal and state employment laws. He advises employers concerning mergers and acquisitions, consolidation and streamlining ("rightsizing") of organizations. He was also selected as a Client Service All-Star for 2011, an elite group of attorneys nominated by in-house counsel for their outstanding client service. is is his 10th year listed in Best Lawyers in America.

Jay Kiesewetter is senior counsel in the Memphis office, where he devotes his practice to representing clients in the traditional areas of labor relations and employment law. Jay counsels employers in all aspects of union-free management and advises non-union companies facing union organizing activity. He represents employers in unfair labor practice and representational proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board and the United States Courts of Appeal. In addition, Jay works with companies that have unions to improve union-management relations and represents management in contract negotiations, arbitrations and labor disputes.

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John E. Thompson is a partner in the Atlanta office. His practice focuses on wage and hour law, emphasizing issues relating to minimum wage, overtime, timekeeping, and wage-payment requirements. He has also addressed wage-hour topics in presentations to numerous employer groups and in articles appearing in both human resources publications and industry journals. John is the editor of the firm's Wage & Hour Laws Blog.

This is his 10th year listed in Best Lawyers in America.

LOUISVILLE OFFICE Tom Birchfield is the managing partner of the Louisville office, which he helped open for the firm in 2009.

Prior to 2009, he was the chairperson of the labor and employment practice group of a large regional law firm.

Tom has represented employers exclusively for over 25 years in federal and state courts and before various administrative agencies throughout the nation. Tom assists employers with their employment practices liability prevention efforts by conducting training, counseling, reviewing and revising policies and preparing severance agreements. Tom also represents companies in collective bargaining, arbitrations and proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board.

Ray Haley III is a partner in the Louisville office. He has practiced labor and employment law for more than 30 years and represents employers in a variety of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and rehabilitative services. His representation of clients involves defense of all forms of civil rights and wrongful discharge claims in state and federal courts, labor litigation before state and federal agencies and courts, as well as arbitration of labor disputes. Ray regularly advises clients concerning compliance with virtually all employment-based state and federal mandates, union related matters, state and federal wage and hour advice and litigation.

Jeff Savarise is a partner in the Louisville office and chair of the firm's automotive manufacturing practice group.

Jeff has served as Toyota manufacturing’s national outside labor and employment counsel for over 20 years. Jeff practices exclusively in the areas of labor and employment law on behalf of employers, where he handles cases in a number of state and federal jurisdictions. He also provides a variety of preventive maintenance and employment training programs especially geared to the automotive industry. Jeff received the "Distinguished Alumni Award" given to alumni of the University of Akron Law School who have demonstrated significant achievement in the field of law and have made significant contributions to their community.

Laurel Cornell is a partner in the firm's Louisville office. Her practice involves representing employers in litigation of employment disputes involving Title VII, the Kentucky Civil Rights Act (KCRA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), as well as related tort and contract claims. She also has extensive experience advising and representing employers in administrative actions across the country. Laurel is the former vice chair and chair of the Louisville Bar Association's Labor & Employment Section. While in law school, she was a member of the Kentucky Law Journal.

The Kullman Firm The Kullman Firm was founded in 1946 with one area of practice, and one focus: labor and employment law on behalf of management. We strive to keep our record of excellence and have hundreds of years of cumulative experience which is invaluable to employers seeking assistance in navigating their companies through today's laws and regulations. While many laws have been added since our beginning 68 years ago (Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, OSHA, ERISA, COBRA, OFCCP, etc.), we still maintain our original philosophy, which is more important than ever – it takes a 100% commitment to give clients the advice and guidance they need and deserve.

Peyton S. Irby, Jr. has more than 40 years of experience guiding his clients through complicated employment issues. He is past chair of The Mississippi Bar's Section of Labor and Employment Law and is a member of the Section of Labor and Employment Law of the American Bar Association. He has also been elected as a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America® and "Chambers USA-America's Leading Lawyers for Business." In addition, Mr. Irby is the editor of Mississippi Employment Law Letter, a monthly newsletter on employment law published by BLR Publishers. aylor B. Smith - Mr. Smith has 50 years of experience T in the practice of law. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America®. He also has been identified as a Mid-South Super Lawyer by Mid-South Magazine, and he is one of only two lawyers in Mississippi meriting the rating of “Star Individual” in Chambers and Partners.

ONE AREA OF PRACTICE. ONE FOCUS. The Kullman Firm has engaged in the practice of labor and employment law on behalf of management since 1946. ! Employment Discrimination Litigation ! OSHA ! Wrongful Discharge Litigation ! Collective Bargaining Negotiations ! Labor and ADR Arbitrations ! Union Representation Cases

! Wage and Hour Law ! OFCCP/Affirmative Action ! ERISA/Employee Benefits ! FMLA Compliance

Offices in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama.

www.kullmanlaw.com

Attorney responsible for content of this ad: Martin J. Regimbal

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Ogletree Deakins Ogletree Deakins is one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. Premier client service, as outlined in the firm’s Client Pledge, is one of the firm’s top priorities and a cornerstone of its core values. U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” has named Ogletree Deakins a “Law Firm of the Year” for five consecutive years. In 2016, the publication named Ogletree Deakins its “Law Firm of the Year” in the Employment Law - Management category. Ogletree Deakins has more than 750 attorneys located in 49 offices across the United States and in Europe, Canada, and Mexico. The firm represents a diverse range of clients, from small businesses to Fortune 50 companies.

ATLANTA OFFICE Homer L. Deakins, Jr. is Chairman Emeritus at Ogletree Deakins. He has extensive experience in all aspects of labor relations law and has handled some of the largest and most highly publicized union elections in the United States. He has created highly sophisticated labor relations training programs for management personnel and has extensive experience in representing management in negotiating collective bargaining agreements. He also has varied experience in employment litigation, including jury trials in state and federal courts and has been involved in the trials of several large class action cases and has extensive appellate experience.

Margaret H. Campbell – An all-around labor and employment lawyer, Meg is particularly recognized for her experience in complex class and collective action litigation, whistleblower investigations and litigation including Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank cases, appellate practice, and restrictive covenant law. Meg has litigated single plaintiff, multi-plaintiff, and class and collective action jury and non-jury cases in federal and state courts around the country. Clients regularly seek her client-centered practical advice and innovative solutions for preventing and mitigating risk events arising in the workplace. In addition, Meg assists clients in sensitive and complex investigations of alleged improper conduct by high-level executives.

Craig Cleland defends employers in litigation—including class and collective actions—and counsels them in risk management and compliance. In addition to defending employers in litigation, Craig serves as a mediator or as settlement counsel in complex or difficult cases. Craig is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers as well as a Fellow of the Trial Lawyer Honorary Society of the Litigation Counsel of America. He has been recognized as a BTI Client Service All-Star twice.

NASHVILLE OFFICE Keith D. Frazier’s practice is in Nashville where he is also a member of Ogletree Deakins’ Board of Directors.

Since beginning his practice of law in 1985, Mr. Frazier has represented management in the area of labor and employment law with an emphasis on preventive activity and employment litigation. Mr. Frazier served in the past as President of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division and as a member of the Tennessee Bar Association Board of Governors; Mr. Frazier is also active in the ABA’s Labor and Employment Section where he currently serves as the Section Delegate to the ABA House of Delegates. On the civic front, Mr. Frazier recently completed a term as Vice Chair of Existing Business/Workforce Development for the Nashville Chamber of Commerce. In that capacity Mr. Frazier served on the Chamber’s Board of Governors and Executive Committee. Mr. Frazier was included in the most recent editions of The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA. 32

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Elizabeth Washko is the Managing Shareholder of the Nashville office. Ms. Washko represents management in a wide variety of employment litigation matters, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, FMLA, FLSA, wrongful termination, breach of contract, and covenant not to compete cases. Ms. Washko is a frequent speaker and writer on topics relating to all types of employment issues and works with clients on preventive strategies to avoid discrimination, retaliation and other employment claims. Ms. Washko is a graduate of Rutgers School of Law and joined Ogletree Deakins in 2000. Ms. Washko is a member of the Labor Standards Legislation Subcommittee of the ABA’s Labor and Employment Section. She is a regular contributing editor to the ABA’s FLSA Treatise and annual supplements.

JACKSON OFFICE Timothy W. Lindsay has practiced exclusively in the field of labor and employment law on behalf of management since 1987. With more than 25 years of litigation experience, Tim has served as lead counsel for public and private sector employers in defense of civil actions involving Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, ERISA, the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, and various employment related claims under state law such as wrongful discharge, defamation/slander, infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and breach of contract. In addition to defending civil actions in court, Tim has represented management before various state and federal administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission and Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

Robin Taylor’s practice focuses on defending employers and management in employment-related disputes, including disputes involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, failure-to-accommodate, FMLA interference, non-competition and non-solicitation covenants, trade secret, and other related state and common-law claims.

Robin also represents employers in labor arbitrations, union elections, and proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board. In addition to her active litigation practice, Robin regularly counsels employers on day-to-day personnel issues, including hiring, compensation, discipline, termination, covenants not to compete, protection of confidential information and trade secrets, and arbitration agreements.

FordHarrison FordHarrison is a U.S. labor & employment law firm with more than 200 attorneys in 29 offices, including four affiliate firms. The firm is committed to adhering to the FH Promise, a set of principles that guides how the firm delivers legal services and works with its clients.

FordHarrison attorneys represent employers in labor, employment, immigration and employee benefits matters, including litigation. Through its global practice group and membership in the global employment law firm alliance, Ius Laboris, FordHarrison provides clients that have multinational operations with a broad range of services related to labor and employment law in 49 countries throughout the world. For more information on FordHarrison, visit fordharrison.com. To learn more about Ius Laboris, visit iuslaboris.com.

