Act Telephone Seminars - Training Resources

New Technology and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act ...egarding the interplay between the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the use of new technology in contacting debtors. The speakers will cover the use of voice mail, caller ID, email, text messages and faxes, and discuss recent case law addressing the application of this technology to the debt collection industry. This teleconference will assist you to  more...

EPA's Rules on Compensatory Mitigation for Impact on Wetlands, Streams and Other Waters ...proach to mitigation under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates fill in wetlands and other waters of the United States. The new rules adopt a mitigation hierarchy that moves away from the prior preference for on-site, in-kind mitigation in favor of mitigation banks and watershed-based mitigation programs. The rules also clarify the financial measures the corps will require to  more...

Medical Records Releases, Retention and Confidentiality Requirements ...onfidentiality obligations of such record holders, the impact of those laws, and how to establish policies and systems to ensure those laws are met. This teleconference will specifically outline the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and the regulations promulgated there under, which have been substantially upgraded in the recently-passed stimulus  more...

Living With Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) ...009, 29 states have adopted UPMIFA as law and the Uniform Act is presently pending in an additional 16 jurisdictions. By the end of 2009, in most of the United States, attorneys representing nonprofit institutions and those who donate to them and their endowment funds will be governed by new state law which replaces the Uniform Management of Institutional Funds, which had been the law in 47  more...

Stimulus Reporting Requirements for Schools BenefitsTen months into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, this teleconference will review the impact on education entities to date, including compliance risks and challenges. An update and analysis of current issues and guidance will be discussed as well as recent reporting experiences and upcoming reporting requirements. School administrators, teachers, special education  more...

False Claims Act Update ...Act is one of the most important weapons of the federal government in its efforts to combat fraud, waste and abuse in federal contracting and grants. This teleconference will identify and analyze many of the critically important issues in the interpretation and enforcement of the statute, and will review mandatory disclosure of credible evidence of False Claims Act violations. The recent  more...

Stark Act Update: Recent Changes and Operational Challenges ...Act is a very technical law that prohibits several common financial arrangements between physicians and entities to which they refer, including hospitals. If a physician has a financial arrangement with an entity that bills for or performs 'designated health services,' the financial arrangement will need to meet all components of an applicable exception. If the Stark Act is implicated and all  more...

Implications of the Stimulus Package on HIPAA ...Act includes substantial changes to requirements for the protection of health information privacy and security under HIPAA, some of which are already in effect. New requirements for business associates of HIPAA covered entities and requirements to notify individuals in the event of a breach are only two of the many areas affected in the new law, including new requirements for restricting and  more...

Complying With OSHA Recordkeeping Requirements ...OSHA views as not meeting their obligations under the OSH Act are targeted for additional enforcement actions. One of the key components of OSHA's strategy for identifying workplaces to be inspected and an item reviewed in virtually every inspection conducted, is injury and illness recordkeeping. This teleconference is designed to familiarize you with the requirements of OSHA's rules on  more...

Hot Wage and Hour Issues: Assuring Proper Exempt and Nonexempt Classification of Your Employees ...and their counsel continue to pursue individual and class action overtime claims based on the alleged misclassification of exempt workers at a fever pitch. Thousands of lawsuits asserting violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act or parallel state laws are filed each year and the costs of defending these matters and the damages claimed and paid, whether through trial or settlement, are  more...

LEED Tax Incentives and Credits for Green Buildings ... changing climate. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included more than $60 billion in clean energy investments intended to jump-start our economy and build the clean energy jobs of tomorrow. The Department of Energy is issuing a series of grant opportunities directly and through state and local government to address these areas. This teleconference will highlight the numerous  more...

The Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act: Application to Condominiums and Single Family Homes ...ject to the federal Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act do not understand how to comply, or perhaps worse, they think they're in compliance when they're not. These developers do not understand either how to draft unit purchase agreements to comply with the completed home exemption or when circumstances of their program would indicate consideration of registration. This teleconference will  more...

