76th NYU Annual Conference on Labor & Employment Law:

Challenges & Opportunities

NYU School of Law, Vanderbilt Hall, Greenberg Lounge 40 Washington Square Park South

Day 1 - WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2024  



8:30 Breakfast & Registration 9:00 Welcoming Remarks Faculty Director Samuel Estreicher (NYU Law)

9:05 Morning Keynote Address: Hon. Seema Nanda (US Solicitor of Labor)

Introduction: Mark Brossman (Schulte, Roth & Zabel)

Morning Session Moderator: Tracy Richelle High (Sullivan & Cromwell)

9:55 US Workforce Overview

This session will provide an analysis of the US workforce and labor economics, noting trends and changes relevant for labor and employment law policy makers, employers and their counsel.

Speakers: Prof. Daniel Hamermesh and Ye Zhang (Resolution Economics)

Facilitator: Gerald Hathaway (Fox Rothschild)

10:35 Pay Equity & Pay Transparency Law and Skills

Given the new pay equity initiatives at OFCCP and state and local agencies, including pay transparency, this session will look at key issues that arise in class pay-discrimination cases, including class certification and statistical evidence, discovery, job structure and practical skills for avoiding inconsistencies and managing risk.

Speakers: Joy Chin (Jackson Lewis), Katey E. Foster, Ph.D. (APTMetrics), Kate Mueting (Sanford Heisler)

Commentator: Prof. Miriam Cherry (St. John's University Law)

11:30 Supreme Court Review: October Term, 2023 & 2024

An update on recent Supreme Court decisions and cases set for oral argument in labor and employment and related areas, including on retaliation and whistleblowers, the First Amendment and social media, and how the protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act apply to job transfers involving no change in economic terms, and the scope of FAA “transportation worker” exception. The discussion will also touch upon relevant administrative law developments such as the future of Chevron deference and whether/how the Seventh Amendment jury trial right applies to agency adjudications like the NLRB’s.

Speakers: Prof. Samuel Estreicher (NYU Law) and Robert Long (Covington & Burling)

12:20 Lunch

12:40 Keynote Luncheon Address: Hon. Charlotte Burrows, EEOC Chair

Introduction by Ronald Shechtman (Pryor Cashman)

Afternoon Moderator: Terrance J. Nolan (ADR, and fmr GC NYU)

1:35 Political Speech at Work

From the Israel-Hamas War, to Black Lives Matter, and political polarization at work, this session will address the array of laws that may apply to political activity at work as well as implications on hiring decisions, employee privacy, social media, and issues of retaliation and hostile work environment.

Speakers: Allyson Belovin (Levy & Ratner), Gary Friedman (Seyfarth), and Joshua R. Goodbaum (Garrison Law)

Commentator: Cynthia Estlund (NYU School of Law)

2:30  Religious Bias Claims in the Workplace

How will courts determine sincerity of beliefs held, given the new standards of religious accommodation in light of the Supreme Court decision in Groff v. DeJoy, 600 U.S. 447, as well as some emerging religious bias issues since October 7th.

Speakers: Hon. Rory Lancman (Louis D. Brandeis Center), Marjorie Mesidor, Attorney-at-Law, Prof. David Sherwyn (Cornell Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor & Employment Relations). Commentator: Zoe Salzman (Emery Celli)

3:20 Future of DEI, Disparate Impact, and EO 11246 After Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard/UNC

The last decade saw a proliferation of DEI and related programs in schools and in the workplace. A backlash and questioning of DEI, and emerging growth in litigation and claims challenging racial/ethnic group preferences and other “affirmative action” initiatives after SFFA, is possibly spilling over to questions of the future disparate impact and E.O. 11246. This panel will cover practical considerations and risk mitigation for employers and employees.

Speakers: Prof. Michael D. Frakes (Duke Law, NYU Law), Craig Leen (fmr. OFCCP Dir., K&L Gates), Obed Louissaint (Chief People Officer, Aptiv), Hon. Andrea Lucas (EEOC), Prof. Michael Yelnosky (Roger Williams Law School)

Commentator: Amy Traub (BakerHostetler)

Day 1 Concludes 4:40pm.



Short Reception until 6:00pm held in cooperation with Resolution Economics.

See Day 2 Schedule Below

BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION. 1 & 2 day options available. Breakfast and lunch are included.

For nearby accommodations, use Group No. 6413 or this link for the Washington Square Hotel. Please book by April 19 for the group rate of $296/night.

NLRB REGISTRANTS: Please contact [email protected].

