Denver 2026 Employment and Labor Relations Seminar

Join Taft for a full-day seminar featuring timely insights and practical guidance on the evolving employment and labor landscape. Through engaging general sessions and focused breakout discussions, our attorneys will explore the issues and developments that are shaping today’s workplace. Attendees will leave with practical knowledge and strategies to help navigate emerging challenges and stay ahead in an increasingly complex environment.

Agenda

The Next Chapter in Colorado Employment Law

Speakers: Annie Sturges and Emily England

Colorado employers have seen significant changes in the law in recent years, with new requirements continuing to take effect in 2026 and 2027. This session will address lingering questions surrounding recently enacted law, evolving compliance guidance, and the latest requirements affecting paid leave, pay transparency, demographic reporting, ID retention notification and more.

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Ames and Its Aftermath: What Employers Need to Know

Speaker: Roger Trim

The Supreme Court’s decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services eliminated the heightened requirement some courts applied to discrimination claims brought by members of majority groups. This presentation examines the ruling and its implications for employment litigation, hiring and promotion practices, and performance management.

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Freedom to Post? Handling Employee Speech Outside the Workplace

Speaker: Michael Freimann

Recent months have brought no shortage of headlines about employees being placed on leave or losing their jobs because of posts on social media. But when can a private employer restrict this activity? Learn how the First Amendment and state law operate in this context, along with practical steps employers can take to protect employee rights, workplace culture, and organizational reputation.

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The AI Revolution in HR: New Laws Impacting Recruiting, Hiring, and Employee Management

Speaker: Beau Braswell

AI is reshaping not only how work gets done, but also how employees are screened, interviewed, hired, monitored, promoted, and more. Through a data privacy and employment lens, we will discuss new and emerging legal risks around the use of AI in the HR context and how you as an HR professional can increase efficiency without exposing yourself and your business to lawsuits, penalties, and tech shutdowns. Attendees will leave feeling informed and equipped for the AI-driven future of HR.

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New Challenges in Workplace Privacy and Security

Speaker: Jordan Jennings

Employers face the difficult task of balancing technology adoption with changing legal regulations and their internal best practices. In this brief but fun informational session, we will provide you with the practical things you can do right now to understand how you (and your employees) are using personal data, leveraging artificial intelligence, and possibly increasing your organization’s security risk – all at the same time!

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Employer Obligations Under Shifting Immigration Laws

Speaker: Kreuza Gjezi

The state of immigration law is in flux, with employers navigating recent travel bans, evolving enforcement priorities, and changes to fees. This session will help make sense of these changes and their impact on hiring, compliance, and workforce planning. Attendees will be equipped with action steps for identifying risks, evaluating policies, and addressing work authorization and employee travel concerns.

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Considerations for DEI Practices in the Year Ahead

Speaker: Ray Deeny

This discussion will explain recent DEI-related court decisions and their practical implications for employers, with a focus on decisions relevant to Colorado. Attendees will consider how these rulings may inform the review of workplace policies, training, and employee development programs.

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Building a Safer Workplace

Speaker: Pat Miller

Workplace safety goes beyond regulatory compliance to include recognizing and addressing potential threats. The session will pair an update on OSHA requirements and enforcement priorities with strategies for preventing workplace violence, including assessing vulnerabilities and developing effective incident response procedures.

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What Is Going on at the NLRB!?!

Speaker: Evan Cohn

With a new majority in place and the NLRB now able to issue decisions that overturn established precedent, the Board is poised to chart a new course. For the benefit of both union and non-union employers, this session will contextualize the NLRB’s new status and highlight what you should prepare for in the months ahead.

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Employment Law Considerations in M&A Transactions

Speaker: Jackie Benson

Being on the buy-side or the sell-side of mergers and acquisition transactions can raise a range of employment law considerations for human resources professionals.  This discussion will cover typical employment-related due diligence requests, representations and warranties, and other deal terms and common compliance issues that arise in the M&A context.

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Navigating Employment Class Actions: Strategies, Challenges, and Emerging Issues

Speakers: Carrie Francis and Ashley Cheff

Class and collective action filings in the employment context have risen in recent years, increasing potential exposure for employers. This session will analyze emerging trends and developments in these cases, highlight how they differ from other types of class actions, and explore key procedural and strategic considerations unique to this area.

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AI and the Self-Represented Employee

Speaker: John Melcon

Complaints, demands, and legal claims brought by pro se employees present distinct challenges when AI enters the process. Employers will learn how to evaluate AI-generated correspondence and filings and develop effective responses.

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2026 Developments in Legal and HR Ethics

Speaker: Bill Wright

Bill Wright comes out of retirement to lead a discussion of potential conflict between professional ethics for HR professionals and lawyers. Three brief scenarios contrast HR professionals’ expectations (based on the SHRM Code of Ethics) and lawyers’ applications of the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct. The program meets lawyers’ ethics CLE requirement, while explaining to our HR colleagues why their lawyers appear reluctant to provide services.

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Colorado SHRM, HRCI, and CLE accreditation, including DEI and Ethics, will be available.

Complimentary parking is available. For questions, please contact Denver Events.

We hope to see you at this year’s seminar.