14th Annual Employment Law Institute

Buchanan Labor and Employment Section shareholders Gina M. Ameci, Joseph A. Dougherty, Jill M. Lashay and Elizabeth A. Malloy will be among the speakers at the 14th Annual Employment Law Institute.

The program, presented by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, is an annual event for attorneys who represent employees and employers, human resources professionals, certified public accountants, and anyone else with an interest in employment law.

Ameci's session is titled "Independent Contractor vs. Employee: A New Wave of FLSA Litigation in 2008?" The session will discuss, from a plaintiff and defense perspective, the importance for employers to correctly determine whether the individuals providing services to their company are employees or independent
contractors due to a different standard of analysis in determining the appropriate classification under the FLSA.

Dougherty's session is titled "How To Best Investigate And Enforce Restrictive Covenants When A Key Employee Departs." The presentation will focus on providing practical, real world advice on effective and efficient steps that counsel and clients need to take in order to prepare clients for the departure of key employees and how to best enforce restrictive covenants and trade secret rights when a key employee leaves and joins a competitor.

Lashay's session, titled "Understanding the Family and Medical Leave Act," will explore who is an "eligible" employee for purposes of leave, what is a "serious health condition", how should employers be advised to handle "intermittent leave" requests, what are an employers' rights to limit leave under the FMLA, FMLA military leave amendments, how the law has expanded over the last year and the changes employers can expect in the future.

Malloy, who also served on the institute planning team, will speak at a session titled "Taking Effective Depositions in Employment Cases." The session will provide a better understanding of effective questioning of various types of witnesses, important but sometimes overlooked lines of questioning, strategies of who to depose and when and the state of the law on privilege during deposition.

The institute will take place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. For more information, visit the Pennsylvania Bar Institute website at www.pbi.org.