Agenda
From TikTok to Termination: The Social Media Minefield Rachael Jeanfreau and Kayla Jacob One post. One screenshot. One lawsuit. For healthcare employers, employee social media activity isn’t just a distraction – it raises a firestorm of issues: Do I have to put up with my employee’s public rants and criticism? Can I discipline an employee for ill-advised posting? Was that a HIPAA violation? Is TikTok a valid source of information for employment decisions? Is that really my employee on FMLA leave posting from Disney? This session explores where protected activity ends and policy violations begin, how to discipline (if at all) without triggering retaliation claims, and best practices for dealing with sticky issues that can cause real-world reputational harm.
Retaliation: The Sequel Nobody Asked For Scott Wilson and Philip Giorlando Just when you think workplace drama has wrapped… enter the retaliation scene. Even when employees lose their original discrimination claim, retaliation provides a second act. In this session, we’ll examine why retaliation is so easy to allege, hard for employers to defend, and how seemingly harmless manager reactions (“I’m not mad… just disappointed”) can accidentally turn into an unwanted plot twist, or - Exhibit A. We’ll walk through real-world scenarios, classic missteps, the subtle behaviors that get leaders into trouble, and the practical training strategies that help managers avoid turning a routine complaint into a full‑blown legal saga.
Three Laws Walk Into HR… When FMLA, PWFA, and ADA Converge Melissa Shirley and Alex Hains Pregnancy restrictions. Extended leave requests. Light duty demands. What starts as an FMLA request can quickly evolve into ADA obligations—or now, PWFA requirements. This session unpacks how these three laws overlap, contradict, and occasionally gang up on employers – especially in healthcare, where staffing pressures are magnified by every request. We will address common missteps in leave designation, interactive process breakdowns, and documentation complexities through real-world scenarios.
The 2025 Shake‑Up: Louisiana’s New Limits on Physician Non‑Competes Jude Bursavich Louisiana’s noncompete laws are famously unforgiving, but 2025 revisions have only raised the stakes where employment of physicians is concerned. If you work with doctors, employ doctors, or even know a doctor who might someday sign something, this session is your roadmap through the newly trimmed‑down world of restrictive covenants in Louisiana. We will dive into what is still allowed, what’s now off‑limits… and what is still a mystery.
Protected, Concerted… and Occasionally Chaotic: Understanding Rights and Obligations Under NLRB’s Shifting Rules Rebecca Dormon, former Assistant Regional Director, NLRB The political winds in Washington shift fast—and the NLRB shifts right along with them. In today’s climate, “protected concerted activity” covers more than most employers expect, and healthcare organizations are feeling the impact whether they’re unionized or not. Our special guest, Rebecca Dorman (former NLRB Assistant Director), will address how the NLRB is interpreting employee rights in a hyper‑political environment and what that means for your workforce, including a look at real‑world scenarios where everyday frustrations suddenly become legally protected activity, why disciplining an employee for an “outburst” can backfire spectacularly, and whether anyone truly knows where Section 7 protections begin and end (spoiler: “it depends”). We’ll look at practical strategies to avoid unfair labor practice charges, train managers to spot protected activity before reacting, and maintain operational control without stepping into an NLRB minefield.
High Crimes & Hiring Decisions: Louisiana’s Background Check Rules for Healthcare Employers
Nicholas Gachassin, III, Executive Counsel, Louisiana Department of Health Louisiana healthcare employers know that mandatory criminal background checks for certain non-licensed personnel are required—but the real challenge is understanding how regulators interpret and enforce the law in practice. In this session, our distinguished guest from the Louisiana Department of Health will answer the questions healthcare providers ask most often about the state’s LDH-enforced screening requirements. Who exactly counts as a “non-licensed person performing nursing care or health-related services”? Is your facility covered by the law? How do surveyors interpret the phrase “health-related services” during inspections? Which criminal offenses disqualify an applicant, and are there exceptions?
In this practical discussion from the regulatory perspective, we’ll delve into how investigators evaluate compliance and what healthcare organizations should be doing now to ensure their background screening practices pass muster when surveyors arrive.
Lagniappe & Loose Ends: The Annual “All the Other Things” Session Panel A rapid-fire tour of emerging employment challenges impacting healthcare employers, including the DEI “reckoning”; Project Firewall and H-1B hiring limitations; the ever-evolving saga of “weed at work”; trending personal liability of managers and executives; increase in religious accommodation claims following the Supreme Court’s recent expansions; and a grab bag of other trends to watch closely. We’ll close the conference taking comments or answering any lingering questions. |
