June 2009

Comments from the Chair

I want to alert you to a number of upcoming deadlines and areas where we need help, if you have time to jump in. The Section Council met in May to review current activities and set our budget and priorities for the coming year. We have a long list of active projects; please visit the website to see what's happening and coming up over the next several months. A few items of immediate urgency:

It's application time.

• The Leadership Development Program, whose first session for leadership training will be held this September, is open for applications. They are due by July 10 to the Section office; please visit the web site for the application form. A reference letter is needed, so don't leave it until the last moment. We are planning a terrific session.
• The window is rapidly closing on the time to file applications for the Section Development Fund. If you need financial support in order to attend Midwinter Meetings or the Annual Section CLE Conferences, you should apply for an award from your constituency's funds. It's not too late if you act right away. Applications are due in the Section office by June 30.

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3rd Annual CLE Conference

3RD ANNUAL CLE CONFERENCE
November 4-7, 2009
Washington, DC

The success of the first two ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law Annual CLE Conferences has positioned the annual event as the premier meeting focusing on all aspects of labor and employment law. We are delighted to share with you the program agenda for the 3rd Annual CLE Conference to be held November 4-7, 2009, in Washington, D.C. We are excited to have the Young Lawyers Division (YLD) cosponsoring the Fundamentals Track again this year and hope to see many YLD members at the Conference.

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3rd Annual CLE Conference brochure deadline is June 26 for Sponsor Recognition!

The deadline for sponsor recognition in the hardcopy Annual CLE Conference brochure is June 26, 2009.  Put your organization's name in the hands of 35,500+ labor & employment law practitioners all over the United States. Let them know that your organization is a strong supporter of the Section of Labor & Employment Law and its educational programs; become a Sponsor of the Annual CLE Conference today!

| More Information |

• 2009 Sponsorship Opportunities
• Sponsorship Form

Committee Spotlight

Technology in the Practice and Workplace Committee
The Technology in the Practice and Workplace Committee held its Midyear meeting in Seattle, Washington at the Seattle University School of Law from April 29 through May 1, 2009. At this year's meeting, the committee presented panels on a number of cutting edge issues focused on the crossroads between employment law and new technologies. Topics included application of new technologies for providing reasonable accommodation under the recent Americans with Disabilities Act amendments; ethical issues created by the globalization of legal services; an overview and discussion about the recently enacted Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA); e-discovery from an in-house perspective, presented by in-house counsel from Microsoft, Amazon.com and Boeing; and a discussion about use of radio frequency identification technology (RFID) in the workplace, which is highlighted in more detail below.

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Hot Topic

The Mixed Analysis Under the ADEA: The Supreme Court’s Decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc.

Decided June 18, 2009

Introduction:
In Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (1989), a splintered Supreme Court addressed the allocation of the burden of persuasion in Title VII cases. A plurality of the Court, along with two concurring Justices, agreed that a plaintiff could prove his or her case by showing that a protected characteristic "played a motivating part in an employment decision," but that the employer could avoid liability by proving that it would have made the same decision even if it had not taken the impermissible factor into account. In her concurring opinion, subsequently followed by many lower courts for both Title VII and ADEA mixed-motives cases, Justice O'Connor took the position that the mixed-motives framework set forth in the plurality opinion would apply only when a plaintiff presented "direct evidence" of discrimination.

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Leadership Development Program

Application submission deadline is
July 10, 2009.

The ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law (the Section) is inaugurating a Leadership Development Program to provide leadership training and development to a select group of Section members representing all constituencies of the Section (Union/Employee, Employer, and Government/Neutral). The Program offers tools for advancement in the Section’s leadership. The Section is seeking talented and motivated applicants to fill the first twenty-five member class. The Program is appropriate for individuals who have been active in the Section's standing or administrative committees as well as those who have been active in labor and employment related YLD activities or in labor and employment related leadership positions in other bar entities and want to become more involved in the Section.

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| Application Form |

View the Section's ABA Annual Meeting Program

Program Agenda

Section Newsletter

Published quarterly, the newsletter contains information on current Section projects, recent development and decisions, upcoming educational opportunities, new books, and other news that is of interest to Section members.

Spring 2009
Volume 38 | No. 3

Featured Article
Divided Supreme Court Allows Union Waiver of Judicial Forum | by: Michael Z. Green