Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Time: 1:00pm to 2:15pm EDT

Your Host: Kara M. Maciel, Amanda Walker and Dan C. Deacon

Click here to register for this webinar.

It is essential for employers to develop, maintain, and evaluate their employee complaint policy and procedure to foster a supportive work environment and address employee issues before they turn into a regulatory issue or the basis for litigation.  As part of this complaint policy, employers must also ensure their management representatives understand how to effectively interact with a complaining employee after a grievance has been communicated, including dealing with performance issues in a manner that makes clear any adverse employment action is distinct from the employee’s complaint.

OSHA whistleblower complaints have been on the rise, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission receives more charges of retaliation than any other type of claim for the statutes they regulate, including Title VII discrimination.  Participants in this webinar will learn the following:

• The laws and regulations impacted by employee complaints and complaint procedures, including Title VII harassment claims, OSHA recordkeeping regulations, and retaliation provisions of relevant employment laws and the OSH Act
• What an employee complaint procedure should include, how it should be communicated to employees, and tips for implementation
• Effective investigation of employee complaints, and how to share investigation results without crossing confidentiality 
• Strategies to ensure supervisors effectively manage employees who have lodged complaints without creating retaliation or regulations liabilities

About the presenters

Kara M. Maciel

Kara M. Maciel is a founding partner of Conn Maciel Carey and Chair of the firm’s national Labor • Employment Practice Group. She focuses her practice on representing employers in all aspects of the employment relationship.

Ms. Maciel works to create workplace solutions for her clients across all industries. She defends employers in litigation at both the federal and state levels, including matters related to ADA, FLSA, FMLA, Title VII, and affirmative action/OFCCP regulations. She advises clients regarding the protection of trade secrets and the misappropriation of confidential or proprietary information, both defending employers and pursuing enforcement against former employees. Ms. Maciel counsels employers on how to develop lawful strategies to comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

 

Amanda Walker

Amanda R. Strainis-Walker is a partner with Conn Maciel Carey LLP. Based out of Conn Maciel Carey's Atlanta, GA office, Amanda focuses on occupational safety and health (OSHA) law. Prior to private practice, she was a Presidential Appointee at the U.S. Department of Labor as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, and then as an attorney in the Office of the U.S. Solicitor of Labor, where she advised her clients, OSHA and MSHA, on a diverse range of legal and regulatory issues.

 

For more information about our OSHA Practice Group, visit the OSHA Practice page on our website. 

 

Daniel C. Deacon is an Associate in the Washington, DC office of Conn Maciel Carey LLP, working in both the Labor and Employment and OSHA • Workplace Safety Practice Group.  Dan's practice focuses on all aspects of occupational safety & health law and labor and employment law.  He represents employers in inspections, investigations and enforcement actions involving OSHA and other state and local safety related agencies.

Click here to register for this webinar.