McLane Middleton attorneys Susan E. Schorr, Charla Bizios Stevens, and David Wolowitz will be presenting at the National Business Officers Association’s Annual Conference on February 23-26 in Orlando, Florida.
Charla and Susan will be co-presenting on “Independent Schools’ Top Ten Pay Practice Mistakes” on Monday, February 24, which will address the most common mistakes that independent schools make in paying workers, ranging from inappropriately classifying employees as exempt, improperly utilizing independent contractors and interns, and committing pay equity errors with faculty. In a workshop format, this session will use examples drawn from a number of real-life scenarios and guidance literature from state and federal enforcement authorities. Attendees will leave this session better equipped to manage wage and hour compliance concerns.
David will be presenting on “The Benefits of a Behavioral Code of Conduct” on Wednesday, February 26, which will explore how a behavior-based code of conduct supplements and enhances compliance efforts at all stages of the employment process by enabling intervention before rules are broken and significant harm occurs. Participants will learn to create a behavioral code that promotes effective feedback, provides a common vocabulary and contributes to a healthy and safe school culture.
Charla is chair of the firm’s Employment Law Practice Group and practices in the Education and Health Care Practice Groups. Charla regularly advises independent schools regarding crisis and risk management. She writes handbooks and policies related to student and adult issues ranging from bullying, hazing, harassment and discrimination and conducts student safety reviews for independent schools. Charla can be reached in the firm’s Manchester and Woburn offices at (603) 628-1363 or charla.stevens@mclane.com.
Susan is vice chair of the firm’s Education Law Practice Group. She finds solutions to legal questions and challenges faced by independent schools and social service organizations, and manages investigations when serious misconduct is alleged. Grounded in thorough legal analysis, she offers practical advice and responsiveness. With a background as a social worker and current trustee of several non-profit organizations herself, Susan approaches client challenges in a holistic and detail-oriented manner. In the independent school context, Susan works with clients across the United States and is particularly experienced in counseling senior leaders on parent, child and institutional relationships and conflicts, conducting investigations in response to reports of sexual abuse and other serious misconduct, and updating policies and protocols with a focus on risk management and compliance. Susan can be reached in the firm’s Boston office at (857) 305-1960 or susan.schorr@mclane.com.
David is co-chair of the firm’s Education Law Group. He advises independent schools nationwide and internationally on all aspects of risk avoidance and crisis management. The focus of David’s practice is the reinforcing of healthy school cultures which promote child safeguarding. David consults with schools on both prevention of and response to all types of educator misconduct. David is able to offer clients advice based on his years of substantial and varied experience in key legal areas that impact schools, including employment, mental health, contract, criminal, fiduciary and tort law. He is a pioneer in applying behavioral risk management concepts to promote healthy school cultures. David can be reached in the firm’s Portsmouth office at (603) 334-6923 or david.wolowitz@mclane.com.
For additional information about this conference, click here.