On October 9, 2020, a proposed amendment to the EEOC’s procedural rules was published for public comment in the Federal Register. In a press release announcing the publication, the agency explained that its goal in amending the regulations is “to enhance the effectiveness and accountability of the conciliation process.”

IndyBar will be offering free wills to Indy-area residents who cannot afford an attorney on Tuesday, November 10. This offering was originally being offered exclusively to veterans in conjunction with Veteran’s Day; however, we have a few openings still available so we are opening the opportunity up to all residents subject to meeting financial requirements at 150% of the Federal Poverty guidelines.

As 2020 ticks to a close, IndyBar sections and divisions are in the process of evaluating their committee rosters and determining vacancies for 2021. Now is the perfect time to indicate your interest in serving on a committee. While space is limited, every effort will be made to involve anyone expressing interest in some capacity.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will soon have five commissioners for the first time in years after Democrat Jocelyn Samuels was confirmed by the Senate with a 54-42 vote late in September.

Reeling from the COVID fallout, some big law firms are reducing the size of their workforce. Some furloughed employees are now being permanently laid off. Others are being given "stealth layoffs," meaning that associates are told they are being let go due to performance issues, but those issues did not exist until the economic downturn.

In response to COVID-19, the NFL has limited players' off-duty conduct. The goals are to prevent the spread of the virus and to ensure a 2020/2021 football season this year. Will enforcement of the new collective bargaining agreement provisions, which limit certain high-risk behavior, lead to litigation?

The nomination period has begun for the 2021 Board of Directors of the Indianapolis Bar Association, and Kelley Johnson of the Law Office of Kelley J. Johnson LLP  has been appointed to chair the effort. Johnson, who is a past president of the Indianapolis Bar Foundation, will lead a committee of members in selecting a slate of officers for the coming year.

My colleagues and I have been discussing how to assess our workspace needs going forward. We had been thinking about these issues anyway, and the pandemic has seemed to pull us in two directions at once. On one hand, working from home and having staff work from home as well has us wondering how much square footage we need.

The brand new IndyBarHQ facility, opened in 2020, boasts meeting spaces now available for reservation! Our flexible meeting rooms feature state-of-the art technology, reliable wi-fi connectivity and easy access via private street-level entrances.

Check out this tool here for some suggestions to assist employers in making (re)opening decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially to protect vulnerable workers.