Promoting and enhancing the quality of impartial workplace investigations.™
Credit Available - See Credits tab below.
Total Credits: 1.0 CA Elimination of Bias
Terms such as “war on terror” and “law and order” sound innocuous yet can be coded, racially-charged language. Dog whistling is intended to communicate an objectionable idea to some, while escaping the notice of others. By contrast, microaggressions are often unconscious and unintended. They can be harmful nonetheless. “Complimenting” an African American employee for being “articulate” or asking an Asian American employee, “Where are you from?” are problematic, regardless of the speaker’s intent. Left unchecked, this type of conduct can rise to the level of creating a hostile work environment.
Both issues can be challenging to investigate. Important questions for investigators are: How do you investigate these types of allegations and how do you differentiate between the two? What factual findings are helpful to a decision maker? How much evidence is sufficient? What should an investigator do when the list of incidents becomes unmanageable? How do you determine intent?
Learning Objectives
Webinar attendees will be able to:
Disclaimer: The contents of this webinar and the positions taken are those of the presenter only, may be time sensitive, and are not warranted, endorsed or otherwise recommended by AWI and are not intended to provide legal advice.
Cancellation Policy: If you must cancel your webinar registration and do so on or before Monday, January 24, your webinar registration fee will be refunded. To cancel your registration, email Julia Renner at JuliaR@awi.org. There will be no refunds for cancellations received after Monday, January 24.
California Elimination of Bias in the Legal Profession MCLEs: 1.0
| AWI-January-Webinar-PPT-Handout-2022.pdf (346.8 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
Christina J. Ro-Connolly, AWI-CH is a Partner with Oppenheimer Investigations Group LLP. Tina has over a decade of labor and employment law experience and joined the firm after serving for 11 years at the Contra Costa County Counsel’s Office, advising departments on legal matters for a workforce of approximately 9,000 employees. Such legal matters included employee discipline, employee complaints, discrimination complaints, wage and hour complaints, alleged labor violations, and labor negotiations. Tina has conducted numerous investigations with Oppenheimer Investigations Group, many of which included allegations against elected officials and high-level executives. Tina leads AB1825 trainings, workplace investigator trainings, and bias trainings and also conducts audits of internal workplace investigations. Tina is a member of the California State Bar and the Contra Costa County Bar Association, a sustaining member of AWI, and a graduate of AWI’s Training Institute for Workplace Investigators. Tina is also an AWI Certificate Holder (AWI-CH) and has also received the certificate from T9 Mastered to conduct Title IX investigations. Tina is also a Member of the Executive Committee of the California Lawyers Association, Labor and Employment Section, as well as a member of the AWI Institute Committee.
Vida Thomas, AWI-CH, has conducted well over 200 workplace investigations and is experienced in complying with Title IX, Title 5, the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights, and the Firefighters Procedural Bill of Rights. She has considerable experience investigating matters within a union setting and is particularly adept at investigating complex matters involving high-profile employers and individuals. Vida frequently trains attorneys and human resources professionals on how to conduct legally effective workplace investigations. Vida has practiced employment law for more than two decades, with years of experience in advising employers on all aspects of employment law and human resources management. She also serves as an expert witness in state and federal employment lawsuits, and mediates litigation and non-litigation matters. Vida assists parties and attorneys in resolving employment claims, including but not limited to harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claims; wrongful termination claims; failure to accommodate and statutory leave violations; whistleblowing claims; wage and hour violations; and invasion of privacy claims. Vida also routinely conducts sexual harassment prevention training (including AB1825 compliance training) for state agencies and private companies. She teaches human resources professionals and EEO officers how to conduct effective workplace investigations, and teaches managers and supervisors how to implement legally effective performance reviews. Clients have complimented Vida’s knack for making the law accessible, explaining complex legal concepts in a way that is both thorough and easy to understand. She believes training is most effective when it provides concrete, useful tips for navigating today’s complicated and highly regulated workplace. She has advised clients and conducted dozens of seminars on the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, employee drug testing and sexual harassment investigations. Before joining the Oppenheimer Investigations Group, Vida was an of counsel attorney with Stoel Rives LLP and Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin Law Corporation. She began her legal career as an employment litigator at Kronick Moskovitz and then co-founded Carlsen Thomas, LLP, a boutique employment law firm that offered workplace investigations and employee training throughout