Staff Report
Published Oct. 15, 2009

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd P.A. is hosting the fourth annual Midlands Human Resources Law Update on Wednesday. The event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the law firm’s downtown Columbia office, at 1201 Main St.

Registration is required, and the cost is $50.

Presenters for this year’s event will include Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd employment attorneys Elizabeth J.V. “Liz” Speidel, Christine Gantt-Sorenson, Dalhi N. Myers, Wendy J. Keefer and Courtney C. Atkinson. 

“Each day in hundreds of businesses across South Carolina are whispered conversations that focus on staff eliminations, reduced hours for employees, hiring freezes, discrimination and forced retirement. No organization, company or business, regardless of its size, is immune from these tough decisions,” said Speidel, co-leader of the firm’s employment team. “Dealing with people’s lives is stressful, and we hope that our conference will provide those in the HR field with a better understanding of the options available to them.

Speidel compared working in human resources to a soap opera, saying professionals deal with “nothing but problems.” This year’s conference follows that theme in addressing “those hand-wringing, tough decisions that human resource professionals confront daily.”

Topics will include:

• The Days of our Lives: A soap opera for HR professionals (Speidel)
• General Hospital: How does the expansion of the Family Medical Leave Act apply to your employees? (Speidel)
• The Young and the Restless: Are we all “disabled” under the new Americans with Disabilities Act amendments? (Gantt-Sorenson)
• The Bold & The Beautiful: Face“Book”ing the reality of employee use of social networking sites (Myers)
• Passions: How would you define harassment? (Keefer)
• Guiding Light: Do you have a case of the Oinks? The latest on the swine flu epidemic, and the actions companies should be taking to prepare. (Atkinson)

The Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd program has been approved for 3.25 (general) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHAR and GPHR recertification through the Human Resources Certification Institute.

A check for the $50 registration fee, made payable to Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd P.A. can be mailed to Heather Plunkett, P.O. Box 340, Charleston, SC 29402-0340. Reservations and financial arrangements can also be made by calling Plunkett at 843-724-1113 or sending an e-mail. Credit cards will not be accepted.