Managing your workplace in a troubled economy

At a must see event for any human resources or facilities manager, Nancy Schess, a prominent New York-based labor attorney, delivered an informative and highly entertaining discussion. Schess is a partner at Klein, Zelman, Rothermel, LLP a boutique firm that concentrates on labor and employment marketing promotions and communications law. Her over 20 years of experience were evident as she effortlessly took the assembled IFMA members through a myriad of complex issues. As her practice focus is primarily defending corporations and employers, Schess provided a wealth of free legal advice to assist in keeping the workplace "kosher" and free of any actionable violations. Working under the credo of "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," Schess and her colleagues at Klein, Zelman, Rothermel work closely with clients to develop, implement and monitor strongly defensible corporate policies and procedures that protect employers and corporations from the current onslaught of employment related legal filings. Apparently, as the recession creeps deeper and deeper into people's professional lives, employment related actions are on the upswing. As Schess predicts, this will only continue to rise. With a complex mix of often contradicting statutes, the landscape in New York State can be described as the "wild, wild west." New regulations and cases are coming down at dizzying rates as the government attempts to regulate every aspect of running a business with respect to a whole host of issues affecting workplace relationships. Stewart Feitel is with Eagle Transfer Corporation and is an IFMA PR committee member.