Employer Resource Institute Audio Conference

Tuesday, July 21, 2009
10:30 a.m. to Noon (Pacific)

Order Option       Price   1. Live Conference       $219       2. Live Conference + CD Recording       $269       3. CD Recording Only       $219

Religion bias claims can cost employers big. Consider these recent examples:

• Chicken processor Gold'n Plump recently paid $215,000 to a class of Somali Muslims who claimed religious discrimination, including discharge and discipline.
• A federal appeals court upheld a jury verdict ordering AT&T to pay $756,000 for firing two customer service technicians who attended a Jehovah's Witness convention.

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), religion bias claims are on the rise, and the agency has vowed to crack down on employers who violate employees' rights in this area.

You can't afford to miss our audio conference on July 21, when our speaker—an experienced California employment law attorney—will explain how to avoid religion bias in your workplace and figure out when you're legally required to offer an accommodation. You'll learn:

• How state and federal law define "religion," and whether an employee's professed faith qualifies for protection under Title VII and/or California's Fair Employment and Housing Act
• When an applicant or employee's religious beliefs, practices, or observances should be accommodated, including when a shift swapping is a reasonable religious accommodation and how to reasonably accommodate Muslim prayer breaks
• Which accommodation factors may pose an "undue hardship" to your organization
• Appropriate responses to an employee's refusal to perform an essential job function on religious grounds
• Best practices for ensuring a religious accommodation decision does not result in a viable retaliation claim

About Your Speaker:

Tara Bedeau, Esq. is the Executive Director of the California Minority Counsel Program (CMCP), a 20-year-old organization dedicated to the promotion and sustainability of diversity and inclusion in California's legal profession.

Prior to joining CMCP, Bedeau was an attorney with Littler Mendelson, PC, where she represented, counseled, and trained management clients—ranging from Fortune 100s to non profits—in various labor and employment matters for several years. This also included the development and dispensation of preventative strategies for employers through live, in-person, and Web-based compliance training.

Bedeau has also been a featured keynote and panelist for numerous organizations and programs, including BLR's Employment Law Update conference, as well as a featured broadcast commentator on both the "Know Your Legal Rights" KLAW (91.7 FM) broadcast and "The Profile Series" on Bravo, hosted by Lou Gossett, Jr.

This program has been approved for 1.5 recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). This program is also a California-specific continuing education activity for PHR-CA and SPHR-CA recertification. For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HRCI homepage at www.hrci.org. The use of this seal is not an endorsement by HRCI of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met HRCI's criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit.

The Employer Resource Institute is an approved MCLE Multiple Activity Provider, and this program has been approved for 1.5 hours of MCLE credit by the State Bar of California. For more information, please contact our customer service department at (800) 695-7178.

Bonus Offer

As an additional benefit, you will receive a no-risk trial subscription to Employment Law Compliance for California Supervisors when you register for this Audio Conference (or purchase a CD recording). Each month, you'll receive copies of the current issue to share with your front-line supervisors. If you want to continue to receive the newsletter, simply pay the invoice you will receive in the mail. If you decide the newsletter isn't for you, just write cancel on the invoice and return it. You will owe nothing, and all issues you receive are yours to keep. As with all ERI products, your satisfaction is guaranteed 100%. (Offer good for new subscribers only.)

How Do Audio Conferences Work?

An Audio Conference is remarkably cost-effective and convenient. You participate from your office using a regular telephone. You have no travel costs and no out-of-office time.

Plus, for one low price you can get as many people in your office to participate as you can fit around a speakerphone.

Because the conference is live, you can ask the speakers questions' either on the phone or via e-mail.

With your registration, you also receive conference materials with additional practical information from Employer Resource Institute sent to you via e-mail shortly before the conference.

Why You Can Sign Up To Attend This Event with Confidence

As with all Employer Resource Institute products, you're completely protected. If for any reason you are unsatisfied with this Audio Conference, simply let us know and we will return your entire registration fee.