National Employment Lawyers Association

Beyond offering insightful guidance and valuable networking opportunities, mentors provide emotional support and encouragement. A mentor can elevate a new lawyer's standards, fostering a deep commitment to justice. Thank you for delivering transformative mentorship!

Last week, attorneys at KBK attended and participated in panels at the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association’s Annual Conference. Partner?Avi Kumin was sworn in as the President of MWELA and will lead the organization for the next year.?Congratulations! Partner Carolyn Wheeler participated in a panel, “Hot Topics in Reasonable Accommodation Law.” The panelists provided an overview of the obligations that arise under federal law when an employee or job applicant requests a reasonable accommodation?for a medical condition. They then discussed the current state of play?of pressing litigation and regulatory topics around reasonable accommodation requests. Associate Nicolas O'Connor moderated the panel “Challenges of Navigating Overlapping Whistleblowers”, where panelists discussed common pitfalls in managing the?potentially?complex?interactions between federal?whistleblower?reward programs and employment-related?whistleblower retaliation claims. Stay up to date with KBK by signing up for our newsletter:?https://lnkd.in/e8CgK_YK #EmploymentLaw #MWELA

Today, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (“MDHR”) intervened in Izaguirre v. Absolute Drywall, in which I represent Ms. Izaguirre, along with my Nichols Kaster, PLLP colleague Laura Farley. Ms. Izaguirre bravely asserts serious allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and retaliation in her case, filed in Dakota County District Court. We are thankful to Attorney General Keith Ellison, MDHR Commissioner Rebecca Lucero, and our co-counsel, Burt Johnson of the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, for their support of Ms. Izaguirre in this important case.

Join us in St Louis, MO later this month for our 2025 Wage an Hour Update for indispensable education, empowering conversations, and steadfast solidarity. With workers' rights under attack, building robust networks and alliances among workers' rights advocates is not just important—it is essential for preserving the dignity and economic security of working people. * Protecting Workers in 2025 and Beyond * Handling a Wage & Hour Case from Intake to Trial * The Latest in FLSA Certification & Jurisdictional Issues * State Laws & Regulations You Should Know * Using Damages in the Context of Settlement and Trial * The Nuts & Bolts of the Settlement Process * Never Heard of It! Obscure FLSA Regulations You Need to Know * A Conversation with AAA and JAMS * What’s New in ESI & AI * Every Minute Counts—Updates on Off-the-clock Work * Ethical Issues in Wage & Hour Cases * Effectively Drafting State Wage & Hour Laws * Effective Mediation Strategies * Protecting Low Wage & Immigrant Workers * Wage & Hour Case Law Update Program details and registration at www.nela.org/springseminar.

BREAKING: The MSPB has issued a “stay," or pause, of all over 5,000 illegally terminated probationary employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Congratulations all!

In March 1985, a dozen plaintiff employment lawyers from nine states attending the ABA’s Labor and Employment Law Section meeting in Wesley Chapel, Florida, decided to form the Plaintiff Employment Lawyers Association (PELA). Led by Paul H. Tobias, the founding members envisioned that this new organization would provide the assistance and information sought by attorneys representing workers. PELA also would serve as an instrument for advancing public policy and legislation affecting the rights of employees. In 1990, PELA changed its name to the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) to represent the growing national scope of its membership and held its first Annual Convention in Lake Tahoe. Today, NELA is at the forefront of major employment issues, including banning forced arbitration of employment claims, resisting reforms to the civil justice system that would make it more difficult for workers to vindicate their rights, ending statutory damage caps, and ensuring a fair and diverse judiciary. At the circuit, state, and local levels, NELA Affiliates across the nation are supporting workers’ rights advocates in their communities and adding their voices to NELA’s advocacy initiatives. NELA has changed the landscape of employment law while building a special community of lawyers, which centers collaboration, collegiality, and camaraderie. Looking ahead to the coming year and beyond, NELA stays steadfast in its commitment to supporting workers’ rights advocates in their ongoing pursuit of justice for all workers. We are committed to bolstering our ranks of plaintiffs’ employment lawyers throughout the country, welcoming and empowering the next generation of advocates, and safeguarding protections for workers. https://lnkd.in/g2e-iTzB

Will the Texas Legislature finally act to put an end to sexual harassment today? No, but I am proud to represent the Texas Employment Lawyers Association at our annual lobby day today, and visit with legislators about important legislation for survivors of sexual harassment across Texas. The incredible truth is that for many survivors, their claims are capped at no more than $50k. That amount hardly covers the therapy bills, and does almost nothing to disincentive corporations who shelter and defend known harassers in their ranks. That caps makes it hard on many cases to even find a lawyer to help with valid sexual harassment claims. The legislature should act now, this session, to remove the outdated damages caps (passed in the 90's!) and let survivors get the justice juries of their peers decide that they deserve. Everyone agrees sexual harassment is wrong and gross and should be punished. Yet it continues. You know it. You've seen it. Let's end it. Let's finally make the punishment fit the crime in Texas. Glad to be here in the halls of power, working pro bono, doing what I can to improve the lives of working Texans. ??

As companies adapt, there’s a real risk they’ll go “too far in the other direction,” according to Jason Solomon, director of the National Institute of Workers’ Rights. Many DEI policies trace back to compliance with antidiscrimination laws, Solomon noted, and firms that abandon them will be more vulnerable to lawsuits from women and people of color who feel they’re being underpaid or passed over for opportunities. https://lnkd.in/gtTaMkk2

KCNF attorney Aaron Szot joined Sara Sidner on CNN to discuss the legal complexities surrounding the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program. With thousands of workers caught in a state of uncertainty, she explains the ambiguities of what was presented as a straightforward election. https://lnkd.in/gwNBR8f4 #FederalEmployment #FederalWorkers #DeferredResignation #EmploymentLaw #ForkDirective