Determining Meaningful Use for Electronic Health Records ...Act stimulus package allotted nearly $20 billion in direct funding and incentives for health care providers to implement health information technology provided they demonstrate 'meaningful use' of a 'certified' electronic health record. This teleconference is intended to provide you with a timely update on the federal government's requirements for 'meaningful use' for eligibility for stimulus  more...

Jeopardizing Exempt Status: Top 10 Mistakes Employers Make and How to Avoid Them ...Act, employees do not necessarily remain exempt for the duration of their employment. Actions taken (or not taken) by employers can and do jeopardize the exemptions claimed, leading unknowing employers down the path to potentially ruinous liability for unpaid minimum wages and overtime. This teleconference is designed to help you identify issues which jeopardize exempt status and correct them.  more...

FAS 117-1: Endowments of Not-for-Profit Organizations ...actment of the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act in most of the United States, the Financial Accounting Standards Board last year promulgated FASB Staff Position No. FAS 117-1. FSP FAS 117-1 provides guidance for nonprofits as to the proper classification of endowment funds when UPMIFA has been enacted and expands the required disclosure about endowment funds. The  more...

Options Under Section 504 ...ve federal assistance must comply with the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1973, concerning the rights of disabled employees and students. An educational facility's failure to comply with this law and its related regulations can result in a school being assessed with significant liability, including potential loss of federal funds. Unfortunately, Section 504's obligations are detailed in the  more...

Medicare Secondary Payer Act - Protecting Medicare's Interest in Insurance Settlements ...95y(b)(2), commonly known as the Medicare Secondary Payer Act, Medicare may not make payment for medical benefits where 'payment has been made or can reasonably be expected to be made under a workmen's compensation law or plan of the United States or a state or under an automobile or liability insurance policy or plan (including a self-insured plan) or under no fault insurance.' By law,  more...

Covenants Not to Compete and Trade Secrets ...rotection and misappropriation, the Uniform Trade Secrets Act and state trade secret statutes, the doctrine of inevitable disclosure, reverse engineering, developing a trade secret protection program, assignments of inventions by current employees, and associated state law claims often involved in trade secret and noncompetition lawsuits. This teleconference also explores litigation and client  more...

Changes to Cafeteria Plans: What You Need to Know to Prepare BenefitsThe IRS recently issued new rules which replaced parts of the old regulations. These new rules are exciting but require you to review and act on your old documents. The information provided will assist you in decisions for the upcoming plan year and how to prepare for the changes. Human resources and benefits managers, attorneys, controllers, CFOs finance directors, payroll managers,  more...

Deductions From Pay ...ough the complex requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Misclassifying employees' status can be costly to an employee. It is estimated that at least 70 percent of employers are not in compliance with the FLSA. As Department of Labor audits increase, it is critical for employers to understand the FLSA and to recognize the permissible deductions. This teleconference is intended to  more...

Mental Illness and the ADA BenefitsManaging employees with claimed mental conditions creates unique challenges for employers attempting to comply with the ADA. What mental impairments does the ADA protect? How does the employer know of these often invisible disabilities and of the employee's need to accommodate the condition? How does an employer accommodate conditions that cause employees to violate work rules or request  more...

Current Issues in CEQA ... proposed changes to the California Environmental Quality Act guidelines for mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions as well as their effects on the environment. We will discuss the many changes proposed to the guidelines, issues and concerns of the private and public sectors, and how this will affect future projects within California. We will also discuss recent CEQA decisions which provide a  more...

Employer's HIPAA Privacy and Security Responsibilities ...ion of HIPAA under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the recently issued Massachusetts privacy regulations that become effective January 1, 2010. In addition, this teleconference will include a discussion of some preventive strategies and steps companies can take to address this emerging issue affecting all of us. Human resource managers, benefits and payroll  more...

