March Meeting -
Five Years Later: How the Pandemic Reshaped Employment Law
PRESENTER: Nicole Kamm & Kely Blackburn
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
11:30am - 1:pm
Explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally reshaped employment law, workplace policies, and employee-employer dynamics over the past five years. From the rapid adoption of remote and hybrid work models to the rise of health and safety mandates, businesses have had to navigate evolving legal frameworks around sick leave, accommodations, and wage and hour requirements. The presentation highlights landmark legal developments, including new precedents around flexible work arrangements, worker classification, and privacy considerations. By reflecting on these changes, this session provides actionable insights for employers and HR professionals to future-proof workplace policies, balance compliance with employee well-being, and adapt to the long-term shifts brought about by the pandemic.
About Kely: As a well-established HR professional with a solid record working in both private and public sectors, Kely has supported hundreds of businesses of various industry verticals to elevate their business operations to meet the everchanging landscape of doing business in CA. In June 2024, Kely launched Waterfront HR, a boutique HR firm that allows Kely to bring “the Human” from the foreground of business operations and design HR programs that revolutionize the role of HR into a strategic people partner - bridging the gap between business processes and its people. At Waterfront HR, Kely crafts strategic people initiatives that foster positive workplace culture, driving strategic initiatives and aligning human capital with business objectives while ensuring people and process work hand-in-hand.
About Nicole: Nicole Kamm is a partner in Fisher Phillips’ Woodland Hills and Los Angeles offices. She represents a broad range of clients, from small businesses to national companies, in a variety of industries, including healthcare, technology, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, construction, transportation and professional services. Nicole defends employers and provides dispute resolution counsel against individual, and class claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and wage and hour violations before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. Nicole also provides strategic counsel and management training on employment issues that arise in the workplace, including hiring, discipline and termination decisions, leaves of absence, reductions in force and compliance issues arising under Title VII, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, the California Family Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the California Labor Code and Industrial Welfare Commission wage orders, and the federal and California Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
Nicole has handled a full range of labor and employment matters, including claims before the Department of Labor, EDD, EEOC, and California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE). Nicole regularly advises employers on preventive steps to minimize potential exposure arising from issues such as wage and hour compliance, independent contractor classification, and mass lay off strategies.
Regular: Boneless Chicken Breast with wild rice dressing
Vegetarian: Grilled Portabella
Dessert: Apple Pie
Meeting Locaton:
Garden Room
Madonna Inn
100 Madona Road
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Register: Click Here
April Meeting
Tuesday, April 8, 2025
11:30a-1:00p
Regular: Chicken Parmesan
Vegetarian: Penne Pasta
Dessert: Carrot Cake
Meeting Locaton:
Garden Room
Madonna Inn
100 Madona Road
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Register: Click Here
May Meeting
PRESENTER: Kathy Eppright
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
11:30am-1pm
Kathy Eppright is the Chairman of the Adre, Morris and Buttery's Employment Law Practice Group and a member of the firm’s Civil Litigation, Business and Real Estate Transactions, Hospitality and Wine & Agribusiness Practice Groups. Kathy’s practice focuses on employment litigation, counseling and workplace investigations. This combination of experience has given Kathy a unique perspective on dispute resolution. In the field of employment law in particular, Kathy frequently provides pre-litigation counseling to assist clients in preventing future personnel claims and disputes.
Regular: Mediterranean Sandwich
Vegetarian: Veggie Mediterranean Sandwich
Dessert: Caramel Dutch Apple Cobbler
Meeting Locaton:
Garden Room
Madonna Inn
100 Madona Road
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Register: Click Here