TENNESSEE Louis Britt, Regional Managing Partner of FordHarrison’s Memphis, Nashville, and Dallas offices, concentrates his practice on employment litigation and advice, representing private and public employers in a broad range of employment matters. He handles employment discrimination and harassment cases (Title VII, ADA, ADEA, and FMLA), wage/hour matters, enforcement and defense of restrictive covenants contained in employment agreements, and employment-related torts. He is experienced in complex and class action litigation, and has tried cases in state and federal courts across the country. Louis has extensive experience in public sector representation in both litigation and collective bargaining. He received his JD from Tulane University Law School. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

Herb Gerson is the practice leader for FordHarrison’s Global Legal Services practice group and focuses his Memphis practice on managing all areas related to traditional labor and employment issues both local and international. He devotes much of his practice to counseling clients on avoiding employment discrimination claims and developing a positive work environment. He earned his JD from Emory University School of Law in 1973 and is licensed to practice in Georgia and Tennessee. He is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and a Fellow of Litigation Counsel of America. Herb was named an Eminent Practitioner by Chambers USA and is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

GEORGIA Geetha Adinata leads FordHarrison’s Business Immigration practice group. She concentrates her practice on all facets of business immigration and I-9 and E-Verify compliance. She works with local, national, and multinational companies to develop strategies to meet their short-term and long-term needs for foreign workers. She handles the full spectrum of temporary work visa options and permanent visa options for foreign workers, and offers clients high-level strategic advice on immigration related issues. Geetha is a member of the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She earned her JD from the University of Florida College of Law.

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Patricia Griffith concentrates her practice on employment litigation, including individual and class action discrimination and harassment cases, employment contracts, wage/hour claims, and other employment-related actions. She tries cases in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies and arbitrators. She has substantial jury and class certification experience. She is adept at mediating disputes, reducing the likelihood of protracted litigation, and serves as an arbitrator for the State Bar of Georgia. Patricia earned her JD from the University of Georgia School of Law. She is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

Thomas Kassin focuses his practice on airline labor and employment. He counsels clients on all types of personnel and labor relations matters that arise under the Railway Labor Act. Tom has extensive experience in handling a wide range of airline arbitration cases, having successfully represented clients in more than 300 cases. With his experience as a naval flight officer, Tom is very familiar with operational issues including pilot competency and proficiency cases as well as matters involving the analysis of complex aircraft accidents/incidents. He earned his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

Frederick Warren handles all aspects of labor and employment law, including traditional labor law, employment litigation, wage and hour matters and workplace safety. He litigates cases before federal and state courts and administrative agencies throughout the country. He defends both individual and class action cases and has substantial jury trial experience. Rick also handles numerous mediations and arbitrations. He devotes a significant part of his practice to preventive law and advising clients how to avoid/resolve labor and employment disputes and litigation. He earned his JD from the University of Georgia School of Law. He is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

Bass, Berry & Sims The labor and employment law team is known as a strong team of litigators and counselors with particular recent involvement in non-compete work and employment issues relating to the healthcare sector. Defends employers against the full range of discrimination claims and offers traditional labor law counsel, including in union avoidance and contract negotiation. They are experienced in management side labor practice and employment law litigation and counseling, including informational and decertification campaigns, contract negotiations and arbitrations; retaliation, discrimination and whistleblower claims; FLSA DOL investigations and class/collective actions; and a myriad of other issues including FMLA and state law leaves of absence, I-9 compliance, independent contractor classification and non-competes.

Bill Ozier of Bass, Berry & Sims has practiced more than 40-years as a labor and employment attorney and has earned national praise that includes 30 consecutive years of recognition in Best Lawyers in America® for labor and employment and top-tier rankings in Chambers USA for his "well documented and focused process" on labor and employment matters (from Chambers USA 2013). Bill's ability to provide practical employment advice while remaining mindful of the cost/benefit considerations for the business has resulted in numerous long-term client relationships. One such relationship includes the representation of a prominent Tennessee university and academic medical center in the defense of employment discrimination claims, including tenure denial cases, student lawsuits and general labor and employment advice. Bill represents a wide variety of clients – including a number of Fortune 500 companies – from a broad scope of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, retail, education and healthcare.

GO CONFIDENTLY. Bass, Berry & Sims listens and responds with creative yet practical counsel. We stay on pace with your company’s growth, connecting your dynamic human resources needs to affirmative strategies.

Relationships, reliability, and respect – at the center of our Labor and Employee Benefits practices.

Tim Garrett of Bass, Berry & Sims helps employers solve complex issues related to all aspects of labor and employment law, providing in depth counseling and developing creative solutions to underlying business issues. He is an experienced trial lawyer, defending employers of all sizes in employment litigation claims across the country. His work has ranged from defending a major university during a significant wage and hour collective action involving thousands of employees to the successful defense of a major healthcare provider in a gender discrimination/retaliation case. In addition, Tim has served as nationwide labor and employment counsel for the largest nonprofit dialysis company in the U.S. Named a top management lawyer in Nashville for 2017, and recognized by both Best Lawyers in America® and Chambers USA for several years, Tim has earned a national reputation for counseling employers through the maze of complex employee issues.

Bob Horton – As chair of Bass, Berry & Sims’ Labor & Employment Practice Group, Bob Horton represents management in all areas of labor and employment law. Bob's practice consists primarily of counseling clients regarding employment issues and defending companies against all manner of employment claims throughout the U.S. Bob has substantial jury trial experience and has obtained defense verdicts in discrimination and retaliation lawsuits across the country. With a robust non-compete practice, Bob has assisted employers in drafting non-compete agreements on a state by state basis, enforcing non-compete agreements by way of obtaining injunctive relief, and defending the company and new employees against claims of breach of non-compete agreements with prior employers. Bob assists numerous public companies and executives in the negotiation of employment agreements, as well as executive departures and subsequent issues that arise from equity grants in various forms.

Michael Moschel of Bass, Berry & Sims provides counsel on complex labor and employment issues to employers from industries as diverse as healthcare, aerospace, automotive and commercial printing.

Known as "a good traditional labor practitioner" (from Chambers USA 2013), a significant portion of Michael's practice involves collective bargaining agreement negotiations, labor arbitrations, contract administration, defense of unfair labor practice charges and strike guidance. Much of Michael's traditional labor work is for government service contractors, particularly Department of Defense contractors. He also advises numerous healthcare employers, particularly hospice companies on labor and employment challenges unique to this industry. www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

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Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP is a preeminent firm for labor and employment law in the U.S. – but it’s not your typical law firm. Clients say there is also “a soul to Constangy that is unique and refreshing, that’s not found with other firms.” For 70 years, Constangy clients have appreciated a common-sense approach and commitment to being a real partner in helping employers navigate the prickly legal and regulatory environments of the changing workplace. Today Constangy has more than 180 attorneys across 15 states, offering services ranging from the defense of single and multi-plaintiff employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims to complex wage and hour litigation, workplace safety, and affirmative action compliance, as well as OSHA, workers’ compensation, ERISA and employee benefits, immigration, and labor relations. A “Go To” Law Firm in Corporate Counsel and Fortune magazine, Constangy represents Fortune 500 corporations and small companies across the country. Constangy attorneys are consistently rated among the best by sources including Chambers USA, Martindale-Hubbell, and Best Lawyers in America, and the firm is ranked as a Tier 1 firm by the U.S. News & World Report/Best Law Firms survey.

GEORGIA W. Melvin Haas leads Constangy’s Macon, Georgia office. With more than 40 years of experience in traditional labor law, Mel is a fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and has been honored as one of the top 100 labor attorneys in the United States by the Labor Relations Institute and the nation’s "Top 20 Most Powerful Labor Attorneys" by Human Resource Executive magazine. In addition to being honored by Chambers, Mel has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® since 2007. He currently serves as Vice Chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Labor Relations Committee.

Neil Wasser has served as chair of Constangy’s executive committee since 2006, overseeing the firm’s expansion into ten new markets during that time.

Neil’s practice focuses on occupational safety and health law, and he has assisted employers with their compliance obligations in the United States and in establishing and improving employee safety and health programs in Europe and Latin America. Neil is a frequent lecturer throughout the country on OSHA and employment law issues. He has been named to Best Lawyers in America® since 2013.

TENNESSEE William Principe is a partner in Constangy’s Atlanta office. A former attorney with the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission in Washington, D.C. Bill has more than 35 years of experience in helping companies comply with both federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and state safety and health regulations. He is a highly-regarded speaker and frequent presenter on workplace safety topics.

Patrick Tyson is a partner in Constangy’s Atlanta office and leads the firm’s OSHA practice. Pat joined Constangy after a 13-year career at OSHA, where he served as Director of Compliance, Deputy Assistant Secretary and two terms as the Acting Assistant Secretary for the Agency. Pat represents clients on a wide range of safety and health issues. He is the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Safety Council, and serves as Counsel to the Voluntary Protection Program Participant's Association.

In addition to recognition by Chambers, Pat has previously been included in Best Lawyers in America®.

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William “Zan” Blue leads Constangy’s Nashville office. An experienced litigator with more than 30 years of experience, Zan has represented employers in employment discrimination, union-management and employee benefits cases. Zan advises companies on how to minimize legal risks and provide a positive work environment. Zan works with companies on occupational safety and health issues, including workplace safety and compliance with OSHA standards. Zan also represents employers in union campaigns, contract negotiations and with respect to unfair labor practice allegations. In addition to recognitions by Chambers, he has been included in Best Lawyers in America® since 2006.

Teresa Rider Bult, a partner in Constangy’s Nashville office, has spent the past 19 years litigating singleplaintiff, class and collective actions and counseling employers on a wide range of employment law issues. In addition to serving as founding chair of Constangy’s Women's Network, Teresa has received numerous awards and been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® since 2013. She currently serves as co-chair of the ABA Litigation Section's Employment and Labor Relations Law Committee and was a former editorial board member of the ABA Litigation News Magazine.

hts, and discuss policies and an employer for the future.

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that will take their companies into the future. Put on your hardhat and join us at the Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete 2016 employment law seminar for all of the latest information and much needed practical advice. This program offers 16 informative sessions designed to help you develop winning strategies for your workplace.

The Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP Labor & Employment Law Workshop is an interactive program designed for human resource professionals, corporate counsel, supervisors and managers, and business owners. The program includes a seminar manual, online access to presentations and materials, as well as a continental breakfast, lunch and cocktail reception at the end of the day. The seminar is a cost-effective opportunity to get answers to questions and specific practical advice from our employment lawyers. Participants in previous years’ programs have told us that this is the most valuable seminar they attend all year.

to register

Register and pay online at www.constangy.com, or complete the attached registration form and mail it with payment to Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP at P.O. Box 41099, Jacksonville, FL 32203. Forms may also be faxed to 904.356.8200 or e-mailed to bdarnofall@constangy.com.

registration fee

The cost is $225 per person for the first registrant from a company and $205 for each additional person from that company. The fee includes all reference materials, continental breakfast, lunch, cocktail reception and parking.

or bdarnofall@constangy.com.

hr

To learn more about dates and locations of workshops in other cities, visit www.constangy.com, or call your Constangy attorney.

Aprime wider lens on osborn convention center workplace law

y

1000 Water Street, Jacksonville, FL 32204 904.630.4000 Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Our lawyers come from wide and varied backgrounds, so we provide broad perspectives along with keen legal insights. Our firm has one profit center, so offices don’t compete - and so clients receive practical, consistent legal service across the country. We’re not the biggest firm around, and that’s by design. We’re agile, costeffective, and bring the highest caliber legal talent. We are a different kind of law firm, making a difference in your workplace.

accommodations

Overnight accommodations are available for those attendees who may need them. For reservations at the nearby Omni Jacksonville Hotel, call 904.355.6664, the room block is under the name “CONSTANGY”. Limited rooms are available at a discounted rate of $159 per night. The reservation deadline is Tuesday, March 1, 2016.

Ann

directions

From I-95 South, exit 353A. From I-95 North, exit 350A. The Prime Osborn Main Parking Lot is located on West Bay Street www.constangy.com

Prim

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37

Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP Wright Lindsey Jennings' Labor and Employment team has management-oriented practices addressing all aspects of the employee/employer relationship. The team has extensive experience litigating and arbitrating employment and civil rights claims, in addition to state law claims.

Our attorneys defend clients in multi-plaintiff, collective action and class action lawsuits, as well as Department of Labor and EEOC investigations. WLJ's team provides advice and counsel to clients regarding a variety of day-to-day matters, such as employment agreements and disciplinary issues, and represents clients in labor arbitrations, union elections and contract negotiations. Despite our collective litigation and arbitration experience, we place a premium on preventing employee claims that could lead to administrative investigations and litigation.

Stuart Jackson heads up Wright Lindsey Jennings' Labor and Employment Team.

He advises employers on compliance with civil rights laws and developing personnel policies, employment agreements and covenants not to compete. Jackson also defends employers in federal and state court litigation and appeals involving claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Arkansas Civil Rights Act. Jackson is listed among The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA “Leader in the Field” and Mid-South Super Lawyers, and has an AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rating through Martindale-Hubbell.

John D. Davis concentrates his Little Rock practice in the areas of labor and employment law and workers’ compensation. He spends a considerable amount of his time advising clients in connection with a variety of employment-related matters, including terminations, severance agreements, wage and hour issues, union avoidance, union negotiations, arbitrations, personnel policies and compliance with federal, state and local employment laws. Davis has received an AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rating through MartindaleHubbell, and is listed among The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA and Mid-South Super Lawyers.

Michelle M. Kaemmerling’s practice focuses on employment and commercial litigation in state and federal court, including appeals. She has also represented a number of defendants in employment and consumer class action lawsuits. In addition to her litigation practice, Kaemmerling regularly advises employers regarding compliance with state and federal employment laws and develops personnel policies, employment agreements, covenants not to compete and other employment-related contracts. Kaemmerling has been recognized by Mid-South Super Lawyers since 2009 and as a “Leader in the Field” by Chambers USA.

Lee J. Muldrow has been engaged in general litigation and workers’ compensation defense in Little Rock for more than thirty years. His litigation practice primarily involves a wide variety of insurance defense cases, including copyright, trademark and trade dress litigation. His workers’ compensation practice entails representing employers, self-insured companies and insurance carriers. Muldrow is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of “Worker’s Compensation Law” and “Health Law,” Chambers USA and Mid-South Super Lawyers. He has also received an AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5 Peer Review Rating through Martindale-Hubbell.

Jane A. Kim’s practice centers on defending employers in state and federal court litigation involving claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Kim also advises and provides training to employers on compliance with civil rights law.

Chambers USA listed Kim as an “Associate to Watch.” She has been appointed as the state of Arkansas’ liaison to the Women in The Law Committee for the Defense Research Institute, and was named to the inaugural Arkansas Business list of “Women to Watch” in Central Arkansas.

When it comes to labor & employment cases, we sweat the small stuff.

Like all of our practice areas, labor & employment issues can be complicated and time-consuming.

We have a dedicated team with the experience and industry knowledge to handle your case with an eye on both the big picture and the details.

From discrimination issues to workers’ compensation to immigration to wage issues, our diverse team can help you get the best result.

Little Rock

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www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

Rogers

wlj.com

Wimberly Lawson Wright Daves & Jones, PLLC The focus of our practice at Wimberly Lawson Wright Daves & Jones, PLLC is primarily on labor and employment law for management, together with general liability and workers’ compensation defense, for businesses and professionals, insurers, and governmental entities. We have offices throughout Tennessee, and serve clients both nationally and internationally. The Firm is a successor to the labor and commercial law practice of the Atlanta law firm of Mitchell, Clarke, Pate, Anderson & Wimberly, which was known for its representation of the Mitchell family and their "Gone with the Wind" movie interests.

At Wimberly Lawson Wright Daves & Jones, PLLC, we use a number of preventive and cost-effective methods for our clients. As an example, we might review our clients' compliance posture in their employment practice and/or employee benefit programs, in order to maximize employee benefit dollars as well as to avoid costly legal problems. Since major developments can happen quickly in this and in other areas of law, our clients appreciate our personal commitment to their ongoing success and profitability, and our proven philosophy in this regard.

The Firm also emphasizes client education, and our attorneys sponsor and present a wide array of conferences and seminars every year. Our biggest event is our annual Labor Relations & Employment Law Update Conference, which is now in its 37th year. Last year, the event drew over 400 attendees, with business owners, managers, and H.R. professionals arriving from all over the United States for a day-and-a-half program covering important legal decisions and societal trends affecting employment.

Wimberly Lawson Wright Daves & Jones, PLLC been recognized f or various coveted rating awards including: 2016 U.S. Top Ranked Law Firms by Fortune Magazine; 2016 Best Law Firms by U.S. News & World Report; and 2016 Martindale Hubbell Peer Review Rated Award by Martindale-Hubbell (the leading independent legal-services rating entity).

MARY DEE ALLEN is a Member in the Cookeville, Tennessee office, which she joined in 2003. Mary Dee received her law degree from the University of Memphis, and has been a practicing trial attorney since 1992. She primarily handles workers' compensation defense and employment discrimination defense in State and Federal courts and administrative agencies. Mary Dee is a member of the Putnam County Bar Association, Vice President of the Upper Cumberland Lawyers Association for Women, and a member of Kiwanis. Mary Dee is also Legislative and Governmental Affairs Co-Chair of Upper Cumberland SHRM and a member of Tennessee SHRM. She is rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell.

FREDRICK R. BAKER is a Member in the Cookeville, Tennessee office, which he joined in 2001. His law practice emphasizes workers' compensation and employment discrimination, as well as ADA and FMLA compliance. Fred is Editor of the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Handbook, by M. Lee Smith Publishers, and is on the Advisory Board for the Tennessee Workers’ Comp Reporter. He is also Legislative Co-Chair of Upper Cumberland SHRM, and a member of the Mid-South Workers’ Compensation Association. Fred was selected as a Rising Star in 2012, 2013, and 2014 by Super Lawyers. He received his law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Tennessee, and is rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell.

FREDRICK J. BISSINGER is Regional Managing Member of the Nashville office, which he joined in 1999. His law practice includes employment discrimination and wrongful discharge matters at both the administrative level and in Federal and State court litigation, with an emphasis on ADA and FMLA compliance, and also includes workers' compensation and general liability matters. Fred has served as both Legislative Chair and Legal Advisor for Middle Tennessee SHRM, and is currently serving as the 2015-2016 Diversity and Inclusion Director for Middle Tennessee SHRM. He received his law degree from the Seton Hall University School of Law, and is rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell.

KELLY A. CAMPBELL is Regional Managing Member of the Morristown office, which she joined in 1994.

Her practice includes an emphasis in workers' compensation, employment discrimination and wrongful discharge litigation (defense), as well as ADA and FMLA compliance for employers. She received her law degree from the University Of Tennessee College Of Law. Kelly is a member of the Hamblen County Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association.

She is active in community activities, including as a Board Member for the Pregnancy Crisis Center, Inc. (Board President 2007-2015). Kelly is rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale- Hubbell.

RONALD G. DAVES is Managing Member for the Firm.

His law practice emphasizes labor and employment law, including employment discrimination lawsuits, union/ management issues, and EEO/ADA compliance. Ron is also a Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator. He is a member of the Litigation Section and the Labor & Employment Law Section of the American Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association. He received his law degree from the University of Tennessee, where he was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award for excellent achievement in labor law, and the Robert L. McKnight memorial scholarship in labor law. Ron is also a recipient of the 2014 HR Professional Excellence Award, and is rated AV Preeminent® by Martindale-Hubbell.

G. GERARD JABALEY is Regional Managing Member of the Knoxville office. He joined the firm in 1989.

His primary practice areas are defense-oriented and include workers' compensation, employment law, and human resources counseling and training. He obtained his law degree from The Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis. Gerard is a member of the Knoxville Bar Association and has served both on the CLE Committee and as Co-Chair. He is also a member of the Employment Law Sections of the Tennessee and American Bar Associations, and the Litigation Section of the American Bar Association. Gerard has an AV Preeminent® Rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He has also been recognized by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for Workers' Compensation Law – Employers. www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

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Wimberly Lawson Wright Daves & Jones, PLLC (continued) JEFFREY G. JONES is Regional Managing Member of the Cookeville office. His practice includes commercial transactions, governmental law, and creditors' rights, as well as insurance defense. Jeff received his law degree from the University of Tennessee. He is a member of the Putnam County Bar Association as well as both the Tennessee and American Bar Associations. Jeff is a member of the Upper Cumberland Trial Lawyers Association, and the Cookeville Noonday Rotary Club. He is also currently the County Attorney for Putnam County, Tennessee. Jeff has an AV Preeminent® Rating - which is the highest possible rating given

by Martindale-Hubbell, the leading independent attorney rating entity.

