FEDERAL BAR ASSOCIATION LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW SECTION. Board Meeting (via Conference Call) Thursday, February 21, 2013 MINUTES

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1 FBA Labor and Employment Law Section Board Meeting Minutes February 21, 2013 FEDERAL BAR ASSOCIATION LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW SECTION Board Meeting (via Conference Call) Thursday, February 21, 2013 MINUTES The following Board and Committee members participated in the call: Tim Bliss Danielle Brewer Craig Cowart Donna Currault Karleen Green Steve Griffith Jim Hammerschmidt Wanda Pate Jones Kathryn Knight James Noel Anna Park Corie Tarara Additional participants in the call were: Whitney Sedwick Meister Sherwin Valerio I. Introduction and Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 2:04 p.m. EST. Ms. Brewer welcomed Whitney Sedwick Meister. Ms. Sedwick Meister is considering accepting a Chapter Representative position. II. Approval of Minutes Mr. Hammerschmidt moved to approve the minutes from the February 2013 meeting, and Ms. Green seconded the motion. The Board approved the motion unanimously. 1

2 III. Treasurer s Report The Section balance as of December 31, 2012 was $130,303. The Section had $4,200 in revenue from Section dues for the three months ending December 31, 2012 and $2,283 in expenses for the same time period. Mr. Valerio stated that the January financial information will be available within 2-3 weeks. Mr. Hammerschmidt inquired about identifying ways for the Section Board to utilize funds in the Section treasury. Ms. Brewer stated that the new awards program as well as a proposal to be discussed in this meaning for the Section to become a National Convention sponsor are useful ways to utilize funds. Other ideas for future Section activities proposed by Board members during the conversation included: - scholarships; - directory of Section members (Mr. Valerio stated that he will check on a Section portal with a directory on the National website); - support of a moot court program geared toward a Labor and Employment topic; - a random drawing of contributors to Section publication with the winner to receive a sponsored trip to either the Bi-Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference or the National Convention. IV. Report from Chair Ms. Brewer reported that she will represent the Section at the FBA midyear meeting. Half of the trip expenses will be paid by the Section and half will be paid as a result of Ms. Brewer also being a Mississippi delegate to the meeting. Ms. Brewer also reported that she will be speaking at the Circuit Vice Presidents meeting. Finally, Ms. Brewer again expressed her appreciation to Ms. Sedwick Meister for participating in the call and considering a Chapter Representative position. V. Committee Reports A. Committee on Publications and Public Relations Mr. Cowart reported that February Circuit Updates will be distributed in March. Contributors continue to provide updates, and the Circuit Updates will continue to be published on a monthly and/or semi-monthly basis to Section members. 1. Labor and Employment Corner The Labor and Employment Corner will appear in approximately every other edition of The Federal Lawyer during Authors for articles to be published in the March, May, and July 2013 editions have been secured. Prospective authors for the Labor and Employment Corner in September and December have also been identified. 2

3 2. The Labouring Oar The Spring 2013 edition of the newsletter will be published in advance of the Bi-Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference. An additional edition of the newsletter will be published in advance of the 2013 Annual Meeting and Convention. Prospective authors for all newsletter articles have been identified. 3. The Federal Lawyer The January 2014 edition of The Federal Lawyer will be a dedicated issue to Labor and Employment Law. Prospective authors for articles in the dedicated issue have been identified. B. Committee on Programming and CLE 1. 5 th Bi-Annual Labor and Employment Conference Program Ms. Green reported that the Committee had a conference call meeting on February 20. The catering contract has been finalized. The Committee is focused on obtaining sponsorships for the conference. Board members are encouraged to reach out to their own firms and contacts in other firms to encourage sponsorship. Ms. Green will circulate a list of potential sponsors to the Board to help ensure that potential sponsors are contacted. Ms. Green reported that logistics planning for the Conference is going well. Additional details will be provided at the next Board meeting. The deadline for submission of materials from speakers for the Bi-Annual Conference is April 11. Materials should be submitted to Ms. Green Annual Meeting and Convention Ms. Green and Jose Gonzalez are preparing a written proposal for the Labor and Employment Law Section to have a presentation at the 2013 Annual Meeting. The proposal is due on March 8. The Section is requesting a 90 minute segment covering Hot Topics in Labor and Employment Law. Mr. Gonzalez is working to identify representatives of the EEOC and NLRB to speak during the Section presentation. 3

4 C. Standing Committee on Finance and Expenditures The revised Section expense reimbursement policy will be circulated to the Board and discussed at the next Board meeting. D. Standing Committee on Membership and Chapter Relations No report was given. Mr. Valerio stated that he is working to identify FBA members that list Labor and Employment as a practice area but are not Section members so that they can be contacted about joining the Section. E. Standing Committee on Legislation and Congressional Relations Mr. Noel discussed an inquiry from Bruce Moyer concerning the Section advocating positions on certain proposed legislation. Ms. Brewer indicated that the National FBA discourages Sections from taking positions on legislative proposals. The Committee continues to work toward presenting a webinar. F. Standing Committee on Executive Agency Outreach Ms. Park and Ms. Pate Jones reported that representatives of the EEOC and NLRB have been secured as presenters for a webinar with a panel of Administrative Law Judges. A DOL representative will also be identified to participate on the panel. Plans have been adjusted to present the webinar in May after the Bi-Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference has taken place. G. Standing Committee on Employee Benefits No report was given. H. Special Committee on Awards Mr. Hammerschmidt solicited input from the Board concerning awards that should be presented at the National Convention. Ms. Brewer stated that she would like to see multiple awards. Ideas for potential awards discussed included: - outstanding contributions to Section publications; - Pro Bono and/or life achievement award; - Chair award to an outstanding Board/Section/Committee member; - award to a member of the judiciary; - trailblazer award. Board members are encouraged to send suggestions for awards to Mr. Hammerschmidt and Mr. Gonzalez as they work to finalize plans for the presentation of awards. 4

5 VI. Other Business Following a discussion of the possibility of utilizing a free conference call number that would not be toll free, the consensus of the Board was to continue to use the toll free number to ensure that Board members can call in from their workplace. Following a discussion of sponsorship levels for the National Convention, Mr. Hammerschmidt made a motion that the Section seek to become a Bronze sponsor ($2500 contribution). Ms. Pate-Jones seconded the motion, and the motion was approved with no opposition. Becoming a sponsor is required in order to be eligible to sponsor an event during the National Conference. Following a discussion of sponsorship opportunities for events during the National Conference, Mr. Cowart made a motion that the Section seek to sponsor the Friday night reception at a cost of $3500. Ms. Green seconded the motion, and the motion was approved with no opposition. The meeting was adjourned at 3:12 p.m. The next Board meeting is scheduled for March 21,