Total Credits: 1.5 CLE
In this seminar, you will learn what employers may and may not do when their rights cross with their employees’ rights. Specifically, this presentation will focus on the issue of mandating vaccines, the ability of employees to comment on vaccination requirements, and employees’ NLRA Section 7 rights as they relate to COVID-19 “Gag Rules” in the workplace.
Speakers:
Thom K. Cope – Mesch Clark & Rothschild PC
Denise M. Blommel – Denise M. Blommel, PLLC
Cornele Overstreet – NLRB Regional Director for Region 28
Chairpersons:
James Driscoll-MacEachron, EEOC
Melissa Posner Jarrett, Gammage & Burnham PLC
Jacob Valdez, Farhang & Medcoff PLLC
| 03.29.2021 Mandating Vaccines and the COVID Gag Rule Manual.pdf (1 MB) | Available after Purchase | ||
| Questions for and Answers from Denise and Thom.pdf (135 KB) | Available after Purchase | ||
Thom Cope is a Partner who practices in Mesch Clark & Rothschild's Employment and Labor Section. Thom is licensed to practice in Nebraska, California and Arizona. He has served as a judge in the area of public employment law and is listed in Best Lawyers in America, Arizona’s Finest Lawyers, and Southwest Super Lawyers. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates an honorary association of trial lawyers. He was awarded the 2021 Outstanding Achievement Award. Rogers/Hayden Award by the Labor and Employment Section of the Arizona State Bar assn.
Thom has tried over 80 jury trials to verdict, in all areas of Employment Law, represented numerous clients in EEOC, Wage & Hour cases, and before the National Labor Relations Board in 49 years of practice. Additionally, he is a volunteer Mediator/Trainer for the Arizona Civil Rights Division of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. His book, “How Not to be a Stupid Manager was updated in January 2022.
Denise M. Blommel is an attorney in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of Arizona and Nevada. Her practice centers on the employer-employee relationship.
Denise is a former Field Attorney with the National Labor Relations Board and a former Assistant Chief Counsel of the Industrial Commission of Arizona. She represents employers and employees in employment and labor matters.
Denise belongs to the State Bar of Arizona, State Bar of Nevada, the American Bar Association, the Scottsdale Bar Association, and the Arizona Employment Lawyers Association. She is President-Elect of the State Bar of Arizona’s Senior Lawyers Division.
Denise was awarded the State Bar of Arizona’s Member of the Year for 1998-1999. She was also awarded the State Bar Employment & Labor Law Section Member of the Year in 2014. Denise is one of the authors of the State Bar’s Arizona Employment Law Handbook and a co-author of articles in the January 2022, January 2021, and December 2013 State Bar’s Arizona Attorney about the State Board of Education’s expanded jurisdiction, COVID-19 in the Workplace, and the Affordable Care Act; and two articles in the April 1994 and April 1998 Arizona Attorney about Workers' Compensation, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family Medical Leave Act. Denise served as Chair of the Employment & Labor Law and Co-Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Law Sections of the State Bar of Arizona.
Denise holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Economics, with Highest Distinction (Summa Cum Laude), Honors, Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi, from the University of Arizona. She serves on the Advisory Board to the Honors College at the University of Arizona. Her law degree is from Arizona State University. Denise and her Moot Court teammates placed second in the nation in the National Moot Court competition – team, brief, and speaker.
Denise is a frequent presenter for government, business, educational and community groups. She taught Human Resources Law for the ASU Master of Legal Studies Program in 2014 and 2015 and was active with the former ASU Law Group.
Denise is a mediator with the U.S. Postal Service. She and her husband, Don Doerres, are regular presenters of “Soft Skills for a Hard World,” a seminar to improve workplace communication and resolve conflict. Denise and Don belong to the University of Iowa Alumni Association and Denise is a life member of both the ASU and U of A Alumni Associations.
Denise served on the Board of Directors for 20 years for Girl Scouts – Arizona Cactus-Pine Council. The Girl Scouts awarded Denise the Thanks Badge in 2000; the Thanks Badge II in 2005, and the Impact Award in 2020, their highest volunteer honors. She currently serves as Chair of the Council’s Personnel Committee. Denise and Don live in Scottsdale and are active at St. Patrick Catholic Community.
Denise's website is at www.azlaborlaw.com. Her telephone number is 480-247-7477 and her mailing address is 6945 E. Sahuaro, Suite 125, Scottsdale, AZ 85254. Her email address is denise@azlaborlaw.com.
Mr. Overstreet joined the NLRB in 1978 as a Field Attorney in the Indianapolis Regional Office. He transferred to the Las Vegas Resident Office in 1988. In the interim, he served details in Puerto Rico and Philadelphia. Mr. Overstreet transferred to headquarters in September 1991, where he served as Deputy Assistant General Counsel, in operations. Mr. Overstreet was named Regional Director in Region 28, Phoenix on August 8, 1996. A native of Chicago, Mr. Overstreet did his undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin. He received his law degree from the University of Illinois. While in law school, Mr. Overstreet worked during the summer of 1977 at the NLRB Indianapolis office, and was elected to serve as the student member of the university’s Board of Trustees for 1977-78. Mr. Overstreet is married to Dona Nutini. He has a son, Christopher, age 24. To keep his mind sharp, Cornele enjoys creating crossword puzzles. For keeping his body fit he plays a very competitive game of tennis. However, when it comes to the palate he is a practicing gourmet chef who enjoys cooking “Classical French” food but also cooks the “New American” style.