Smith Anderson Presents its 22nd Annual Employment Law Update

Raleigh, N.C. – On October 28^th and November 10^th, Smith Anderson presented its 22^nd Employment Law Update to a combined total of nearly 350 human resources professionals at the North Carolina Bar Center in Cary, N.C. This annual event provided an in-depth look at workplace trends and strategies for addressing the challenges of the ever-changing work environment.

The Employment Law Update draws human resources and benefits professionals, as well as in-house counsel, from North Carolina and beyond. Lawyers representing Smith Anderson’s Employment, Labor and Human Resources and Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice groups presented on the following topics:

• Carolina In My Mind: Not So Much, Multi-State Employers (presented by Kimberly J. Korando)
• Equal Employment Opportunity Update (presented by Zebulon D. Anderson)
• Wage and Hour Update: What’s New And What May Be Coming (presented by Susan M. Parrott)
• The Golden Age of Whistleblowing: How Employers Can Recognize and Limit Risk (presented by Kerry A. Shad)
• Contractor or Employee? The Million-Dollar Question and the Sometimes “Clear as Mud” Tests for Classification (presented by J. Travis Hockaday)
• Health Issues in the Workplace: Understanding and Managing the Expanding Reach of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Family and Medical Leave Act (presented by Rosemary G. Kenyon)
• Fraternization, Flings and Fun After Hours (presented by Sarah W. Fox)
• In Pursuit of Relevance: Continued Attack on Common Practices and Policies (presented by Kimberly J. Korando)
• Correcting Problems with Your Retirement Plan (presented by Jamison H. Hinkle, Craig B. Wheaton and Caryn C. McNeill, and Mark Livingston, partner with Hughes Pittman & Gupton LLP)
• Social Media Accounts: Exploring Issues of Ownership and Solicitation (presented by Susan H. Hargrove and J. Travis Hockaday)

Dana Simpson, a partner within the Firm’s Government Relations practice who is ranked North Carolina’s second “Most Influential Lobbyist,” also presented a 2013 - 2014 Legislative Review.

To obtain a copy of the presentations from the 2014 Employment Law Update, please visit www.SmithLaw.com/ELU2014.

About Smith Anderson’s Employment, Labor and Human Resources Practice Group

Smith Anderson’s Employment, Labor and Human Resources practice group and its lawyers have received significant client, peer and business community recognition in such prestigious publications and ranking lists as Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America^®, U.S. News – Best Lawyers^® “Best Law Firms” andMartindale-Hubbell^®. The group handles employment matters for many global and publicly-traded companies that are based in North Carolina. They work with clients to assist them in building and maintaining an employer-of-choice reputation, while minimizing the burden of regulatory requirements and the distractions of regulatory investigations and audits, employee disputes, and union organizing. In addition, they develop and conduct training programs for human resources professionals and line managers, and offer a range of complementary compliance-support services.

 About Smith Anderson’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group

Smith Anderson’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group has been recognized by “Best Law Firms” with its highest ranking since U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers first began the joint effort to identify the highest performing firms and practices in 2010. The practice group’s lawyers areexperienced with retirement plans, welfare plans and executive compensation arrangements for all types of entities, including for-profit companies and tax-exempt and governmental entities. The group has particular strength in understanding benefit plans in a transactional context. From stock option plans for start-up companies, leveraged ESOP transactions as part of succession planning, and multiple defined benefit pension plans maintained by affiliated manufacturing entities, its lawyers strive to understand an employer's goals and help translate them into reality.