EDWARD H. TRENT is a Member of the Knoxville office, which he joined in 2011. His practice includes labor and employment law defense litigation and practice before governmental agencies, as well as preventative counseling and training for HR personnel. Ed also works with churches on employment law, child protection, and religious liberty issues. He received his law degree from Duke University School of Law and has an AV Preeminent® Rating from MartindaleHubbell. Since 2011 he has also been recognized by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for Employment Law/Management and Litigation/Labor & Employment, and he was named as LAWYER OF THE YEAR in 2016. Ed is Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by The Florida Bar.

Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP With more than 225 attorneys in Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham and Austin, Waller assists clients in complex regulatory, litigation and transactional matters. Waller has a national reputation in the healthcare, financial services, retail and hospitality industries with extensive experience in manufacturing, real estate, technology and other sectors. Our highly rated labor and employment attorneys have successfully defended employers against single plaintiff, multi-plaintiff, and class action lawsuits throughout the country, and we represent employers in disputes before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Department of Labor, Department of Justice and other federal, state and local agencies.

Employers throughout the Southeast rely on Robert E. Boston for strategic advice as well as hands-on representation in labor and employment litigation matters. A litigation strategist and tactician, Bob wins praise from clients and peers alike for his prowess in employment litigation. He is known for his ability to “understand things from a client perspective.” Chambers USA recognizes Bob as a leading labor and employment attorney, and Best Lawyers named him the 2016 Lawyer of the Year for Labor Law-Management in Nashville while also recognizing him in the categories of Bet-theCompany Litigation; Commercial Litigation; Employment Law-Management; and Litigation-Labor & Employment.

Marcus M. Crider defends some of the world's largest employers in manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and hospitality as well as emerging companies and family-owned businesses in labor and employment matters. Clients form strategic partnerships with Marcus to make decisions to avoid litigation and regulatory agency actions involving alleged violations of Title VII, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and common law retaliation. Chambers USA recognizes his “great trial experience” and “very pragmatic approach” in Labor & Employment matters.

Best Lawyers recognizes Marcus in the areas of Employment Law-Management; Labor Law-Management; and Litigation-Labor & Employment.

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Stanley E. Graham is a trusted advisor and go-to litigator for major employers throughout the United States in the retail, hospitality, manufacturing, financial services, and healthcare sectors. An accomplished trial lawyer, Stan provides immediate access, risk mitigation advice, and strategic planning that serve clients' specific litigation goals. Clients also rely on Stan for daily advice on a wide range of employment issues. Chambers USA lists Stan as a leading Labor and Employment Attorney, and Best Lawyers named him the 2017 Lawyer of the Year for Labor Law-Management in Nashville while also recognizing him in the categories of Employment Law-Management and Litigation-Labor & Employment.

Mark Peters leads Waller’s Labor and Employment practice, and is known as a creative problem solver in federal and state labor and employment matters. Mark works extensively with healthcare employers in the acute care, behavioral health, long-term care, home health and dialysis sectors, and he serves as Vice Chair of the American Health Lawyers Association Labor and Employment practice group. His experience also includes telecommunications, manufacturing, and professional sports. He has significant jury trial and arbitration success in employment discrimination, retaliatory discharge and harassment cases.

Chambers USA recognizes Mark as a leading labor and employment attorney and he is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Galchus, P.C. Chambers USA has once again named Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Galchus, P.C. (CGWG) a leading Labor and Employment law firm in the state of Arkansas in their 2016 edition. This marks the twelfth consecutive year the firm has received this "Band 1" ranking - the highest honor in a specific area of practice. Chambers USA also listed four CGWG attorneys among the top-ranked Labor and Employment attorneys in the state. CGWG’s team of attorneys is highly adept in handling a wide range of labor and employment defense matters, including discrimination litigation, collective bargaining, benefits advice, employment contracts, complex immigration matters, development of constructive employee relations, and the development of company employment policies and procedures. Preventive law strategies and exceptional educational programs are hallmarks of CGWG’s services. We offer customized training programs to help employers and HR professionals minimize legal exposure and navigate workplace challenges.

Carolyn B. Witherspoon practices in the areas of

J. Bruce Cross practices in the areas of labor and

labor and employment defense, transportation

employment defense law. His practice, based in Little

law and government law in Little Rock. She is

Rock, includes work before the NLRB, the EEOC, the

a frequent contributor to legal publications on

Wage & Hour and OFCCP Divisions of the Department

topics involving employment and personnel

of Labor, as well as related federal and state court

issues and a frequently requested speaker on the same topcis. Ms.

litigation. He is past chair of the American Bar Association’s Committee

Witherspoon is active in the Arkansas and American Bar Associa-

on the Development of the Law under the National Labor Relations Act.

tions; is a member of the prestigious Union Internationale des

He is listed in Mid-South Super Lawyers, Chambers USA and Best Lawyers

Avocats, an international society of legal professionals recognized

in America, and was named to the Mid-South Super Lawyers Top 50 list

before the United Nations; and also serves as an arbitrator for

of attorneys in Arkansas. In 2014, he was named a Fellow in the College

the Court of Arbitration or Sport. She was appointed by former

of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He currently serves as Chairman

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe to the Commission on Uniform

of the National Legislative Committee of the Associated Builders and

State Laws in 2013. Ms. Witherspoon is a 2005 recipient of the

Contractors of America (ABC), and is past Chairman of the Statewide

Charles L. Carpenter Memorial Award from the Arkansas Bar

Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Arkansas and past Chairman

Association and is listed among the top lawyers in the nation

of the Board of Directors for the Museum of Discovery. Mr. Cross received

by Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, Mid-South Super

his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his JD

Lawyers and was named to the Mid-South Super Lawyers Top 50

degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law.

list of attorneys in Arkansas. She is also a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.

Donna Smith Galchus’ Little Rock practice focuses on employment discrimination litigation, wage and hour, Missy McJunkins Duke practices in the areas

affirmative action compliance and immigration law. She

of labor and employment law and immigration

is listed in Best Lawyers in America in Immigration Law;

law in the firm’s Little Rock office. She is an

Chambers USA; Mid-South Super Lawyers; and was named

active member of the Arkansas and American

to the Mid-South Super Lawyers Top 50 list of attorneys in Arkansas. Ms.

Bar Associations’ Labor and Employment

Galchus is a member of the Arkansas Association of Women Lawyers;

Sections. She was appointed by former Arkansas Governor

Pulaski County, Arkansas and American Bar Associations; American

Mike Beebe as Commissioner on the Arkansas Early Childhood

Immigration Lawyers Association; Mid-South Immigration Lawyers;

Commission and as a member of the Arkansas Advisory

Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers; Chair, Eighth Circuit

Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights.

Credentials Committee; American Employment Law Council; and the

She is also serving a six-year term on the Arkansas State Board

Arkansas Bar Foundation. She serves on the Boards of Editors of the

of Law Examiners. Missy is active in the community, currently

treatise on the Fair Labor Standards Act and the treatise on Age Discrimi-

serving on the Boards of Directors for Fulbright Elementary PTA

nation, and has written and published various articles in Labor and Human

and VOCALS – Volunteer Organization, Center for Arkansas

Resource Trade Journals.

Legal Services. Missy was named an Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 in 2011 and one of Soirée Magazine’s “Women to Watch” in 2013, and is also listed in Mid-South Super Lawyers, Chambers USA and Best Lawyers in America.

www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

41

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Littler Mendelson, P.C. Littler is the largest global employment and labor law practice, with more than 1,000 attorneys in over 60 offices worldwide. Littler represents management in all aspects of employment and labor law and serves as a single source solution provider to the global employer community.

Consistently recognized in the industry as a leading and innovative law practice, Littler has been litigating, mediating and negotiating some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record for over 70 years. Littler Global is the collective trade name for an international practice, the practicing entities of which are separate and distinct professional firms. For more information, visit: www.littler.com.

TENNESSEE Tanja Thompson is office managing shareholder in Littler’s Memphis office. She dedicates her practice to representing companies in the area of traditional labor law. National Fortune 500 companies as well as local employers across various industries, such as manufacturing, healthcare, and services, seek her expertise in remaining union-free and in managing their union-represented workplaces. Her union-free efforts include campaigns, comprehensive union vulnerability assessments, human relations audits, communication strategies, and union avoidance and positive employee relations training.

Paul E. Prather is a shareholder in Littler’s Memphis office. He represents management exclusively in all areas of employment and labor relations, including state and federal employment litigation and in administrative proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the United States Department of Labor. With more than 30 year of success in defense litigation, including jury trials, he is a frequent lecturer and author for management and legal groups on labor and employment law issues.

Jonathan E. Kaplan is a shareholder in Littler’s Memphis office. He has devoted his entire career to representing management clients exclusively in all areas of labor relations, employment law, and human resources management. His practice spans litigation, training, and consulting, in which he has handled matters in more than 40 states and Canada. Jonathan practices extensively before the NLRB across the country, and also has been admitted specially to practice before the state courts in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New York, and Ohio. He also is a frequent speaker before management and legal groups and has published numerous articles on labor and employment issues.

Lisa A. Lichterman is a shareholder in Littler’s Memphis office. She represents management clients in both state and federal employment litigation as well as administrative proceedings before state and federal agencies. Lisa regularly works with employers to determine the legal, as well as the practical, impact of employment decisions and to develop proactive policies and procedures to improve employee morale, strengthen relationships between management and employees, and ensure compliance with employment and labor laws. Lisa also regularly conducts employee and supervisory training programs in various employment law areas.

C. Eric Stevens is a shareholder in Littler’s Nashville office. He has over 30 years of experience representing clients - focusing on healthcare and financial institutions - in labor relations and employment litigation.

He represents both union and non-union employers, providing counseling to avoid litigation as well as defending clients in both court and administrative proceedings. Eric regularly speaks to industry groups and business roundtables on new developments in the law and issues that can directly affect their operations. He provides training on discrimination, harassment, wage and hour and related topics for private employers, public employers and governmental entities.

