Each meeting examined current challenging topics in our profession. Panels at both the State and Local Government Bargaining and Employment Law (SLG) and International Labor and Employment Law Committee (ILE) discussed free speech in the workplace. The Railway and Airline Labor Law (RLA) attendees discussed RLA coverage of derivative carriers. The Employee Benefits Committee (EBC) discussed the reach of Bostock and Dobbs in the provision of medical care. Artificial Intelligence, its use in the workplace and associated ethics issues were tackled at the Midwinter Meetings of the Workplace and Occupational Safety and Health Law (WOSH Law), Employment Rights and Responsibilities (ERR) and Technology in the Practice and Workplace committees. Finally, diversity, equity and inclusion within our profession was a focus at the Federal Labor Standards Legislation (FLSL) Committee, which discussed the importance of cultivating intergenerational collaboration in the profession, and the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Committee, which addressed the state of DEI following the Supreme Court’s decision in SFFA v. Harvard. Finally, the Committees on Development of the Law Under the National Labor Relations Act (DLL) and Practice and Procedure Under the NLRB (P&P) addressed General Counsel Memoranda and related cases in the areas of 10(j) remedies (Cemex) and noncompetes (McLaren Macomb).
Additionally this year, committees offered scholarships to students from St. Louis University School of Law who had their articles published in the ABA Journal of Labor & Employment Law. Look for the articles by Dereck Basinger (DLL), Macin Graber (EBC) and Ryan Dowd (FLSL) in upcoming issues of the Journal.
In May, the EBC put on Beyond the Basics, a three-day virtual program sponsored by the Joint Committee on Employee Benefits (JCEB). EBC co-chairs and member discussed the latest developments under MHPAEA, No Suprises Act, Consolidated Appropriations Act, Secure 2.0 and the DOL’s Fiduciary Rule. This program is the first of its kind providing new practitioners with an update on what they learned at the JCEB ERISA Basics Program. The content was also helpful to seasoned practitioners.
As the summer heats up, your Section leaders continue working on CLE programming for both the standing committee offerings and our Annual Section Conference where we expect to continue dialogue on many of these and new topics. We look forward to seeing you in New York City at the Conference on November 13–16, 2024. In the meantime, enjoy the summer!