21st Annual Employment Law Symposium
Join us for Koley Jessen's 21st Annual Employment Law Symposium on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, from 11:30 AM to 4:15 PM. This half-day seminar offers timely updates, practical guidance, and legal insights tailored for HR professionals, in-house counsel, and business leaders. Attendees will gain valuable perspectives on key employment law developments and workplace challenges, along with the opportunity to earn continuing education credits.
Agenda
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM
Registration, Lunch Provided
12:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Seminar
12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Paula Gardner, Executive Director of the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission
Insights from the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission | 45 minutes
Paula Gardner of the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission will provide an update on happenings at the NEOC and its work investigating charges of employment discrimination. The session will review the NEOC's current caseload and charge trends, walk through the charge process from intake to determination, and discuss how recent shifts in federal enforcement priorities are affecting the NEOC's worksharing relationship with the EEOC. Attendees will leave with practical guidance on responding to a charge and lessons drawn from recent settlements and conciliations.
12:45 - 1:15 PM
Kyle Hyde, Field Attorney, National Labor Relations Board
The NLRA and Your Workplace: Unfair Labor Practice Charges and Enforcement Updates | 30 minutes
Kyle Hyde, Field Attorney with the National Labor Relations Board, will provide an overview of the National Labor Relations Act and how its provisions apply to employers, whether or not their workforce is unionized. The session will walk through the NLRB’s process for investigating unfair labor practice charges filed against employers, from the filing of a charge through investigation and resolution. Kyle will also discuss recent updates to the Board’s enforcement priorities and processes. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of employer rights and obligations under the Act and what to expect if a charge is filed.
Breakout Session One: 1:20 PM - 1:50 PM
Main Room
AI in the Workplace: Compliance Updates, Legal Risks, and Discovery Considerations | 30 minutes
Erin Schroeder and Patrice Ott
AI is transforming business functions by increasing efficiency and automating processes, but it also raises significant legal and compliance concerns for employers. This session covers recent state and federal legislative and regulatory developments affecting the use of AI in the workplace, including new requirements for employers deploying automated decision-making tools. Presenters will also address the legal risks that arise when AI-driven employment decisions are challenged through legal process, where inputs, outputs, and algorithmic thought processes may be discoverable. Learn what's changed, what's coming, and practical compliance steps to help mitigate risk on both fronts.
Breakout Room
Parental Leave Pitfalls: What Employers Need to Know | 30 minutes
Katie Runge
Parental leave law is evolving quickly, spanning federal requirements under the FMLA and emerging state and local leave laws that increasingly overlap and, at times, conflict with federal protections. The session will examine how employers should navigate multistate compliance, coordinate parental leave with other benefit programs such as short-term disability and PTO, and respond to employee requests involving intermittent or extended leave. The presentation will also provide practical guidance for employers on drafting compliant parental leave policies, training managers to administer leave consistently, and avoiding the common legal pitfalls that lead to claims of interference or retaliation.
Breakout Session Two: 1:55 PM - 2:25 PM
Main Room
Hire Smart, Fire Safely: Avoiding Common Employment Law Traps | 30 minutes
Marin Coughlin
HR professionals face legal traps throughout the employment lifecycle, from recruiting and interviewing to discipline and termination. We'll explore real-world scenarios, identify red flags that can create legal exposure, and provide practical strategies HR teams can use to reduce risk while making sound, effective personnel decisions. Attendees will leave with practical, actionable guidance to minimize legal risk, promote consistent employment practices, and support a compliant workplace.
Breakout Room
What in the I-9 is Going On: Addressing Employment Authorization Concerns | 30 minutes
Ryan Sevcik, Kristin Mohrman, and Alexandra Bierman
Form I-9 and E-Verify compliance continues to evolve, with recent policy shifts reshaping work authorization for certain employees and increasing scrutiny of employer verification practices. This presentation will cover practical tips for managing the I-9 and E-Verify processes, recent developments affecting both, and how employers should respond to shifting enforcement priorities. Attendees will leave with an overview of commonly used employer-sponsored work authorization options and practical strategies for reducing compliance risk.
BREAK
2:25 PM - 2:35 PM
Breakout Session Three: 2:35 PM - 3:05 PM
Main Room
Getting It Right: The Art and Science of FLSA Employee Classification | 30 minutes
Jackie Ryan
Misclassifying employees as exempt or nonexempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act is one of the most common legal compliance mistakes an employer can make, yet the rules governing classification remain a source of confusion for even seasoned HR professionals. This session breaks down the salary basis and duties tests in plain language, walks through real-world scenarios where classification calls get tricky, and highlights the red flags that trigger Department of Labor scrutiny. Attendees will leave with a practical compliance checklist and concrete strategies to audit current classifications, reduce organizational risk, and confidently navigate the gray areas that keep HR professionals up at night.
Breakout Room
Noncompete Law in Transition: What Employers Need to Know | 30 minutes
John Dunn
Numerous states have enacted noncompete-related legislation in recent years. We will highlight developments of particular relevance to employers, from Minnesota's near-total ban to the expansion of employer-protections in Florida's CHOICE Act. We will also provide a brief refresher on Nebraska's continued reliance on common-law reasonableness standards. Attendees will learn practical takeaways for drafting compliant restrictive covenants across multistate workforces and advising both employers on enforceability risk in this unsettled environment.
Breakout Session Four: 3:10 PM - 3:40 PM
Main Room
Nebraska's Mini-WARN Act: What Employers Need to Know | 30 minutes
Margaret Hershiser and Baylie Kotsan
Nebraska has enacted a new Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, effective July 18, 2026, applying to employers with 100 or more employees. Presenters Margaret Hershiser and Baylie Kotsan will provide a refresher on the law, covering the key differences from the federal WARN Act and the potential liability for noncompliance.
Breakout Room
Wellness Plans Under the Microscope: Navigating Regulatory Requirements and the Current Litigation Landscape | 30 minutes
Pete Langdon
Join Pete as he examines the evolving regulatory framework governing employer-sponsored wellness programs, with particular emphasis on tobacco-related surcharges and their compliance implications. This presentation identifies key risk areas for plan sponsors and highlights recent judicial decisions and settlement trends shaping employer exposure. Attendees will gain a practical understanding of the intersection between wellness program incentive design and the litigation strategies plaintiffs' counsel are deploying in this rapidly developing area of employee benefits law.
Concluding Session: 3:45 PM - 4:15 PM
Main Room
2026 Updates in Employment Law | 30 minutes
John Barrett
The past year brought significant employment law developments, and this session offers a practical, ground-level overview of them. Topics will cover newly enacted federal and state laws affecting Nebraska employers; notable court decisions addressing wage and hour, discrimination, and restrictive covenant issues; and the ever-evolving enforcement priorities of federal agencies such as the DOL, EEOC, and NLRB.
Continuing Education Credit Information: 3.25 hours available once approved
Nebraska CPE, approved
Nebraska CLE, approved
Iowa CLE, approved
Koley Jessen is recognized by SHRM for Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for SHRM-CP®️ or SHRM-SCP®️
This program has been approved for (3.25 HR (General)) Recertification Credit Hour toward aPHR®, aPHRi®, PHR®, PHRca®, SPHR®, GPHR®, PHRi®, and SPHRi® recertification through HRCI.
Questions? Contact events@koleyjessen.com