Meeting Your Fiduciary Responsibilities Under ERISA ...t plan subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 requires that people managing the plan or investing plan assets become fiduciaries. You need to know when they might become an ERISA plan fiduciary. You must understand your legal obligations to plan participants and beneficiaries. This teleconference will provide you with an overview of the ERISA rules governing plan  more...

Prevailing Wage Law--An Understanding of The Davis-Bacon Act ...the principal source for the new wave of employment class actions, which often result in hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in many cases millions of dollars, of recoverable damages and attorneys' fees awarded to the successful litigants and their attorneys - in addition to the substantial amount of legal fees and administrative costs incurred by contractors in defending these actions. The  more...

Collective Bargaining and Construction Labor Contracts ...actors who sign collective bargaining agreements and later find out that the agreements do not accurately represent the verbal understandings they had reached with the union. Many of these contractors soon learn they are bound to the collective bargaining agreements for longer periods of time than expected and that the agreements cover all projects involving work within the union's  more...

Financial Planning After Retirement: Coordinating the Retirement Plan with the Estate Plan ... in light of the recent changes of the Pension Protection Act. New preparer penalties put an additional premium on determining whether the trust is likely to qualify. This teleconference will help you understand which trusts qualify and which do not, and how to ensure they do. It also discusses two alternatives to owner control that are often overlooked - the trusteed IRA and the IRA annuity.  more...

Fair Housing Act: 2009 Hot Topics ...nce will focus primarily on the areas of the Fair Housing Act that are, and have been, receiving the most attention in the courts in the past several years: disability rights and familial status. The program, which focuses on multifamily dwellings, both rental and condominium-type ownership, is intended to provide information to those performing acquisition due diligence, to apprise them of the  more...

Clean Air Act Update ...uncertainty as to future requirements under the Clean Air Act and an array of new programs addressing stationary and mobile emission sources. The Obama Administration and Congress are poised to usher in a new era of greenhouse gas and energy regulation. At the same time, the Obama EPA is confronting a bewildering array of court-ordered regulatory revisions and politically charged environmental  more...

Federal Flood Plain Regulation ...st significant issues in flood plain development today. Practitioners continue to struggle with jurisdictional issues under the Clean Water Act regarding wetlands regulation, with new EPA and USACE guidance following the Rapanos decision offering limited relief. In the post-Hurricane Katrina era, FEMA is proposing sweeping changes to flood plain regulations in conjunction with its Flood  more...

Obtaining a Portion of the Stimulus Grant Funding ...primarily implemented through grant funding. The Recovery Act (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed by President Obama on February 16, 2009) is the economic stimulus package of $787 billion. Because of the national scope of the economic situation, stimulus money has been targeted at nearly every business and industry sector, and many grants for many purposes have been created.  more...

Providing Investment Advice to Retirement Plan Participants Without Triggering Liability ...dvice given in good faith. This teleconference provides practical advice to human resource and benefits professionals, along with their consultants and attorneys, as to how to comply with ERISA's rules regarding investment advice, including the new investment advice exemptions under the Pension Protection Act. Regulation of investment advice is rapidly changing. The Obama Administration has  more...

Taxation Issues When Conducting Business With Native American Tribes ...Act of 2009 included a number of provisions designed to encourage economic development on Native American reservations, including expanded authority for American Indian tribes to issue tax-exempt bonds for projects on American Indian lands and a $500 million investment of funds for infrastructure, renewable energy, tribal detention facilities and other such projects. As the stimulus measures  more...

Employment Law Compliance: Disciplining or Terminating a Workers' Comp Claimant BenefitsWhether due to legitimate injury or goldbricking, there is no debating that employee absences cost employers in lost productivity, missed deadlines, supervisor stress and tension among co-workers who are required to pick up the slack. Often an employer's plan to discipline or discharge is put on hold when the employee goes out on leave. How can employers deal with these situations? This  more...