Jennifer B. Robinson is office managing shareholder in Littler’s Nashville office. She has been the lead defense attorney in nearly 40 wage and hour class and/or collective actions involving claims of misclassification, overtime and minimum wage violations, and missed meal and rest breaks. She also counsels, trains and conducts audits for clients to ensure compliance with federal and state wage and hour laws. In addition to her wage and hour practice, Jennifer defends employers in single and multi-plaintiff lawsuits involving claims of discrimination, harassment, failure to accommodate and breach of contract.

KENTUCKY LaToi D. Mayo is a shareholder in Littler’s Lexington office. She has advised, counseled and defended employers in regard to labor, employment and immigration matters for the past nine years. She has successfully litigated in both state and federal court.

LaToi also has expertise in Kentucky’s Workers’ Compensation issues, including benefits claims disputes. Working most frequently with financial institutions and local city governments, LaToi has notable expertise with discrimination issues. LaToi routinely presents at seminars focusing on labor, employment and immigration topics for a variety of professional organizations in Kentucky. She also conducts training for managers, supervisors and the general workforce and provides compliance counseling.

www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

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Littler Mendelson, P.C. (continued) ARKANSAS Eva C. Madison is a shareholder in Littler’s Fayetteville office.

She represents and advises employers of all sizes in all aspects of employment law, with a primary focus on employment litigation, including discrimination and harassment cases, as well as individual and collective wage and hour claims. Additionally, she counsels employers on strategies for minimizing potential litigation and provides advice on personnel matters and practices and the practical and legal implications of everyday employment decisions. She has particular experience advising employers on human resources systems, including selection systems, job analysis and training. She also provides management and employee training.

Tracey T. Barbaree is a shareholder in Littler’s Atlanta office. She represents employers in all aspects of employment and civil rights litigation, with a focus on Rule 23 class actions and defending collective action claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). She also litigates individual employment discrimination claims and represents employers in federal and state court. Tracey is admitted to practice in Georgia and Texas.

GEORGIA Lisa "Lee" A. Schreter is chairperson of Littler's Board of Directors and co-chair of the Wage and Hour Practice Group. She focuses on representing employers in complex class and collective actions involving overtime and other wage-related claims and specializes in helping employers to develop forward-thinking compliance measures that reduce wage and hour disputes and other employment-related issues. She also represents and counsels management clients in connection with all other types of labor and employment matters arising under federal and state laws. She regularly appears before federal and state courts, the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, and agencies charged with enforcing state law wage and hour requirements.

L. Traywick Duffie is office managing shareholder in Littler’s Atlanta office. He represents corporate clients in a broad range of employment and labor law matters, including employment litigation, union organizing, wage and hour and Employee Retirement Income Security Act matters. He has successfully defended numerous class and collective matters and countered union organizing campaigns in more than 40 states. Traywick has designed and implemented programs on compliance with and the avoidance of employment litigation and union organizing. He regularly speaks before companies, trade associations, business groups and universities. He represents clients in the healthcare, media, transportation and manufacturing industries.

Daniel E. Turner is a shareholder in Littler’s Atlanta office. He counsels and represents employers in all aspects of litigation in employment law issues, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, and leaves of absence. He has served as lead counsel in more than 50 class and collective actions throughout the country. Dan has defended clients in over 25 states and regularly provides counseling to help clients navigate legal and practical considerations in all area of employment law, including mechanisms to avoid class and collective actions

Leslie Dent is a shareholder in Littler’s Atlanta office. She is an experienced trial lawyer who has successfully tried cases ranging from individual discrimination matters to complex wage and hour class actions. She represents employers in class and collective actions involving off-the-clock claims, challenges to exempt status and other wage-related claims, as well as Rule 23 class actions alleging discrimination claims.

Baker Donelson Baker Donelson's labor and employment attorneys are in all of the Firm's seven Southeastern offices and Washington, D.C. Backed by more than 650 lawyers and public policy advisors, the attorneys offer litigation defense services for administrative and court proceedings at the federal and state level, advice on pre-litigation strategies to reduce legal risks, policy analysis and drafting, compliance audits, management training and labor negotiation. We are part of a Firm culture that promotes diversity, inclusion and a sincere appreciation for creative approaches to problemsolving, and we apply those same principles to our client relationships. We are proud to have been listed among FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" for seven consecutive years, something few other law firms have attained. Many of our offices consistently rank as a Best Place to Work in their cities and states, as well.

Phyllis Cancienne is managing shareholder of Baker Donelson's Baton Rouge office. She represents employers in all aspects of employment litigation, including class actions, before state and federal courts throughout the country, as well as governmental agencies including the EEOC and the Department of Labor. Ms. Cancienne has extensive experience drafting employee handbooks, employment contracts, confidentiality/trade secret agreements, and covenants not to compete, as well as rendering advice to employers on all federal and state employment. Listed in Chambers USA since 2010 as a leading labor and employment lawyer.

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Angie Davis is a shareholder in the Memphis office who works with employers on all types of employment and litigation defense issues. she counsels HR managers and executives on issues like leave, accomodation, FLSA and wage and hour, handbooks and policies. She was listed in Chambers USA in Labor & Employment Law in 2016.

Brooks Eason is a shareholder in Baker Donelson's Jackson office, and has served for nearly 25 years as lead outside counsel in employment litigation for a naval shipyard in Pascagoula, the largest employer in Mississippi. Mr. Eason has successfully defended employers in class and collective actions and individual suits asserting claims for discrimination on the basis of race, gender, age, religion and disability, for sexual and racial harassment, and for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers since 2007.

David Gevertz is an employment lawyer in Baker Donelson's Atlanta office. He vigorously defends organizations accused of violating discrimination, wage and hour, whistleblowing, privacy and benefits laws. He also litigates employment contract and restrictive covenant disputes, and he routinely leads sensitive internal investigations and reductions in force. Mr. Gevertz also represents financial, housing, testing, and hospitality-based institutions sued for violating public accommodations, fair housing, fair testing and fair lending laws. Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers since 2009.

J. Randall Patterson is a shareholder in Baker Donelson's Jackson, Mississippi office. He represents employers before the EEOC and other administrative agencies, as well as in state and federal court. He also advises employers on policies and procedures, reductions in force, wage and hour issues, employee handbooks and general employment issues. Mr. Patterson is experienced in ERISA litigation, antitrust and white-collar criminal defense. Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers since 2007.

M. Kim Vance represents management in every aspect of labor and employment law out of Baker Donelson's Nashville office. She defends companies in employment litigation; presents in-house management training programs to reduce employment related legal risks; counsels management clients through auditing human resources policies and practices; and develops pre-litigation strategies to improve available defenses. She has represented management clients in State and Federal Courts and in defense of administrative proceedings. Listed since 2008 in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers.

Edward R. Young practices in Baker Donelson's Memphis office, but he has a nationwide practice representing public and private management in all phases of labor relations and employment law, including litigation, union avoidance and collective bargaining. He has more than 40 years experience representing clients in state and federal courts on issues dealing with EEOC, NLRB and the U.S. Department of Labor. He has litigated matters in more than 20 states and in Canada. Listed since 2008 in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers.

Steve F. Griffith Jr. is a shareholder in Baker Donelson's New Orleans office. His practice includes vast experience on unique wage and hour issues, and he defends nationwide collective actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act. His experience also includes extensive litigation experience on civil rights claims, Title VII, the ADA, FMLA and ADEA. Finally, his practice includes pursuing and defending complex breach of contract, trade secret and unfair trade practice claims. Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers since 2010.

Jennifer Keller is president and chief operating officer of Baker Donelson. As an employment litigator, Ms. Keller advises clients on a wide variety of issues, including discipline and terminations, benefits issues, leave, disability accommodation, policy formulation and enforcement and similar matters. Licensed in Tennessee and North Carolina, she has been listed since 2010 in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers.

Amelia Koch practices in Baker Donelson's New Orleans office. She has substantial experience in all aspects of employment litigation and counseling, such as the FLSA, FMLA, ADA, Title VII, the ADEA, covenants not to compete, and employment and severance agreements. She has defended FLSA collective actions and has also represented clients in wage matters before the United States Department of Labor. Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers since 2013.

Your Resource for Legal Innovation and Inspiration Customized Management Training Compliance Audits Policy and Strategy Analysis Litigation Defense Global Mobility Labor Negotiation www.bakerdonelson.com THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. Ben Adams is Chairman and CEO of Baker Donelson and is located in our Memphis office, 165 Madison Avenue, Suite 2000, Memphis, TN 38103. Phone 901.526.2000. ©2015 Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

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Friday, Eldredge & Clark , LLP Friday, Eldredge & Clark , LLP serves business, non-profit, governmental and individual clients in Arkansas and across the United States. It is one of the oldest law firms in Arkansas and has been the largest Arkansas based law firm in the state for nearly 50 years. Friday, Eldredge & Clark is led by managing partner, J. Shepherd Russell III, who is also head of the firm’s Municipal & Corporate Finance Department. The firm has additional practice groups focusing on General Litigation, Class Action & Business Litigation, Railroad, Employment Relations and Labor, Medical Malpractice, Healthcare, Estate Planning & Probate, Employee Benefits, Real Estate/Commercial Transactions and Merger & Acquisitions. Friday, Eldredge & Clark has offices in Little Rock, Fayetteville, and Rogers, Arkansas and are members of the Southern Law Network, comprising many of the leading law firms with offices in 13 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Washington D.C., Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Since 1871, the firm and its attorneys as adhered to a few timeless principles. They cherish the practice of law and know that their purpose is to serve. They continuously strive for excellence in their professional performance and ethical standards and actively participate in professional, civic and charitable organizations to be effective contributors to our community.

For more information about Friday, Eldredge & Clark or the attorneys, visit www.fridayfirm.com.

Daniel L. Herrington proactively works with his management clients to help ensure their employment decisions can withstand legal scrutiny. Herrington has successfully defended those decisions before state and federal agencies and courts, including the EEOC, OSHA, NLRB, DOL, Arkansas Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for Eighth Circuit. He also has extensive experience in litigating covenant not to compete and trade secret cases. He has been recognized as one of America’s Best Lawyers by the publication of the same name. Twice voted as one of the top attorneys for labor and employment law by the readers of Arkansas Business and Soiree, Herrington has been named to the Mid-South Super Lawyers list of top labor and employment attorneys since 2011.

