Ogletree Deakins Podcasts

In the fourth part of this five-part podcast series, Karen Tynan (shareholder, Sacramento) and Robert Rodriguez (shareholder, Sacramento), who are co-chairs of Ogletree’s Workplace Violence Prevention Practice Group, discuss how California’s SB 553 workplace violence prevention law applies to law enforcement agencies. Karen, who is also chair of the Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group, and...

In this episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Shirin Aboujawde (New York/London) and Maya Barba (San Francisco) discuss the 2025 Model Tax Convention update from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and its implications for employers managing cross-border remote work. Maya and Shirin explain the new two-part framework for determining when an employee’s re...

In the second episode of this two-part series of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcasts, Lina Fernandez (Boston) and Samantha Duncan (Washington) continue their conversation on HR self-audits by exploring how to localize global audit frameworks for specific jurisdictions. Samantha and Lina highlight the country-specific compliance nuances in Mexico, Australia, and the Dominican Republic, emphasizing t...

In the third part of this five-part podcast series, Karen Tynan (shareholder, Sacramento) and Robert Rodriguez (shareholder, Sacramento), who are co-chairs of Ogletree’s Workplace Violence Prevention Practice Group, examine the exemptions to California’s workplace violence prevention law, SB 553. Karen, who is also chair of the Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group, and Robert cover key exemp...

In part one of this two-part episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Samantha Duncan (Washington) and Lina Fernandez (Boston) discuss the importance of conducting global HR self-audits and best practices for developing a unified audit framework that can be scaled across multiple jurisdictions. The speakers explore key timing considerations for audits and outline the essential topics t...

In this podcast, shareholders Meagan Dziura (Raleigh) and Kara Lancaster (Raleigh) discuss the results of this year’s H-1B lottery. Kara and Meagan highlight a major change: the introduction of a wage-weighted selection system, which gives higher-paid workers better odds of being selected. They also provide tips for employers on what actions to take now, from filing petitions for selected employee...

In this podcast, shareholders Kevin Bland (Orange County) and Karen Tynan (Sacramento), who is chair of the firm’s Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group, discuss the strict 15-working-day deadline for filing Cal/OSHA appeals. Karen and Kevin explain why California’s administrative process offers little room for excuses—unlike civil litigation, there is no excusable neglect doctrine. The speak...

In the second part of this five-part podcast series, Karen Tynan (shareholder, Sacramento) and Robert Rodriguez (shareholder, Sacramento), who are co-chairs of Ogletree’s Workplace Violence Prevention Practice Group, continue their conversation on Cal/OSHA citations under California’s SB 553. Karen, who is also chair of the Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group, and Robert cover common plan d...

In the first part of this two-part podcast series, Karen Tynan (shareholder, Sacramento) and Robert Rodriguez (shareholder, Sacramento), who are co-chairs of Ogletree’s Workplace Violence Prevention Practice Group, review the first year of Cal/OSHA enforcement of California’s SB 553 workplace violence prevention law. Karen, who is also chair of the Workplace Safety and Health Practice Group, and R...

In this installment of our Payroll Brass Tax podcast series, Mike Mahoney (Morristown/New York) and Stephen Kenney (Dallas) explore the payroll and employment tax implications of on-demand pay, also known as earned wage access (EWA), and how real-time payment systems like the Federal Reserve’s FedNow service are accelerating its adoption. Stephen and Mike, who is the chair of the firm’s Employment...

In this episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Goli Rahimi (Chicago) and Kate Thompson (New York/Boston) explore the legal and practical considerations for employers hiring cross-border commuters—workers who live in one EU country while working in another. Goli and Kate break down key issues, including applicable employment laws, equal treatment requirements, payroll rules, tax impli...

In this inaugural episode of our Labor Law Solutions podcast, shareholders Tom Davis (Nashville) and Tom Stanek (Phoenix), who co-chair the firm’s Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group sit down with co-chair and former NLRB member Brian Hayes (Washington) to discuss recent developments in labor law. The speakers discuss the new NLRB board members and general counsel, recent decisions and rela...

In this episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Kristyn Lambert (New Orleans) and Samantha Duncan (Washington) explore how multinational employers can effectively use mutual separation agreements (MSAs) to navigate employment terminations in jurisdictions that do not recognize at-will employment. The speakers cover a four-step framework for evaluating whether an MSA is appropriate, in...

