As we approach the third year of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), the legal and compliance landscape continues to evolve rapidly. This session will explore how the PWFA has matured through agency enforcement, emerging litigation trends, and real-world accommodation challenges. We’ll examine the impact of the new EEOC administration, recent court decisions—including constitutional challenges—and the growing complexity of integrating PWFA compliance with ADA, Title VII, and state-level requirements.

The interaction and application of the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act remain persistent and complex issues for employers. Leading a perennial must-attend session at the Compliance Conference, Littler attorneys Ellen Donovan McCann and Jeff Nowak will review significant FMLA and ADA case law developments over the previous year, identify emerging case law trends and discuss recurring issues that continue to get courts’ attention. On a practical level, they will assess the impact of the cases on day-to-day practice in the management of employees with medical conditions. And as always, their case studies and some of the wild fact patterns will keep us laughing.

Accommodation requests are on the rise, and not all can be approved as-is. HR teams need effective strategies for navigating difficult requests, especially when operational constraints come into play. This session focuses on how to maintain compliance while preserving trust and collaboration during the interactive process. Attendees will learn how to guide conversations, propose alternatives, and document every step with care.

Accommodation requests are on the rise, and not all can be approved as-is. HR teams need effective strategies for navigating difficult requests, especially when operational constraints come into play. This session focuses on how to maintain compliance while preserving trust and collaboration during the interactive process. Attendees will learn how to guide conversations, propose alternatives, and document every step with care.

With over 45 locations across the United States now requiring employers to provide some form of Paid Sick Leave (PSL), we will focus on highlighting key trends we are seeing in emerging and updated PSL regulations. Employers must be aware of where employees are actually performing their work, and ensuring their PSL policies are compliant with specific state/local requirements. We also explore options for employers that utilize a Paid Time Off (PTO) policy to comply with PSL requirements. In either situation, we are seeing cities, counties, and states that are becoming more and more employee-friendly by requiring PSL for more covered leave reasons, allowing absences to care for more family members, and requiring employers to provide more accrued paid time off than ever before. This session aims to equip employers with the knowledge needed to navigate this evolving landscape effectively.

Supervisors are often the first point of contact for employees requesting accommodations but without the right training, they can also be your greatest liability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This session dives into the critical role supervisors play in ensuring ADA compliance, and how even well-meaning managers can unintentionally trigger violations that lead to costly consequences.

Through real-world examples, you’ll learn how to turn your supervisors into knowledgeable, empowered allies in your ADA compliance strategy. Discover what they must know about the interactive process, confidentiality, documentation, and how to recognize when to involve Human Resources.

You’ll walk away with a practical training framework and tools you can implement immediately to reduce risk and build a stronger, more inclusive workplace.

Welcome to the HR Huddle—where real-world claims meet real-time compliance decision-making. In this interactive discussion, we’ll bring to life actual questions submitted by employers through the DMEC Weekly Digest. Each scenario will unfold like a claim review discussion:

• The problem
• Proposed solution
• Practical guidance and legal considerations

Together, we’ll navigate the tangled threads of FMLA, ADA, PWFA, and PFML—unpacking the gray areas, thoughtfully applying new or enhanced state laws, debating the tough calls, and delivering verdicts that balance compliance with compassion. Whether you’re in HR, legal, or claims, this session will sharpen your instincts and spark new ideas.

We’ve all heard the buzz about Artificial Intelligence and how it is transforming the way we live and work. In this workshop, our expert panel will explore the role AI is playing in absence and disability administration, and how adopters are ensuring ethical and compliant practices. We’ll start with a primer on the different levels of AI, from data mining and machine learning to generative and reasoning AI. The panel will then discuss considerations for incorporating technology into business processes and the governance needed to ensure that the practical applications align with compliance and legal frameworks. Finally, we’ll provide case studies highlighting how AI has been successfully implemented to support absence and disability management.

The goal of this session will be for the audience to gain a better understand and help navigating the approximately 30% – 40% of the workforce who are in perimenopause or menopause. We will highlight how some accommodation laws (ADA, PWFA) or leave laws (FMLA, State) have broadened their definitions and may encompass some menopausal symptoms. In this panel discussion, we will bring together employers and industry leaders in the Wellbeing space who have direct practical experience with this topic to showcase and ever evolving trend in Absence.

This session explores the critical but often underutilized role of vocational rehabilitation professionals in conducting effective and legally compliant Good Faith Interactive Meetings (GFIMs) under the ADA. Participants will gain a structured approach to evaluating functional limitations, engaging in interactive accommodation planning, and mitigating risk through documentation aligned with HR industry standards. Emphasizing collaboration between HR and rehab professionals, this session will showcase how a proactive, individualized process can result in sustainable return-to-work strategies especially in complex or contested cases. Attendees will leave with tools and scripts to drive inclusive, effective accommodation outcomes that reduce legal exposure and promote retention.