Dan is sought after speaker on employment law topics and regularly presents to groups such as ARSHRM and its affiliate HR associations around the state.

Joseph B. Hurst, Jr.’s is head of the firm’s Employee Benefits Practice Group, where he has practiced for 35 years. His practice includes the design, implementation and administration of qualified plans (including defined benefit pension plans, profit sharing plans, 401(k) plans and ESOPs), nonqualified deferred compensation plans and welfare plans for financial institutions, regular business organizations, professional corporations, and governmental and non-profit organizations. In addition, he acts as counsel to sponsors and fiduciaries with respect to ERISA controversies. He has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 1989 and Chambers USA and Mid-South Super Lawyers since 2008.

Michael S. Moore has been a partner with the firm since 1982 with an emphasis on employment discrimination defense.

He specializes in litigation of discrimination cases, wage-hour matters, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge, FMLA and employee and supervisor training. He is also a frequent speaker on a variety of employment law topics. Moore has extensive experience before the EEOC and the Wage-Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor, as well as litigation experience in both federal and state courts. He is a member of the Pulaski County, Arkansas and American Bar Associations. He is top-ranked by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, a publication respected for the caliber of its research on listed lawyers. Moore is also acknowledged in The Best Lawyers in America and in Mid-South Super Lawyers.

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A. Wyckliff Nisbet, Jr. is a partner in the Tax Department of the firm and an honors graduate of both the University of Arkansas and Georgetown University.

Nisbet has practiced law at Friday, Eldredge & Clark since 1974. Specializing in employee benefits and taxation, he has more than 40 years’ experience representing employers in the design, implementation, and administration of tax-qualified retirement plans, non-qualified deferred compensation and executive compensation. He also represents and counsels employers in employee welfare benefit programs and business owners,p professionals and high net worth individuals in estate planning and wealth transfer planning. Nisbet is consistently listed as a top-ranked lawyer in Chambers and Partners USA, Best Lawyers in America, and Mid-south Super Lawyers. He is a Fellow in the American College of Tax Counsel.

H. Wayne Young is a partner with the firm and a member of the Labor and Employment Law Practice Group. He has been named in the Best Lawyers in America publication annually since 2015, and has been listed as a Rising Star in the mid-South by Super Lawyers magazine annually since 2013.

He is the human resources community liaison for the Board of Directors of Women and Children First and he is the Vice President of the Little Rock Downtown Kiwanis Club. He currently serves as General Counsel to the Arkansas State Council of the Society of Human Resource Management.

Young graduated summa cum laude from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville and attended law school at the William H. Bowen School of Law at UALR where he was a Bowen Scholar.

Burch, Porter & Johnson, PLLC For more than a century, those in need of legal services have turned to Burch, Porter & Johnson for excellence in legal counsel and representation. Our philosophy is simple: provide practical solutions to obtain the best, most efficient results for our clients. Burch, Porter & Johnson engages in a highly diversified practice serving a wide variety of clients and legal needs. From complex transactions for multi-million dollar corporations to sensitive personal legal matters, our attorneys offer specialized expertise, innovative solutions and strategic counsel for virtually every kind of litigation, business and transactional matter.

Jef Feibelman received the highest Chambers ranking in the field of general commercial litigation in the 2016 edition of Chambers USA. He was also named as Best Lawyers® 2016 Litigation – Securities "Lawyer of the Year" in the Memphis area. Mr. Feibelman engages principally in the litigation, arbitration or mediation of complex commercial matters. He has litigated substantial claims involving fraud, breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of non-compete and confidentiality agreements, shareholder and partnership disputes, and business dissolution and valuation controversies. He joined Burch, Porter & Johnson as a member in 1977 and served as managing partner from 2007-2010.

Jennifer Hagerman is currently recognized in The Best Lawyers in America© 2017 edition, listed in the practice areas of Commercial Litigation, Employment Law – Management, Litigation Labor and Employment, and Litigation – Land Use and Zoning. Her practice focuses on employment litigation and complex commercial litigation, with a particular emphasis on matters pending in federal court. She has represented clients in cases involving employment discrimination, wage and hour class actions, restrictive covenants, civil rights, healthcare, education, products liability and numerous areas of commercial law. Ms. Hagerman also advises clients on a variety of employment matters including non-solicitation and non-competition agreements, employee handbooks, and employee classification under the FLSA.

Lisa Krupicka made her debut in the 2016 edition of Chambers USA, earning her rank as a leading Labor & Employment attorney in Tennessee. She has also been selected by peers for inclusion in the 2017 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America© in the practice areas of Employment Law – Management, and Litigation - Labor and Employment. She joined Burch, Porter & Johnson in 1987, and focuses on advising and representing employers on a variety of employment-related matters, including training, wage and hour issues, labor relations, employee discipline and termination, and compliance with the accessibility requirements of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Her litigation experience includes claims for race, sex, age, disability, religious and age discrimination, and benefits claims, as well as wage and hour class actions.

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Calculating and Counting FMLA Leave:

M

An Increasingly Complex Task

By JENNIFER HAGERMAN

ore than two decades into its existence, the already complex and, by most accounts, difficult to administer, Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) continues to present unique challenges for employers. By now, most employers know that the FMLA allows qualifying employees to take up to twelve weeks’ worth of unpaid leave for their own or a close family member’s serious medical condition.

The leave may be taken intermittently or on a reduced-schedule basis when medically necessary. An employer’s obligations under the FMLA may be triggered when an employee requests leave or when the employer has notice of an employee’s serious health condition.

Once an employer determines that a qualifying employee is eligible for FMLA leave, the employer must calculate the precise amount of leave. While calculating the amount of leave may be straightforward, such as when an employee

works a traditional forty hour workweek, it becomes much more complicated in situations where employees are regularly scheduled for more than forty hours per week or regularly work overtime. Because leave may be taken in periods of weeks, days, and even hours, employers must count the amount of leave in the smallest increment and must exclude days that an employee would not be working, such as holidays, unless the employee is taking leave for the full week. Determining the exact amount of FMLA leave an employee is entitled to--and the exact amount the employee has taken--are essential because it is “unlawful for employers to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise, any right provided” under the FMLA. An employer’s denial of leave due to an inaccurate calculation may constitute unlawful interference under the FMLA. A recent case illustrates this point. In Hernandez v. Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that “mandatory” overtime hours must be included when calculating an employee’s FMLA leave entitlement. The case turned on the meaning of “mandatory” overtime.

Hernandez, an hourly tire builder since 2004, was regularly scheduled for approximately forty-two hour workweeks. In addition, employees were frequently offered the opportunity to volunteer for overtime shifts on an overtime sign-up sheet. The employer would then select employees from the sign-up sheet based on seniority and the total number of overtime hours an employee had worked that year. If an employee was selected for overtime, then the employee was required to work the shift or he or she was subject to discipline.

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Hernandez sought and was approved for intermittent FMLA leave. The company calculated Hernandez’s FMLA leave entitlement based on a fixed workweek and did not include any overtime, resulting in 504 hours of leave. During the relevant time period, Hernandez exhausted his allotted FMLA leave due as a result of forty-eight missed shifts, six of which were overtime shifts. Hernandez then continued to miss work for FMLA-qualifying reasons and was subject to the company’s progressive discipline under its attendance policy. After missing several additional overtime shifts due to FMLA-qualifying reasons, Hernandez was terminated.

Hernandez sued the company the FMLA interference. Hernandez moved for summary judgment, and the district court granted the motion. The district court held that absences for overtime shifts should not have been deducted from Hernandez’s FMLA entitlement because the overtime shifts were voluntary and, therefore, should not have been included in his FMLA leave entitlement. The company appealed, and the Eighth Circuit affirmed using a different rationale.

In affirming the district court’s decision, the Eighth Circuit disagreed with the district court’s conclusion that the overtime shifts should not have been counted against Hernandez’s leave allotment because the shifts were “voluntary,” and instead held that the overtime shifts should have been included in the initial calculation of Hernandez’s total leave allotment because the shifts were mandatory. According to the appellate court, mandatory overtime may be result from an employer’s custom or procedure. Because Hernandez was required to work the overtime shift once he signed up for it, the “selected overtime shift became mandatory and was treated as part of Hernandez’s ‘usual or normal workweek.’”

The court relied upon the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Final Rule, in which the DOL stated that the appropriate focus is whether the employee would have been required to work the overtime shift if the employee had not taken FMLA leave. The Eighth Circuit noted that the fact the company disciplined employees for missing overtime shifts in the same manner as it disciplined employees for missing regular shifts further illustrated that the overtime was mandatory.

Upon concluding that the overtime shifts were mandatory, the court held that the company interfered with Hernandez’s rights under the FMLA by improperly calculating his leave entitlement. The court noted that the company should have calculated Hernandez’s leave using “a weekly average of the hours scheduling over the 12 months prior to the beginning of the leave period (including any hours for which the employee took leave of any type)” as instructed by 29 C.F.R. § 825.205(b)(3).

Employers should carefully consider overtime programs and be sure to include any overtime shifts that an employee is required to work, whether or not the employee originally volunteered for the shift, in calculating FMLA leave entitlement (and in counting FMLA leave).

The Eighth Circuit’s decision is a good reminder that intermittent FMLA leave may be tricky to calculate, so it is imperative to keep complete and accurate attendance records. Finally, while not implicated in the Hernandez case, employers should also remember that granting the full twelve weeks of properly calculated FMLA leave does not necessarily mean the employer has met its duty to accommodate an employee’s disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act with respect to additional leave.

Jennifer Hagerman, Attorney Burch Porter & Johnson PLLC jhagerman@bpjlaw.com www.bpjlaw.com

presents:

2016 HR LEGAL SUMMIT

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Through four interactive sessions on the latest employment laws and hot topic issues - and a panel discussion with experts in a variety of ďŹ elds - you will ďŹ nd out what you need to know to protect your business. This Summit is for business owners, attorneys, human resource professionals and anyone who manages employees. *This course provides 3.25 CLE credits. SHRM & HRCI credits are pending.

