News

Near-capacity crowd at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City on April 23, 2013.

The theme for EmployerLINC 2013, “Government Gone Wild,” seemed to resonate with employers based on the record number of people who signed up. More than 1,000 business owners, executives, human resources professionals and benefits managers registered for McAfee & Taft‘s annual labor, employment and employee benefits seminar this year, held at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City on April 23 and at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Tulsa on April 26, 2013.

The seminar’s theme reflected the increasingly regulated environment facing businesses today with more rules to follow, costlier penalties and lawsuits to avoid, and increased vigilance on the part of employers in the workplace. Seminar presenters provided timely updates on state and federal laws and agency activities as well as practical guideance for maintaining legal compliance.

The morning session featured six 25-minute presentations focusing on changes to state and federal employment laws and the ever-expanding enforcement activities of the Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, and Occupational Safety & Health Administration. Featured presenters during the morning session included McAfee & Taft employment attorneys Roberta Fields, Lauren Barghols Hanna, Michael Lauderdale, Kathy Neal, Charlie Plumb, Tony Puckett, Natalie Ramsey, Paul Ross, Curtis Thomas and Nathan Whatley.

The afternoon session featured in-depth sessions on two of the timeliest topics in employee benefits law today — health care reform and company-sponsored retirement plans. Featured presenters during the afternoon session included McAfee & Taft employee benefits attorneys Bill Freudenrich, Brandon Long, John Papahronis, Alison Patel and Jim Prince.

McAfee & Taft is one of the nation’s 250 largest law firms as ranked by the National Law Journal and serves clients locally, nationally and internationally in the areas of aviation, business law, corporate and securities, employee benefits, entertainment law, environmental law, healthcare, intellectual property, labor and employment, litigation, oil and gas, real estate and tax and family wealth. The firm employs nearly 350 Oklahomans, including 180 attorneys, and has offices in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa.