The FLSA: Changes are Coming – Are You in Compliance? If a court does not intervene, on January 1, 2025, the minimum salary for exempt employees will increase to $58,656 annually. Given this, many companies are evaluating whether to raise salaries or convert employees earning less than this amount to hourly wages. This session will discuss the various elements of the FLSA, what factors need to be considered in paying employees, new pay equity concerns, and how a professional services firm can stay in compliance.
Protecting Your Business: Non-Competition agreements and other restrictive covenants are under attack from many directions, both state and federal. Many regulators do not recognize how these agreements let firms invest in new employees with some assurance they will not lose both the investment and clients if the relationship does not work. Learn what the law is and how to go about using these agreements effectively.
The Law of Remote Employees: Finding quality help can be difficult in many locales. The remote work revolution inspired by the pandemic has helped companies search for and find talent all over the country, and sometimes outside it. But hiring a remote employee comes with significant risks depending on where the employee sits. State-level employment laws have exploded over the past several years including areas such as mandatory paid sick leave, local minimum wages, hairstyle discrimination, and payday rules. This session will provide information on what a firm needs to understand when hiring a remote employee.
Ed Harold, regional managing partner in the firm’s New Orleans office, has been practicing labor and employment law for over thirty years. Ed focuses his practice on partnering with employers to avoid litigation by identifying his clients’ priorities and ensuring his advice on today’s issue fits the bigger picture. Ed also serves as chair of the firm's Retail Industry Team, partnering with retailers to improve employee productivity in many ways and helping employers streamline employment processes, from hiring through discharge, in a manner that makes defending employment related claims easier.
When litigation results, Ed handles cases across multiple industries in state and federal courts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. He has challenged issues that employers face under Title VII, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and ERISA.
Ed also has substantial experience in various practice areas, including:
- Corporate Investigations
- Employee Benefits Litigation
- Employment Policies and Procedures
- Labor and Employment Litigation
- Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets Litigation
- Wage and Hour Law
Outside of work, Ed is active in the New Orleans community where he has been a life-long resident. He currently serves on the Board of Junior Achievement New Orleans focusing on economic literacy and entrepreneurial development in the children of New Orleans. He has previously served on the Boards of City Park New Orleans, The University of the South, The New Orleans Museum of Art, and St. Martin’s Episcopal School.
Kathie Caminiti is a partner in the firm's New Jersey and New York offices, and a co-chair of both the Wage and Hour and Pay Equity practice groups. She has extensive experience handling all aspects of employment litigation, including individual plaintiff discrimination claims, restrictive covenant litigation and wage and hour class and collective actions.
Kathie has successfully defended cases alleging civil rights violations, race, sex, age and disability discrimination, sexual harassment, whistle-blowing, wrongful discharge and retaliation. She has also defended employers and financial institutions in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) cases, including class actions, seeking severance, pension and health and welfare benefits.
Kathie has a sophisticated wage and hour practice and has distinguished herself in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)/wage and hour litigation. As lead counsel, Kathie has obtained favorable outcomes for clients in various wage and hour matters, including class and collective actions arising under the FLSA and various state laws.
As a chair of Fisher Phillips’ Pay Equity Practice Group, Kathie dedicates her time to analyzing the legal issues surrounding pay equality, conducting pay equity audits and defending equal pay litigation.
Kathie counsels her clients on compliance with the panoply of employment laws and assists with their liability prevention efforts by conducting employee training, preparing handbooks and implementing policies, as well as wage and hour and pay equity audits. Given her significant experience, Kathie is frequently quoted by ABC News, Bloomberg Law, Counselor Magazine, HR Executive, Law360, NJBiz, SHRM, and other media outlets. She has published numerous articles that have appeared in ACC Docket, HR Drive, New Jersey Business, New Jersey CPA, New Jersey Law Journal, New Jersey Lawyer Magazine, The New York Law Journal, PEO Insider, and Practical Law Institute regarding a variety of employment-related issues.