PRESS & MEDIA: Contact [email protected] for registration

With thanks to our sponsor support:

Day 2 – THURSDAY, MAY 23, 2024

8:45 Breakfast & Registration 

9:00 Introduction by Prof. Samuel Estreicher (NYU Law)

Morning Session Moderator: Michele Coyne (Kauff, McGuire & Margolis)

9:05 AI Developments in the US Workplace: US and EU Structures

More companies are rolling out artificial intelligence (AI) programs following ChatGPT, and governance regulations are beginning to emerge. Employers and employees need to learn about the new information technology and what are the discrimination and legal issues lurking behind the development and use of the technology.

Speakers: Erin Connell (Orrick), Zev Eigen (Syndio), Prof. Julia Stoyanovich (NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Center for Data Science, Center for Responsible AI). Commentator: Adam Klein (Outten Golden)

10:00 Professional Responsibility: Developing Issues For Lawyer’s Use of AI and Protecting against Cybersecurity Threats

As more lawyers leverage the tools of AI in garnering efficiencies for clients, what are the professional responsibility issues in employing these new tools? What professional obligations do lawyers have in staying on top of developing technology in order to, say, protect privileged information?

Speakers: Zachary Fasman (NYU Law, Michigan Law), Victoria Lipnic (Resolution Economics, fmr. EEOC Chair),

Prof. Tyler Maulsby (NYU Law; Frankfurt, Kurnit)

11:00-12:30pm Labor Rising and Challenges

Union victories in NLRB elections, changing public acceptance of unions, record number of 10(j) applications, long, successful strikes in the automobile and film industries– all indications of labor on the rise. This session will explore challenges to NLRB authority from Space X, to the standard for Section 10(j) relief in Starbucks v. McKinney in the Supreme Court, and to employer discovery of rank-and-file employee view in the Leslie v. Starbucks in the 2nd Circuit. The session will also explore challenges for employers arising from the Board’s embrace of Joy Silk-type bargaining orders in Cemex; as well as NLRB rulemaking on joint employers, and DOL rulemaking on independent contractors, and state law conditioning subsidies on contractors not agreeing to card-check for union authorization.

Part I: 11:00am

Court Challenges to 10(j) relief; Collective Bargaining Developments

Speakers: Matthew Ginsburg (General Counsel, AFL-CIO), Peter Rawlings (NYU Law), and Paul Salvatore (Proskauer)

Part II: 11:50am

NLRB and DOL Developments: Who is an Employer? Who is an Employee?

Speaker: Michael Gray (Jones Day), Jonathan F. Harris (Loyola Law) 

Commentator: Wilma Liebman (fmr. NLRB chair; NYU Law)

12:30 Lunch

12:45 Luncheon Keynote: NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran

Introduction by Patrick Shea (Paul Hastings)

Afternoon Session Moderator: Mark D. Risk (Mark Risk P.C.)

1:40 Federal Legislative & Regulatory Developments

This session will provide an overview of executive and legislative developments in labor and employment law.

Speakers: Matthew Ginsburg (General Counsel, AFL-CIO) and Roger King (HR Policy Association)

Commentator: Raymond Nardo (Raymond Nardo, P.C.)

2:40 Arbitration Developments and Skills

2:40pm Part I- “Mass” Arbitration

The Supreme Court’s decisions in Wall-Mart and Epic Systems have generated a spate of ‘copycat” claims testing the value to employers of class-action waiver clauses, and raising a new for greater coordination by arbitration providers of these factually-related claims. Some consideration may also be given to issue preclusion in arbitration.

Speakers: Keri Engelman (Morgan Lewis) and Joseph Sellers (Cohen Milstein)

Commentator: Stephen Sonnenberg (JAMS)

3:25pm Part II- Arbitration Provider Policies and Procedures

Enhancing employee-friendly arbitration procedures; examining recent empirical work on employment arbitration fairness.

Speakers: Troy Kessler (Kessler Matura), Eric P. Tuchmann (American Arbitration Association)

Commentator: Prof. David Sherwyn (Cornell Center for Innovative Hospitality Labor & Employment Relations)

4:15-4:40pm Concluding Remarks: How Labor and Employment Lawyers can Improve

Access to Civil Justice

Brief remarks and proposals on helping pro-se parties and employment law NGOs select an arbitrator or mediator, and on how to make low- or no-cost initial employment law assessment of claims or defenses more accessible.

Speaker: Prof. Samuel Estreicher (NYU Law) 

Cooperating Organizations: