Event Details

The target audience for this seminar is HR professionals and any small business owners.  This session will look at what impact upon the workplace might be anticipated, if any, by President Trump’s judicial and agency appointments in his first two years of office.  We will also review recent developments in the courts and law making bodies that have an effect on employment and labor laws, and thereby affect the jobs of HR professionals.  Topics will include a review of significant legislation and cases in areas such as sexual harassment, disability discrimination, retaliation, FLSA, and worker rights under the NLRA.  We’ll also look at control of procedural changes affecting where employee claims are brought (district court or arbitration) and changes in negotiating the terms of settlement releases and confidentiality terms.

  Learning objectives are:

• How “#Metoo” has affected legislation, case law and settlement negotiations;
• Trump appointments to the NLRB and Obama-Era expansion of the NLRA;
• EEOC developments and future Agency focus;
• Changes in scope and enforcement of Arbitration provisions in employment agreements;
• Review of significant case law decisions and legislation affecting HR professionals.

This seminar will be presented by Pat O’Donnell, from Smith, Paulson, O’Donnell & Erickson, PLC in Monticello, MN. 

Education:

Juris Doctor, William Mitchell College of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, 1988

B.A., cum laude, St. Cloud State University, 1981

MSBA Certified Labor and Employment Law Specialist, 2011-present

Practice Areas:

Labor and employment law and civil litigation

Pat O’Donnell began his law practice with a 40-attorney law firm in Galveston, Texas, but has been practicing in Minneapolis and now Monticello for roughly 25 years.  As he explained to his son’s grade school class 30 years ago on career day, “I solve peoples’ problems.”  That is what Pat still loves the most about doing his job today.  As he likes to say about his firm, SPOE, “We get you out of trouble; we keep you out of trouble.”

Whether it’s strategic diplomacy and subtle persuasion or figuratively holding his opponent’s head under water, Pat’s goal is to obtain results for clients, efficiently and cost-effectively.  Pat’s background as a Navy veteran and martial artist have instilled in him that honor, respect, professionalism and personal responsibility are paramount in dealings with others – in assisting clients, in adversarial negotiations and in the courtroom.  In addition to his legal work, Pat is passionate about professional and community service.  He serves and has served on many non-profit groups for many years.