Thursday, October 13, 2016 | 7:00 - 11:30 AM Memphis Botanic Gardens | 750 Cherry Road | Memphis, TN 38117 RSVP: Lauren Loeb - lloeb@memphischamber.com or 901-543-3508 Cost: $60 - members | $70 - prospective members | $110 - CLE credit

FMLA Leaves of Absence FLSA/Collective Actions

Small Business Council Title Sponsor:

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workshops; quarterly newsletter on DV and workplace issues; a representatives to quarterly alliance sessions.

All who donate at least $150 will be listed in the conference agenda and receive the newsletter.

Future two-hour VHVW workshops will receive certificates of completion from the alliance.

Employer Alliance Debuts Oct. 20 At 2016 Workplace-DV Conference – REGISTER NOW!

By DEBORAH M. CLUBB

A new alliance of business leaders has formed to help employers deal with domestic violence among employees and colleagues and to create a safer and more profitable work environment.

Carol Danehower, Women’s Council president and Associate Professor of Management in the Fogelman College of Business & Economics at the University of Memphis.

Founders of the Memphis Employers Alliance against Domestic Violence include Verizon Wireless, Crown Manufacturing, the Memphis Shelby County Airport Authority, Baptist Memorial Health Care and Methodist Healthcare Faith and Health Division.

“It is apparent that the majority of women murdered by their intimate partners are employees, so it follows that their workplace could have become aware of their distress and connected them to community support and services.”

The alliance joins the Memphis Area Women’s Council in organizing the 2016 “Violence at Home. Victims at Work.” conference on Oct. 20, from 8 a.m. to noon. The conference will be hosted by Baptist Memorial Health Care in the Baptist Memphis Education and Conference Center, Dr. H. Edward Garrett, Sr. Auditorium located at 6027 Walnut Grove Rd., 38120.

Parking is in the adjacent garage.

Registration is open now at www.memphiswomen.org or at http://www.eventbrite. com/e/violence-at-home-victims-at-worktickets-25039856886. The conference fee is $50.

Continental breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m.; lunch is included.

In this expanded version of the Council’s two-hour workshops, employers will learn to “recognize, respond and refer” when employees and colleagues experience intimate partner violence. Expert panels will cover risk and liabilities; security, workplace policies and employers’ responses and local resources including third party orders of protection.

Alliance leaders will describe their goals, membership benefits and projects going forward.

“Our community has seen repeated episodes of a woman being murdered at her workplace by a current or former husband or boyfriend. This has happened at a day care center, a hospital, a grocery store, a department store and an office complex – often in the parking lot,” said Dr. 50

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Local crime data show that DV homicides have been between 12% and 17% of all homicides in Memphis the past two years. Nurses, teachers and retail workers seem to be especially at risk.

The conference will equip employers to develop policies and share resources to reduce risk and protect the workplace.

Conference content should be applicable for human resource professionals’ certification credits. Faith groups and non-profits attending will get a certificate of completion from the Memphis Employers Alliance against Domestic Violence and Baptist Memorial Health Care.

Alliance membership is open in all categories and donor levels. Founding members donated a minimum of $2,000 and will be given full credit in publicity, printed materials and during public events. Those employers also will receive 20 seats at the 2016 conference; a workshop at their workplace; first notice to future public workshops; quarterly newsletter on DV and workplace issues; two representatives to quarterly alliance sessions.

Employers who donate $1,000 will receive 10 seats at the 2016 conference as well as listing in all publicity and materials; first notice to future public workshops; quarterly newsletter on DV and workplace issues; a representative to quarterly alliance sessions.

Employers who donate $500 will receive up to 5 seats at the 2016 conference and be listed in the conference agenda; first notice to future

“As a business professional specializing in human resource management, I am aware of the impact that domestic violence has on workers’ productivity, business-related expenses and the potential impact on workplace security, in addition to the pain and suffering endured by employees, co-workers and their families,” said Jill Stem, CEO, Crown Manufacturing. “It is crucial that the work led by the Memphis Area Women’s Council continue, to connect victims to services and to connect employers as community members who can improve services and increase prevention efforts.”

For more information on the alliance or the conference, contact Deborah Clubb, dclubb@ memphiswomen.org or 901-378-3866.

Nearly 500 managers, employers and supervisors representing more than 100 places of work have attended a Women’s Council workshop or half-day conference since the Council began the project in 2011. A half dozen more have asked us to come to their workplace or association meeting to present to their personnel and colleagues.

Employers are responding with policies to help workers take action and reach services.

Following the workshop at the airport authority, CEO and president Scott Brockman, announced that the human resource staff “had autonomy to grant leave above what leave we already have accrued to assist employees dealing with DV issues,” said human resources manager Julie Stewart. “We will evaluate each on a case by case basis. He also announced that HR was the focal point for information and resources.”

Sheila H. Bramlitt, senior vice president/ manager corporate security for First Horizon National Corp., attended a Women’s Council training and was inspired to create a video about domestic violence that was provided to all United States branches. Sheila said, “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the time you spent with (a DV survivor on her staff). Your insight and knowledge were extremely helpful but more importantly she saw there was someone willing to fight for women in her situation. You made a difference for her yesterday and that was no small thing.”

Deborah M. Clubb is executive director of the Memphis Area Women’s Council and co-presenter with Dr. Carol Danehower of “Violence at Home.

Victims at Work.” workshops.

What you need to know about MILLENNIALS and your employee benefits program

~ ~

By BLAKE ROGERS, JIMMY HINTON, CHRIS MENARD

(Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2015, May 2016) found nearly half — 46 percent — of Americans don’t have $400 on hand for an emergency.

And in fact, Colonial Life is finding Millennials are buying voluntary insurance at the same or higher rates than other generations. More than 30 percent of our sales last year were to Millennials. That compares to about 29 percent to Baby Boomers and 40 percent to Gen Xers.

~ MYTH #3: ~

Millennials think life insurance is for old people. This one might even have surprised us: Millennials are the most likely generation to buy individual life insurance, according to LIMRA (U.S. Consumers Today: The Generations, 2014). The research shows 39 percent of adult Millennials are very or somewhat likely to buy individual life coverage. That’s significantly more than the 32 percent reported by younger members of Gen X and 28 percent for older Gen Xers, and the results drop off even further for older generations.

~ MYTH #4: ~

Millennials only want to enroll online. Millennials are very comfortable shopping and researching online. In fact, they don’t remember a world without the internet and mobile devices. But they’re also a social generation, and the LIMRA Generations research shows they still want to buy benefits such as life insurance in person. Face-to-face is the preferred method for all generations, with adult Millennials naming it 48 percent of the time, about the same as Gen Xers and just a little lower than Boomers.

And get this: That’s more than four times the number of Gen Yers who said they’d rather enroll online on their own. Only 11 percent chose that option in the survey.

The biggest generation in history is taking over the workplace. Millennials, aka Generation Y — those 20- and 30-somethings in your office — accounted for a third of the American workforce last year. By 2020, they’ll make up a whopping 50 percent of the global workforce (Pew Research Center, 2015).

They’re too big to ignore, and when it comes to your employee benefits program, why would you want to? Millennials may have a reputation for disinterest in insurance and financial protection and for preferring technology over talk, but like so many internet rumors, it’s just not true.

To help you make sure you’re using your employee benefits program effectively to attract and keep the best and brightest new talent on your team, we’re going to debunk some of the common myths about Gen Y and benefits.

~ MYTH #1: ~

Millennials aren’t interested in benefits. The truth is Millennials value benefits as much as other generations. According to LIMRA’s MarketFacts Quarterly (Number 1, 2016) 94 percent of Millennials say having health insurance available at work is important or very important.

That compares with similar numbers for Gen Xers (97 percent) and Baby Boomers (98 percent). And the pattern holds for other benefits, with Millennials giving dental insurance (91 percent), vision care (89 percent) and life insurance (77 percent) values in the same ranges as other generations.

~ MYTH #2: ~

Millennials can’t afford voluntary benefits. It’s true Gen Y tends to be saddled with heavy college debt, causing them to postpone buying homes and even cars. But their financially fragile state isn’t much different than many Americans. A recently released Federal Reserve Board study

In addition, Millennials are even more likely than older generations to want to buy life insurance at work. In the LIMRA survey, 25 percent of Millennials said buying at the workplace is their top choice, compared with 21 to 22 percent for Gen Xers and only 11 to 18 percent for Boomers.

Millennials find the workplace an attractive way to buy life insurance because it’s easier and more convenient than seeking out their own options, the survey said.

In just a few years, the vast majority of your workforce will be Millennials. Be sure you have the benefits choices, communication strategies and enrollment options in place to keep the world’s biggest generation on your team.

Blake Rogers Tennessee territory sales manager, Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company tblakerogers@coloniallife.com or 615-696-6672

Jimmy Hinton Mississippi territory sales manager, Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company jhhinton@coloniallife.com or 601-326-2954

Chris Menard Kentucky territory sales manager, Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company cmenard@coloniallife.com or 502-272-9664 ABOUT COLONIAL LIFE Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company is a market leader in providing financial protection benefits through the workplace, including disability, life, accident, dental, cancer, critical illness and hospital confinement indemnity insurance. The company’s benefit services and education, innovative enrollment technology and personal service support 85,000 businesses and organizations, representing 3.5 million of America’s workers and their families. For more information, visit www.ColonialLife.com, www.facebook.com/coloniallifebenefits, www.twitter.com/coloniallife and www.linkedin.com/company/colonial-life. www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

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THE SALES BOSS: The Real Secret to Hiring, Training, and Managing a Sales Team

By WILLIAM CARMICHAEL

Each one of us, at one time or another has thought to ourselves, “If I could start my position over again, here is exactly what I would do!” Or, “If I could rebuild a team from scratch, here is exactly how I would go about it!” We have all experienced the desire to start fresh, to begin anew. The reality is that the opportunity seldom exists . . . but when or if it does, will we be prepared to seize the moment and use it to our advantage? In The Sales Boss: The Real Secret to Hiring, Training, and Managing a Sales Team, Jonathan Whistman places us in that very position, explains exactly what we should do, and expertly instructs us how to go about achieving the desire outcome. Not in sales? No worries. Simply remove the title word Sales and the book’s concepts still apply. The added value is that this book reinforces great leadership practices. Despite the sales-oriented theme, I would recommend this book as a supporting guide to effectively lead any sort of team. The author’s step-by-step procedures reveal unique patterns and techniques for managing people, teams, and resources.