In this podcast, Tae Phillips (Birmingham) sits down with Jennifer Pacicco (Philadelphia), Andrew Halverson (Lafayette/New Orleans), and Dennis Gardner (Houston) to examine President Trump’s December 2025 executive order directing the potential rescheduling of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. The speakers cover what this change would—and would not—mean...

In this episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Patty Shapiro (San Diego) and Goli Rahimi (Chicago) discuss key changes under New Zealand’s Employment Relations Amendment Bill. The speakers cover four significant reforms: a new gateway test for determining independent contractor status, a wage threshold precluding unjustified dismissal claims for high earners, a revised remedies frame...

In this episode of our Defensible Decisions podcast, Scott Kelly (shareholder, Birmingham) and Nonnie Shivers (office managing shareholder, Phoenix) discuss the EEOC’s January 2025 vote to rescind the Biden-era anti-harassment guidance, which had addressed gender identity issues including pronouns, bathroom access, and misgendering. Scott, who is chair of the firm’s Workforce Analytics and Complia...

In this episode of our Defensible Decisions podcast, Scott Kelly (Birmingham/Washington, D.C.), who is chair of the firm’s Workforce Analytics and Compliance Practice Group, is joined by Kiosha Dickey (Columbia) and Jay Patton (Birmingham) to discuss the increasingly complex landscape of workforce reporting requirements for 2026 and beyond. The speakers cover essential federal obligations like the...

In this podcast, shareholders Kevin Bland (Orange County) and Karen Tynan (Sacramento) discuss Cal/OSHA’s February 2026 proposed rulemaking on walkaround inspections, which would significantly expand who may accompany inspectors during workplace safety inspections—including third-party representatives authorized by employees. Kevin and Karen, who is chair of the firm’s Workplace Safety and Health...

In this episode of our  Litigation Lens  podcast series, shareholders Michael Nail (Greenville) and Sarah Zucco (New York) analyze  Dudnauth v. A.B.C. Carpet & Home Inc. , a case from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York involving disability discrimination and wage and hour claims under New York state law. Michael and Sarah discuss how the court granted summary judgmen...

In part two of this episode of our  Defensible Decisions  podcast, shareholders Scott Kelly (Birmingham) and Lauren Hicks (Indianapolis/Atlanta) continue their conversation on the nuts and bolts of AI bias audits, focusing on defensible documentation, practical hypotheticals, and remediation strategies. The speakers unpack risks in résumé screeners, promotion and retention-risk models, and “human...

In this installment of our Payroll Brass Tax podcast series, Mike Mahoney (shareholder, Morristown/New York) is joined by Stephen Kenney (associate, Dallas) and Stephen Riga (counsel, Minneapolis/Indianapolis) to discuss how nondiscrimination testing rules under Internal Revenue Code Sections 125, 105(h), and 129 affect payroll and tax reporting for cafeteria plans, self-insured health plans, and...

In this episode of our Defensible Decisions podcast, Scott Kelly (shareholder, Birmingham) and Nonnie Shivers (office managing shareholder, Phoenix) discuss the EEOC’s January 2026 vote to reclaim authority over most enforcement litigation from its Office of General Counsel, reversing decades of delegation. Scott, who is chair of the firm’s Workforce Analytics and Compliance Practice Group, and No...

In this episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Diana Nehro (shareholder, New York/Boston), who is the chair of the Cross-Border Practice Group, and Maya Barba (associate, San Francisco) unpack Denmark’s parental leave model and discuss what employers should know for leave management and workforce planning in Denmark. The speakers explain the phased structure that gives each parent th...

In part one of this episode of our Defensible Decisions podcast, Scott Kelly (shareholder, Birmingham) sits down with Lauren Hicks (shareholder, Indianapolis/Atlanta) to unpack how AI is actually used across the talent lifecycle—and why “human in the loop” isn’t a compliance shield. The speakers break down what a credible, privileged bias audit entails, how to pair fairness testing with effectiven...

In this episode of our Defensible Decisions podcast, Scott Kelly (shareholder, Birmingham) sits down with Nonnie Shivers (office managing shareholder, Phoenix) to discuss the implications for employers following EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas’s social media video soliciting discrimination charges from white males. Scott, who is chair of the firm’s Workforce Analytics and Compliance Practice Group, and No...