Disability Employment Month Awareness Conference
Date: Oct 31, 2024 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: New Jersey Law Center, and Online
Member Price: $195.00
Non-Member Price: $244.00
Section Price: $183.00
Areas of Law: Elder & Disability Law, Labor & Employment, School
Earn up to 6.7 credits! (More Information)
Keynote
Moderator
- Ayesha Krishnan Hamilton, Esq.
- Hamilton Law Firm PC, Princeton
- Beth C. Manes, Esq.
- Manes & Weinberg, LLC, Mountainsideis a Partner in Manes & Weinberg, Special Needs Lawyers, LLC in Mountainside, New Jersey. She concentrates her practice in special education law, special needs planning, guardianships, trust advocacy and estate planning.
Admitted to practice in New Jersey and before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, Ms. Manes is a member and Past Chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Solo-Small Firm Section and a member of the NJSBA’s Elder and Disability Law Section and Education Law Committee, as well as the New Jersey Special Education Practitioners. She is a member of the Union County Bar Association, serves as Co-Chair of the Association’s Trusts, Estates and Elder Law Committee and is a member of the Union County Probate Early Settlement Panel. A member of the Board of Directors of Don’t Hide It, Flaunt It!, Ms. Manes is Past President of the Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of New Jersey, Inc., which provides lifetime advocacy for people with special needs. She is a member of the Special Needs Alliance, a national organization of attorneys who work with families with special needs.
Ms. Manes served as a hearing panel chair for the State of Delaware Department of Education, overseeing special education hearings. She has lectured on special needs children in divorce topics for CLE courses and for community groups, and has raised puppies for The Seeing Eye since 2012. She is the recipient of several honors.
Ms. Manes received her B.A., cum laude, from Brandeis University, where she was the recipient of several awards and inducted into Pi Sigma Alpha. She received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was a member of the Environmental Moot Court Team, won the Best Oralist award and was the Coordinating Editor of Production of the Michigan Journal of Gender and Law.
(8/23)
Presenters
- Joe Nardini
- Employment Specialist for Youth and Adults With Special Needs
Can Do Work, Union - Jody Litwin Paul, MA, CCC-SLP
- Executive Functioning Coach, Westfield
- Angela C. Scheck
- Executive Director, New Jersey State Bar Association, New Brunswick
- Janna Sheiman
- Managing Attorney, Disability Rights New Jersey
- Jessica Weinberg, Esq.
- Manes & Weinberg, Mountainside
Presented in cooperation with the New Jersey State Bar Foundation
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month! Mark this important month with a practical program that will examine what it means to have a disability and the rights of those with disabilities from every angle. The day will consist of two impactful plenary sessions – one on a personal explanation of disability and accommodation and one that is an interactive session with fact patterns and vignettes – and several breakout sessions that will enhance your understanding and awareness of disability in employment.
You won’t want to miss this special presentation.
Program Agenda:
- 9:00 | Introduction
- 9:05 | Plenary Session – Defining “Disability” and the Accommodations that are Needed
In this powerful plenary session for both lawyers and the public, you will hear from a panel that includes attorneys who have impairments. Disability includes obvious physical impairments, but also impairments that are not visible such as mental and emotional disability, diabetes, Crone’s disease or brain fog. The panelists will take an unvarnished look at what it means to be disabled and examine disability in employment from both the employer and employee side of the equation. They will explore what an employer can ask in an interview and accommodations that should be provided. They will also explore when someone with a disability should disclose and what to disclose, some practical ways an impaired employee can advocate for themselves and some transition planning that should be done when moving from school to the work force. - 10:30 | Break
- 10:40 | Breakout Session – Choose from 2 Seminars
Breakout Session 1: For the Public – What are Your Rights and How Can Use Exercise Them?
This will be a discussion for non-lawyers about disability and accommodation. People understand that they have “rights,” but this will specifically explore what those rights are and then look at the practical ways an employee or job applicant should ask for accommodations. Hear from Janna Sheiman, the Legal Director of Disability Rights New Jersey, about how that organization helps improve the lives of people with disabilities, with the goal of creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive society.
The panelists will provide an overview of ADA and the FMLA and discuss what is considered “reasonable” for permanent and temporary disabilities and talk about intermittent leave. They will also discuss resources available to the public that will help impaired workers empower themselves.
- Moderator: Ayesha Krishnan Hamilton, Esq.
- Presenters: Angela C. Scheck and Janna SheimanBreakout Session 2: Employment Law for Non-Employment Lawyers
This segment is designed for the attorney who is not an employment lawyer but needs to know about employment law for themselves or their clients. Experienced employment lawyers will review what should be in an employment handbook, why employers should conduct employee trainings and what those should entail, the plusses and pitfalls of using AI in hiring including disability bias, and legal obligations of a company to provide appropriate accommodations. The panel will also look at recent caselaw about the need to provide accommodations that may not be obvious, such as a retail store recently being sued because their website didn’t comply with a user experience for disability. - 12:00 | Lunch
- 12:45 | Breakout Session – Choose from 2 seminars
Breakout Session 1: Disability Employment Law and TechnologyTechnology is a great solution for marketing, websites, recruiting and interviewing, but it comes with pitfalls. This session will focus on what you need to know to maximize efficiency and effectiveness while avoiding some of the undesirable effects of using AI and other tech. Topics include using A.I. in the recruitment process while avoiding disability bias, what your website designer needs to know in order to be ADA compliant, and what marketing professionals want you to know about legal marketing.
Breakout Session 2: How to Prepare Your Clients for Successful Employment
Your clients may be entitled to training and other resources to prepare them for employment. How can they receive the resources the state is supposed to provide? Join Jessica Weinberg, Esq., a special education attorney, Janna Sheiman, Esq. from Disability Rights New Jersey, Jody Paul, an executive functioning coach and Joe Nardini, a job coach, for this practical look at the resources available at every stage. Whether your client is still in school, preparing to enter the workforce or is a long-time employee who needs new supports, this segment will provide the insight you need.
- Moderator: Jessica Weinberg, Esq.
- Presenters: Janna Sheiman; Joe Nardini and Jody Litwin Paul, MA, CCC-SLP - 2:00 | Break
- 2:10 | Plenary Session – Vignettes and Scenarios
Wrap up the day with a fun, interactive panel with plaintiff and defense attorneys as they discuss how they would handle certain scenarios presented through fact patterns. Each fact pattern will contain a potential claim or claims, and both sides will discuss how they would argue for their clients. Join in the conversation by giving your opinion too!
- 3:55 | Wrap Up
- 4:00 | Reception
Important Information About Our Events, Meetings, and More:
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Cancellation and Refund Policy:
If you need to cancel your registration and are not transferring to another program or date, please submit a written request to us at least three business days before the event, meeting, or gathering. You will receive a refund minus a $20.00 cancellation fee. No refunds or registration changes will be issued within three business days of the event, meeting, or gathering.
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