Investigating Suspected FMLA Abuse and Defending the Termination in 2026

Lisa C. Hamasaki, Partner | Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, P.C

Lisa C. Hamasaki is a Partner in the San Francisco office of Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, P.C., where she represents employers across California in labor and employment matters. Over a career of more than 25 years, she has counseled companies on California and federal employment law and defended them in state and federal courts, in arbitration, and before administrative agencies. Before joining the firm, she spent more than five years leading her prior firm’s San Francisco office as its Managing Shareholder while maintaining an active employment law practice.

• Education & Credentials

Lisa earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1998 and her B.A. from Bates College in 1995, and studied at St. Peter’s College, Oxford University, in 1993. She is admitted to practice in California and before the United States District Courts for the Northern, Central, Eastern, and Southern Districts of California.

• Recognition & Leadership

Lisa received the National Association of Women Lawyers’ Virginia S. Mueller Outstanding Member Award and was selected to the Northern California Super Lawyers list from 2012 through 2024. San Francisco Magazine has named her among the Top Attorneys in Northern California (2015–2024) and the Top Women Attorneys in Northern California (2014–2024). At Ogletree Deakins, she served as San Francisco Office Managing Shareholder from 2020 to 2025.

• Professional Involvement

Lisa co-chaired regional conferences for the National Employment Law Council from 2018 to 2025 and serves on its Annual Meeting Host Committee. Within the National Association of Women Lawyers, she co-chaired the Annual Meetings in 2023 and 2024, served on the Annual Meeting Host Committee, and has co-chaired NAWL Research since 2025. She previously co-chaired the Labor & Employment Practice Area Committees of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms from 2014 to 2018, and authored “Reframing the Thinking Around Workplace Harassment” for Bloomberg Big Law in June 2018.

• Experience

Lisa litigates claims involving harassment, discrimination, retaliation, disability accommodations, leaves of absence, wrongful termination, defamation, and wage and hour matters for employers across a wide range of industries. She advises on workplace disputes, employment policies, employee discipline and separations, wage and hour compliance, disability accommodations, and leave management, and regularly conducts workplace investigations. A frequent speaker and trainer at conferences and industry events nationwide, her recent programs address managing performance after a complaint, California leaves of absence, and challenging accommodation issues. Her career spans Reed Smith (1998–2006),
Miller Law Group (2006–2018), and Ogletree Deakins, where she was a Shareholder (2018–2026) before joining Nukk-Freeman & Cerra.

Nivritha C. Ketty, Partner | Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, P.C.

Nivritha (“Nivi”) C. Ketty is a Partner at Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, P.C., bringing both law firm and in-house experience in employment law for clients across a range of industries. Before joining the firm, she served as Associate General Counsel, Employment Law at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, where she advised on compliance with employment and labor laws including the FMLA, ADA, FLSA, and USERRA, supervised workplace investigations and outside litigation counsel, and represented her employer before state and federal regulatory agencies.

• Education & Credentials

Nivi earned her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2007 and her B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University in 2002. She is admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York and before the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. From 2015 to 2016 she clerked for the Honorable Michael A. Shipp, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey.

• Recognition & Leadership

Nivi was named an NJBIZ Leader in Law honoree in 2025 and was selected to the New Jersey Rising Stars list in 2020. She received the Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Publico Award in 2013 and the Thurgood Marshall Award in 2008. She serves as a member of her firm’s DEI Council.

• Professional Involvement

Nivi co-chairs the Labor & Employment Practice Area Committee of the National Association of Women Owned Law Firms and is involved with Volunteer Lawyers for Justice. She speaks regularly on employment law, with recent programs addressing cultural competence in the workplace, tricky terminations, difficult disability scenarios, DEI legal risk, and how workplace investigations are used in litigation.

• Experience

At Nukk-Freeman & Cerra, Nivi works closely with senior management, human resources professionals, and business owners on advice and risk analysis spanning employment law from hiring to termination, with particular depth in restructures and reductions in force, leaves and accommodations, and wage and hour compliance. She regularly conducts both privileged and nonprivileged workplace investigations into allegations of harassment, misconduct, compliance, and discrimination, has served as an independent investigator on dozens of investigations, and assists clients in developing internal investigation policies and processes and in training investigators. Earlier in her career, she practiced as an associate at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP in New York from 2007 to 2015.

SESSION 1 – From Suspicion to Action: Planning and Conducting a Defensible FMLA or Leave Abuse Investigation | 2:30pm – 3:30pm

Investigating suspected FMLA and leave abuse requires careful judgment, disciplined documentation, and a clear understanding of the legal risks involved. Because questioning or investigating protected leave can expose employers to serious interference, retaliation, and discrimination claims, employers must be able to distinguish legitimate concerns from assumptions, frustration, or inconsistent application of policy.

This session will address best practices for determining when an FMLA or leave abuse investigation is warranted, how to structure and conduct an investigation without undermining protected rights, and how to evaluate evidence before taking action. Attendees will also learn key considerations employers should assess before making a termination decision or imposing other personnel-related consequences, including documentation, consistency, timing, decision-maker involvement, and risk mitigation strategies.

BREAK | 3:30pm – 3:40pm

SESSION 2 – Post-Leave Terminations: Litigation Risks, Recent Developments, and Practical Strategies | 3:40pm – 4:40pm

Post-leave termination decisions continue to present significant litigation risk for employers, particularly as courts refine the standards governing retaliation, causation, and employer decision-making following protected leave. This session will examine the evolving litigation landscape for employers defending post-leave terminations, with a focus on the impact of recent court decisions and emerging legal theories that may affect how these cases are evaluated and defended.

The discussion will include analysis of the Sixth Circuit’s honest-belief ruling in Porter v. Jackson Township Highway Department, discussion of recent leave related verdicts (including the $4.7 million PFMLA retaliation verdict in Boyle v. Wayfair), and issues including the trend toward state-level presumption regimes, and the continuing circuit split over the standard of proof for retaliation claims. Against this developing legal backdrop, the speakers will provide practical guidance on best practices for deciding upon, evaluating, and documenting termination decisions involving employees who have recently taken protected leave, as well as guidance related to defending against such claims in litigation and otherwise. The goal is to provide attorneys with a practical framework for assessing risk and strengthening the defensibility of personnel decisions both before they are made and after the case is filed.