Hour #1: Religion in the WorkplacePresented By Ed HaroldRegional Managing PartnerFisher Phillips New Orleans While the nation as a whole is experiencing a decline in people identifying as religious, the increasing diversity of the country and the influx of immigrants has led to the presence of a greater variety of religions. Title VII’s protection of religion requires employers to walk a fine line when balancing against the rights of employees to talk about religion in the workplace and the rights of employees to not be harassed on account of religion in the workplace. Employers also have an obligation to accommodate the religious practices of their employees from attending services to modes of hair and dress. This session will discuss best practices for handling an employer’s obligations. Hour #2: Discipline and the Discharge ProcessPresented By Michelle AndersonPartnerFisher Phillips New Orleans In an era where company personnel decisions are becoming increasingly scrutinized, the importance of documentation of employee performance and compliance is paramount. Decisions to discipline or discharge are often difficult, and further complicated by the lack of consistent management and/or documentation. Unfortunately, by the time these matters reach the in-house counsel, decisions have been made and even executed upon that create legal exposure for the company. This session will focus on what in-house counsel can do to manage these processes from the inception, as well as how to handle challenges that arise with discipline and discharge matters.