American Employment Law for Canadian HR Professionals

American employment and labour law is very different from Canadian law and is changing fast.

This 2 module online program provides a comprehensive overview of U.S. employment laws including the overarching principle of at-will employment, discrimination, harassment and retaliation prohibitions, wage and hour law, and disability and leave management law.

Learning objectives:

• Educate attendees on a variety of key U.S. employment law statutes and regulations and their application and evolving trends
• Improve issue spotting and employee relations skills of HR professionals to enable them to confront these issues head on in a manner that reduces liability of employment related claims
• Provide an insight into these U.S. laws and counterpoints in Canadian law to provide an understanding how these laws compare to Canadian law

Who should attend:

Senior HR professionals, in-house counsel and senior company management who have operations or employees working in the U.S.

Program Agenda:

• The Principle of At-Will Employment which governs the employer-employee relationship in the U.S. absent contractual or other obligations to the contrary.
• Employment Discrimination and Harassment Law (America’s lottery system answer to severance (notice) pay), including analysis of the legal standards underlying anti-discrimination, harassment and retaliation laws and regulations.
• FLSA – How to Pay Salaried and Hourly Employees in Compliance with the Law. The Fair Labor Standards Act imposes many strict requirements about how employers must pay their salaried employees and their hourly employees, and the law imposes significant penalties for violations of the law.
• FMLA and ADA – Disability and leave management is a complex aspect of U.S. employment law that requires careful consideration by HR professionals. This program will cover the details of the eligibility requirements and qualifying reasons for FMLA leave, applicable notice and certification requirements, and the practical application of this leave in real life situations. The principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act will also be discussed, including the definition of a disability, reasonable accommodation obligations, and the interaction of the ADA with the FMLA.
• Brief Overview of US Labor Law and Organizing Trends

What is the course format?

This program combines two 3.5-hour sessions (with 15 minute break at mid-point) of virtual instruction in hybrid lecture and interactive sessions akin to an Executive Briefing.

Live Virtual Sessions: There will be multiple online instructor-led modules on the key aspects of the various U.S. laws outlined above followed by targeted open discussion during which practical application, examples and experiences will be discussed interactively. Participants will be provided the opportunity to ask questions for live response and discussion both in advance and during the open discussion portions of the sessions. The instructor led open discussions will also include brief discussion of Canadian law and how it is distinguished from U.S. law.

Materials: : Participants will be provided with session workbooks to follow along with the content covered in each module and to take notes.

Peer Learning and Group Work: Participants will have the opportunity to learn from each other while answering questions and sharing experiences and observations during the modules.

Time Commitment: This program will be delivered in 2 modules. Participants will spend 3.5 hours each day (with 15 minute break) participating in the virtual sessions.

The in-class virtual modules will be held as follows:

• May 7, 2024 – Session #1: Employment At-Will Principles; EEO/Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Law; Labour Law
• May 8, 2024 –Session #2: Wage & Hour Law; Disability and Leave Management Law

Registration Difficulties/Questions: Please reach out to the Professional Development team at Professionaldevelopment@hrpa.ca