An Overview I was initially a bit apprehensive upon reading its title. After all, I am not in sales. I realized very quickly, however, that this book is more about managing and leading people than selling to them, or teaching them to sell and for me, this made all the difference. It was also obvious that the author is a first-rate, highly experienced consultant. His observations are clear, simple, and unique. His personal and professional experience comes into play through stepby-step methods and practices for managing and leading teams, along with specific examples to demonstrate their effectiveness.

Clearly, the author understands not just selling and teaching others about the sales process, but also what makes people tick and how to get results. It is also about taking ownership for ourselves and for the people who work for us. For example, the author’s opening in Chapter One states: “A Sales Boss’s job is to deliver revenue that sufficiently and meaningfully exceeds the cost of delivering that revenue. If you want to be a Sales Boss, you learn the art of getting the best results through other people. Sometimes these people will be directly on your team, but in many cases they will exist in other areas of the company, such as marketing, customer service, finance, and product development. Your success hinges on the ability to control and influence all of these spheres, as all of them impact the results of the sales team.” The fact is that this single statement applies to any manager at any organization! Whistman has captured the essence of team-building, team-maintenance, and ultimately team success.

Why This Is a Must-Read In this excellent management guide, Whistman reveals the secrets to becoming a great manager regardless of department or industry and perhaps more importantly, he shows us how to start being that manager right now. The not-so-secret “secret” is that a winning sales team is made up of high performers, but many fail to realize that high performance must be collective. A single high performer cannot carry the entire team, and it is the manager’s responsibility to build a team with the right balance of skills, strengths, and weaknesses. Here, Whistman shows us how to find the exact people we need, bring them together effectively, and empower them to achieve more than they ever thought possible on their own. Readers will learn what drives high performance, and how to avoid obstructions that may disrupt it.

You will discover the missing pieces in existing training programs, and learn how to invest 52

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in your team to win. You will come away with a better understanding of not just great sales management, but of great management in general, and you will have a concrete plan and an actionable list of steps to take starting right now. One such step the author brings to light early in the book is directed toward sales managers specifically; a low performer will need to be terminated quickly. This advice is not given lightly and HR professionals will be relieved to know that Whistman covers all needed bases.

Regardless of whether you are a sales manager, a human resource executive, or a small business owner wearing every hat, the hiring, training and success of your people directly affects the organization’s bottom line.

Finally, I must reiterate that the book is very readable.

The writing is clear and succinct, and readers will sense that the author is talking to them personally. His use of examples and anecdotes are well timed and positioned.

The book shows any manager how to: - Delve into the psychology behind peak performance.

- Hire the right people at the right time for the right role.

- Train your team to consistently outperform competitors.

- Build and maintain the momentum of success to reach even higher.

Structure, Layout, and Readability The Sales Boss’s structure is particularly reader-friendly, with twenty chapters guiding the reader through a realistic and convincing framework for developing a winning team from scratch, or better managing and leading an existing one. The flow of progress is crystal clear: by placing the reader into the role of a sales boss and then moving that leader through the organizational process, events and outcomes are suddenly real, plausible, and perhaps most significantly, teachable.

Essentially, what develops is a comprehensive guide into the psychology behind getting a team operating at its highest levels: any team, within any organization.

I also found that the chapter titles were interestingly intuitive, bringing the following topics to life: - The DNA of a Sales Boss - The five fundamental truths about human behavior - Any team’s “sacred rhythms” - How to dissect the psychology behind peak performance and how to avoid disruptors - The 4-stage interview process to hiring a superstar - Determining what numbers really matter - How to plan and decode compensation planning - How to train teams to consistently outperform the competition

Who Will Benefit Most From This Book?

Sales management, HR management, compensation management, organizational leadership.

William Carmichael, Ed.D Strayer University william.carmichael@strayer.edu www.strayer.edu

5th Circuit Overrules Decision on $226,000 Penalty on Remote Hire Issues and I-9’s

By BRUCE E. BUCHANAN

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Employer Solutions Staffing Group II, LLC v. OCAHO (August 11, 2016) reversed an OCAHO decision concerning the issue of personal versus corporate attestation of employee’s documents in Section 2 of the I-9 form; thus, it vacated the $226,000 civil penalty.

ESSG’s I-9 Procedures ESSG is a staffing company based in Edina, Minnesota. It contracted with Larsen Manufacturing Co. in El Paso, Texas to provide employees. Then ESSG subcontracted with Flexicorps, Inc. to make the hiring decisions for temporary employees at the Larsen facility.

In so doing, ESSG had Flexicorps supervise the completion of Section 1 of the I-9 forms by employees and examine original documents presented by the employees for Section 2.

However, instead of Flexicorps completing the employer certification at that time, ESSG had Flexicorps make color copies of the documents and send the I-9 forms and color copies of the documents to ESSG’s corporate headquarters. At that point, an ESSG employee would examine the photocopies and completed Section 2, including the signed attestation that the employer examined the documents and they appeared to be genuine.

ICE’s Notice of Inspection and OCAHO’s Decision In 2011, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) served a Notice of Inspection on ESSG for the Larsen facility and thereafter determined ESSG’s procedure in signing the certification was contrary to the law. After a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) of OCAHO, OCAHO agreed with ICE, found 242 violations, determined every I-9 form was in error, and assessed a penalty of over $226,000. Their reasoning was ESSG’s attestations were “patently false” because the payroll employee in Minnesota could not attest to examining original documents when they were presented in El Paso. See U.S. v. Employer Solutions Staffing Group II, LLC, 12 OCAHO no. 1234 (2014).

Fifth Circuit’s Decision and Analysis ESSG appealed OCAHO’s decision to the Court of Appeals. The 5th Circuit analyzed the statute, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the accompanying regulations, and any applicable case law. The INA states a “person or entity must attest… on a form” that it has verified the employee’s document(s). See § 1324a (b)(1)(A). Thus, ESSG argued corporate attestation is consistent with the INA. The regulations state “an employer, his or her agent, or anyone acting directly or indirectly in the interest thereof, must” complete Section 2 on the I-9 form and sign the attestation. § 274a.2(b)(1)(ii)(B). The Court said it did not read this regulation to require the same person who met the hired employee and examined the original documents to be the one to sign the attestation.

The Court then reviewed whether ESSG had fair warning of OCAHO’s reading of the statute and regulations. It found it did not, especially given the fact there were no prior OCAHO decisions on the matter and the ALJ only cited “commonsense” for her ruling, not any statute,

regulation or case law. Thus, given the language of the INA and its regulations, the Court found ESSG lacked fair notice of OCAHO’s position.

The Court concluded a “reasonable interpretation” permits corporate attestation due to the language of the INA. Thus, the Court concluded ESSG did not violate the INA. However, before employers celebrate the victory, it must be noted the Court went on to state their holding “does not address whether ICE can lawfully prohibit corporate attestations”; only that ESSG was not given fair notice.

Takeaways Since this is a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, which covers Mississippi, Texas, and Louisiana, it does not change ICE’s and OCAHO’s position. DHS/ICE is free to clarify whether corporate attestation is prohibited and OCAHO can then decide whether to adopt DHS/ ICE’s position.

Actually, DHS in the current I-9 form (effective May 7, 2013) instructions has done so by stating “The person who examines the documents must be the same person who signs Section 2.” Additionally, in the proposed new “smart I-9 form” it has a similar instruction – “The person who physically examines the employee’s original document(s) and completes Section 2 must sign his or her name in this field.”

An interesting question is whether this decision may provide an avenue to resolve the remote hire issue where the employer does not view the original documents.

Obviously, it will depend on ICE’s and OCAHO’s position on this issue going forward.

Bruce E. Buchanan, Attorney Siskind Susser PC bbuchanan@visalaw.com www.visalaw.com www.HRProfessionalsMagazine.com

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2016 Wellness & Health Benefit Conference UNIVERSITY CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

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1 Cristie Upshaw Travis, CEO of Memphis Business Group on Health, welcomes everyone to the MBGH 2016 Annual Conference. 2 Keith Norman, Vice President of Government Relations, Baptist Memorial Health Care, introduced the opening keynote session. 3 Shelly Wolff, Health & Workforce Effectiveness Leader with Willis Towers Watson was the opening keynote speaker. 4 Tom Parry, President of Integrated Benefits Institute, shared how to align employees and employers in high deductible health plans. 5 Bill Breen, Senior VP for Physician Alignment for Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. 6 Samantha Serley, interim Director of Business Development for Saint Francis Healthcare. 7 L to R: Henry Sullivant, Chief Medical Officer of Integration for Baptist Memorial Health Care; Samantha Serley, InterimDirector of Business Development for Saint Francis Healthcare; Susan Cooper, Chief Integration Officer and Sr. VP for Ambulatory Services of Regional One; Bill Breen, Senior Vice President for Physician Alignment for Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare.

They all shared their innovative approaches to more effectively engage patients in their own medical care. 8 L to R: Harvey Kennedy, Chief Administrative Officer for Shelby County Government; Brenda Green, Deputy Administrator for Shelby County Government; Greg Allen, President and General Manager of Midsouth Market for Cigna; Tim Cullen, Account Executive for Cigna, presented Shelby County Government with their Cigna Well-Being Award for Tennessee. Congratulations to the MBGH member and CEO Culture of Health participant! 9 Kim Stroud, Employee Benefits Manager, Manatee County, FL, was the luncheon general session speaker. She discussed how Manatee County has achieved savings and improvements in health without cost shifting to employees. 10 Michelle Thompson, Business Development Manager with Milliman, and Cristie Upshaw Travis presented Mid-South Health Benefits Trends from the Lipscomb & Pitts Survey. 11 Dr. Barbara McClanahan spoke on harnessing the power of participation. She is a faculty member of the University of Memphis Health and Sport Sciences Department. 12, 13, 14 Cameron Brackett, VP, Memphis Bioworks Foundation; Matthew Harmon, Director of Benefits and HRIS with AutoZone, Inc.; and Dinesh Sheth, Founder and CEO, Green Circle Health, presented “Putting the Power Where it Belongs With Employees.�

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