MAINE WEBINAR: 2024 Employment Law Landscape

ACC Northeast and Pierce Atwood LLP are pleased to offer the next Maine CLE program on employment law via webinar on Tuesday, October 1 from 12 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.   This program will offer a discussion on important strategies in-house counsel should implement for non-compete agreements, employee activism and use of AI.  Join Pierce Atwood attorneys, Suzanne King, Katy Rand, and Katie Porter as they discuss the significant changes and challenges they see in the employment relationship.

The discussion will include:

Noncompete Agreements: Whether the FTC ban on non-compete agreements ever goes into effect, courts and state legislatures are increasingly hostile to agreements that make it harder for employees to work in their chosen profession after separation. Restrictive covenants are not a one-size-fits-all proposition, and crafting an enforceable agreement requires consideration of not only the applicable law, but the industry, position, and effectiveness of more employee-friendly alternatives. This section will cover:

·       An update on the FTC ban

·       Navigating state law differences 

·       Maximizing / ensuring protection of Deceptive Trade Practices statutes

·       Identifying the least restrictive (and therefore most likely to be enforced) covenant to meet the company’s needs

·       Best practices for using restrictive covenant agreements

When Employees Are Activists On or Off Duty: This is the first election year since the U.S. saw a marked increase in social activism on complex issues of race, gender identity, immigration, climate change, the pandemic, and abortion (and the list goes on!). When that passion spills over into the workplace, employers must decide whether employees have a right to self-expression in the workplace and whether employers should do anything about off-duty activism. We will cover:

·       The First Amendment and private workplaces

·       What can (should?) an employer prohibit in the workplace?

·       Responding to off-duty conduct

Use of AI in the Workplace: Ready or not, employers are facing the reality that employees are using AI in workplaces across industries and job types. From using AI to draft emails, relying on AI for hiring and performance evaluations, and using AI to record meetings and generate action items, AI is here to stay, and its use continues to grow. While AI is just the latest in a long line of innovations that have revolutionized the way people work, employers need to understand its legal risks, while also embracing its potential. We will cover: 

·       Quick overview of how employees use AI

·       Best practices for managing employee use of AI

·       What a good AI policy should include

Register below.  Zoom credentials will be sent 24 hours in advance of the webinar.