Social Networking in the Workplace: Policies, Monitoring and Discipline Issues BenefitsSocial networking via online tools such as MySpace , Facebook and Twitter has exploded in popularity over the last few years. According to an October 2008 survey, 51 percent of employees accessed social networks at least once per day at work; many of them did so for an hour or more per week. Despite these numbers and the risks inherent in employees using social networking tools, such as  more...

New Regulations for the Credit Card Industry: Prepare Now and Avoid Penalties ...Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 to regulate several aspects of the credit card industry. This is one of the most sweeping changes to hit the industry for quite some time. This new legislation amends the Truth in Lending Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act, and places a number of restrictions on the credit card industry  more...

ADA Update: Overview of Americans with Disabilities Act and Practical Implications for Employers ...Act of 2008 takes effect January 1, 2009. The new amendments substantially alter and expand the definition of disabled under the ADA and who might be protected. This teleconference will review the ADA amendments and related issues, provide you with practical advice on how to comply with the ADA, and address common ADA and employment issues that may be impacted by the new law. Human resource  more...

FCRA and FACT Act Regulatory and Litigation Update 2009 ...t year, new federal rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act have become effective. These rules restrict cross-marketing by financial institutions and other companies; impose new requirements on companies that use credit reports; and require lenders and others to establish new fraud prevention programs. In addition, a spate of federal court  more...

California Employment Law Update nCompanies with employees in California face a bewildering and complicated set of employment laws, which are often inconsistent with federal law. This three-hour teleconference will address the most important and current issues facing California employers (or out-of-state companies with employees in California), including wage and hour compliance and litigation trends, California's unique  more...

An Overview of Maritime Law Torts nAdmiralty law is expansive in its reach covering operations in brown water, blue water and offshore industries. The issues are complex and often involve federal and state law conflicts. An overview of maritime law torts addresses the primary and secondary issues arising out of Jones Act, USL&H and OCSLA claims. This teleconference is of practical interest to the occasional and experienced  more...

Understanding the New GFE and HUD-1/IA Settlement Statements ...required by the federal Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and creates significant new responsibilities and potential liabilities in connection with the preparation and provision of those forms. No loan originator can afford to do business after year-end without a complete understanding of the changes brought about by the new rule, which will take considerable time and effort to implement. n  more...

FDCPA Claims Based on Collection Letters ...esigned to provide an overview of the Federal Fair Debt Practices Act; an explanation of key terms and definitions under the FDCPA; practical guidance on how the FDCPA applies to collection letters; a discussion of recent cases involving claims arising from the use, or misuse of collection letters; and practical forms and checklists for ensuring compliance with the FDCPA. This teleconference is  more...

Impact of the New ADA Amendments on Schools ...protections guaranteed by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. ADA specified the rights guaranteed to individuals broadly qualified as "disabled." These rights applied to the areas of hiring and working conditions for all employees and also to students eligible for education accommodations under Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In subsequent years, Supreme Court  more...

Internal ERISA Audits: Getting It Right Before the Government Shows Up ...ements imposed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and by other laws such as the Internal Revenue Code. Failure to comply with these complex and ever-changing requirements could lead to substantial penalties or even the meltdown of the plan. This teleconference will highlight a number of these requirements and show you how you can audit your plans to ensure you comply with the rules.  more...

Preparing for and Properly Reacting To Legal and Illegal Drug and Alcohol Use in the Workplace ...act on employee productivity and safety. At the same time, recognizing drug and alcohol abuse is outside the expertise of most managers and human resource personnel, while dealing with the problem improperly can lead to significant liability under federal and law, including the Americans With Disabilities Act and employee privacy laws. This teleconference will help you understand what laws may  more...

Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Guidance Under the New Administration - Rapanos or Oberstar? ...next. Failing to give proper consideration to Clean Water Act jurisdictional issues on the front end can delay a project, substantially increase costs and occasionally kill a project. This teleconference will provide you with the knowledge base to avoid common and uncommon regulatory pitfalls. n nLearning Objectives n- You will be able to discuss the Rapanos decision. n- You will be able to  more...

