The COVID-19 pandemic and the George Floyd protests have created unprecedented diversity & inclusion issues for companies. Join McCarter & English’s Labor & Employment attorneys in exploring these issues on July 21, from 9:30-10:45 a.m.
Presenters: Moy N. Ogilvie and Hugh F. Murray, III
As the economy cautiously reopens after months of COVID-19 generated restrictions, employers face a myriad of concerns from developing return-to-work plans to re-igniting business after the most sudden economic downturn in almost a century. As the recent protests and demonstrations have emphasized, however, efforts at addressing diversity and inclusion in the workplace cannot take a back seat to other pressing concerns. Diversity and inclusion is, arguably, the most important work a business can do right now to strengthen employee engagement and to ensure a cohesive, productive, and resilient workforce – both while working remotely and upon the return to the workplace.
Discussed will be the legal backdrop for successful diversity and inclusion efforts as will an outline of the tools employers need for a legal and effective program to create a dynamic, diverse, effective, and inclusive culture.
The program will cover:
· The laws surrounding workplace discrimination, affirmative action, and diversity;
· The role that inherent and systemic bias plays in individual workplaces, and how to identify and address that role within the law· The role of formal diversity and inclusion training and programs – what works and what doesn’t, and how best to develop programs suited to a business’s pre-existing culture and goals;
· Best practices for diversity and inclusion while working remotely, and how to avoid losing existing progress and momentum on the diversity and inclusion front; and
· What the future holds for workplace diversity and inclusion programs.