For Immediate Release
Contact: Carol Morgan: (712) 242-2131
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“Workplace Behavior Problems: A Legal Guide for Employers”
Council Bluffs, IOWA – The Southwest Iowa Employers’ Council and Iowa Workforce Development will be hosting a training session for employers, “Workplace Behavior Problems: A Legal Guide for Employers.” This training will be held on Wednesday, March 12, 2008, from 11:30 to 2:30 pm. at the Public Library Theater Room in Council Bluffs. All employers, supervisors, human resource personnel, recruiters, attorneys, paralegals, business owners, line managers and payroll staff are invited to attend. Pre-registration is requested by Friday, March 7th to Carol Morgan, (712) 242-2131 or
. There is a minimal registration fee to attend which includes handouts, lunch and meeting expenses. A certificate of attendance will be provided to attendees for recertification purposes. The Public Library is located at 400 Willow Ave, Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Featured speaker will be Jill Finken, practicing attorney with Heidman, Redmond, Fredregill, Patterson, Plaza, Dykstra & Prahl Law office in Sioux City, Iowa. Ms. Finken graduated from the Law School at Drake University in Des Moines at the top of her class in 2004. She was an active member of the Drake Law Review and acted as the Executive Editor in 2003-2004. She authored “The Americans with Disabilities Act: An End to Discrimination Against HIV/AIDS Patients or Simply Another Loophole to Bypass?” which was published in the Drake Law Review.
Prior to joining the Heidman Law Firm, Jill served as law clerk to the Honorable Judge Robert E Mahan, Iowa Court of Appeals, Des Moines, IA for one year. She relocated to Sioux City in 2005 and served as law clerk to the Honorable Mark W. Bennett, Federal Judge, in the Northern District of Iowa. Jill’s current practice area primarily includes employment, labor and business litigation. She is a member of the Woodbury County Bar Association, the Iowa Bar Association and the American Bar Association. Jill is an active member of the Iowa Army National Guard and currently serves her country and state as a Judge Advocate. She is educated in military justice and was named as the Distinguished Honor Graduate in 2007 from her Officer Basic Course at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School, located on the campus of the University of Virginia.
Program topics include:
• Monitoring your workforce: handling problems before they begin
• Behavioral concerns: the impact of employee absences, how to set up an absenteeism policy, statutory compliance issues such as FMLA and other employee leave protections
• How to keep problem employees from affecting the morale of their co-workers
• Workplace violence
• Violence at home: effects on the workplace
• Harassment
• How to handle the employee who lacks “soft skills”
• Addressing performance issues: training supervisors
• Discipline issues
• What steps you can take to administer progressive discipline with your workers (and how to avoid claims of discrimination or retaliation in the process)
• Recordkeeping and implementation; effective documentation
• Limits of “at will” employment, especially when dealing with workers who are in protected classes doe to their age, disability, gender, national origin, race or religion
• Mistakes many employers make when terminating problem employees (and how to avoid them!)
The Southwest IA Employers’ Council is a local employer group supported by Iowa Workforce Development Region 13, and is part of the statewide Employers’ Council of Iowa system. This employer’s group addresses workforce issues, and provides both educational and networking opportunities for employers and human resource professionals.
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