Uniform Division of Income for Tax Purposes (UDIPTA): Business vs. Nonbusiness Income Tax ...tained in the Uniform Division of Income for Tax Purposes Act, state courts and taxing authorities have interpreted that set of relatively uniform laws differently, especially with regard to the definition of business income. The differing interpretations of business income have increased significance to multistate businesses that are in the process of selling assets, liquidating or ceasing  more...

Share-Based Compensation - Impact of Recent Events on the Use of Equity Compensation nExecutive compensation continues to be a hot topic across many industries. Recent changes in share-based compensation rules, principally the changes to Financial Accounting Standards 123(R) [FAS 123(R)], and market uncertainty and declines have led to significant changes in how companies and executives view the role and the value of equity as part of an overall compensation package. Join our  more...

Employee Retaliation: Supreme Court Update ...ms in nearly all areas of employment law and find adverse actions in a variety of circumstances, beyond demotion and termination, for purposes of upholding such claims. Most significantly, the U.S. Supreme Court recently determined in CBOCS West, Inc. v. Humphries, 128 S.Ct. 1951 (2008) that employees can bring retaliation claims under Section 1981, a post-Civil War era race discrimination act,  more...

What You Need to Know About Section 404 Permits ...eers. As the federal agency responsible for regulating impacts to wetlands, the Corps' regulations and the permit process can represent a significant part of a project's development. The identification of wetlands or other waters on a project site, determination of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act and ultimately the need for any permits can influence project design, schedule and  more...

Common NEPA Mistakes and How to Avoid Them ...Act has been the cornerstone for environmental protection in the United States. To implement NEPA, federal agencies must prepare environmental impact statements or environmental assessments to study the impacts of their proposed actions. Unfortunately, some federal agencies, their consultants and affected citizens do not fully understand the regulations, legal interpretations and practices for  more...

What the New Ledbetter Pay Act Means for Employers ...sident Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, effectively changing the landscape of the statute of limitations for equal pay discrimination claims. The act greatly expands the amount of time that employees have to bring claims of discriminatory pay practices, which could have a substantial impact on employers. This teleconference will help the people responsible for  more...

Using Medical Certifications to Minimize Employer Liability: FMLA, ADA and Workers' Comp ...Act was passed in 1990, proactive and proper use of medical certifications has proven to be a valuable tool to protect employers from liability under the ADA, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1994, and state workers' compensation statutes. But the legal landscape for managing employee health issues has had many changes in recent months. Amendments to the ADA took effect January 1, 2009. The  more...

Writing the Critical Teacher Evaluation ...act of teaching is what finally determines the success or failure of the school. To that end, a well-developed and wisely used evaluation system is the most important tool of school administration. Teacher associations will (appropriately) protect memberships from evaluations that are poorly constructed or poorly delivered. Teacher associations also understand the importance of working with  more...

Green Contracting: the Federal Government's Procurement Policies ...actors will have questions regarding the effective implementation of the OFPP policy and will further be concerned as to whether its costs will impact their competitiveness or ability to perform economically. Additionally, the monitoring and reporting that the government will require will have an impact on time and costs and one wonders if contractual sanctions will be imposed for failure to  more...

Payroll Recordkeeping: What You Need to Know ... overtime and unpaid wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Did you realize that liability for FLSA violations can be enormous? Recent reports estimate that over the last few years companies have collectively paid out more than $1 billion annually to resolve FLSA claims! Learn the role of the FLSA and its requirements as to the records to be kept by the employer regarding wages, hours and  more...

Medical Privacy Rights of Minors ...act with medical or health records are often subjected to complex and conflicting requirements to maintain the confidentiality and restrict the use of the information. When those providers and others deal with minors, the complexity increases dramatically. When the right of an individual to privacy and security with regard to his or her medical information runs into the rights of the  more...