Changing Employment Law Landscape Attorneys Need to Know: Religious accommodations, Roe v. Wade, website ADA, employment terms, and Tik Tok bans

Catherine Scott | Morgan, Brown & Joy, LLP

Catherine (Cat) Scott is a litigator and labor and employment lawyer defending and advising employers. Cat helps companies navigate workplace allegations such as employment discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge, Family and Medical Leave Act, breach of contract, and wage and hour class actions, among others. In addition to appearing in federal and state courts, Cat appears before government agencies including the EEOC, MCAD, Department of Labor, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other state anti- discrimination agencies. Cat is also a burgeoning labor lawyer, expanding her practice to include collective bargaining and other labor matters.

Cat also has particular interest and experience in appellate work surrounding labor and employment matters, such as:

• Obtained reversal of a jury verdict for punitive damages in an age discrimination matter from the Massachusetts Appeals Court.
• Successfully briefed and argued a matter of first impression related to Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure 25(a) and 23(d) at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and later obtained dismissal of matter for client in the lower court based on this decision.
• Successfully briefed an issue related to the arbitrability of employment claims at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

With a strong commercial litigation background, Cat is particularly experienced handling all types of motions, particularly early motions to dismiss and motions for summary judgment. For example, Cat obtained summary judgment for an employer in connection with a former employee’s breach of lifetime contract claim on an issue of first impression concerning enforceability, achieving an affirmance of an MCAD public hearing in favor of the employer on a retaliation claim.

In addition to her litigation work, Cat provides daily employment advice for in-house counsel and human resource professionals. She carefully examines the overall wellness of an organization and its employer- employee relationships to determine the best course of action for resolving conflicts. If litigation is not in the best interest of a client, Cat guides them through alternative dispute resolution and mediation to reach a resolution. Regardless of the particular details of the cases she handles, clients rely on Cat’s steady judgment and strong skills to lead them to the best possible course of action.

Prior to joining the firm, Cat handled employment litigation and counseling, professional liability and business litigation in a Boston-based litigation firm. Cat is conversationally fluent in French.

Jeremy D. Burkhart | Holland & Knight LLP

Jeremy D. Burkhart is an experienced government contracts
attorney for the law firm of Holland & Knight.

Mr. Burkhart provides counsel and representation on all government contract (GovCon) matters, including claims, contract appeals, teaming agreements, compliance requirements associated with the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) government contracting programs, and suspension and debarment. He is extremely well versed in prosecuting and defending bid protests before the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), U.S. Court of Federal Claims and at the agency level, and has litigated more than 100 bid protests. Mr. Burkhart also has significant knowledge in the issues facing government contractors engaged in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and has represented several dozen clients in the closing of such deals, as well as post-transaction matters such as novations.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Burkhart served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a judge advocate general (JAG) for nine years, where he regularly served as lead counsel in high-stakes litigation, including several jury trials. Mr. Burkhart is a veteran of the Afghanistan war and continues to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Session I – A Shifting Employment Landscape: How the US Supreme Court is Affecting Employers in Recent Decisions | 12:50pm – 1:50pm

• Supreme Court Decisions | 12:50pm – 1:10pm
  • The latest decision in Groff related to religious accommodations
  • The effects on employers from the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade
  • The Helix decision pertaining to overtime for highly-paid employees
• Acheson Case | 1:10pm – 1:30pm
• Muldrow Case | 1:30pm – 1:50pm

Break | 1:50pm – 2:00pm

Session II – When Government Contractors Must Regulate Employees’ Personal Cell Phones: Navigating the Federal Acquisition Regulation’s Prohibition on TikTok | 2:00pm – 3:00pm

• Legislative and Regulation evolution of FAR 52.204-27, Prohibition on a ByteDance Covered Application | 2:00pm – 2:20pm
  • From the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 to the Office of Management and Budget Directive, to finally the Interim FAR rule.
  • How we got to the point where contractors could be required to direct their employees to remove TikTok off of personal devices.
• Which Information Technology is covered (regulated) by FAR 52.204-27 | 2:20pm – 2:40pm
• HR Best Practices for complying with the TikTok ban | 2:40pm – 3:00pm
  • What to tell your employees
  • How to verify and enforce compliance