Professional Growth
Previewing ‘Changing Currents in Employment Law’ CLE: A Deep Dive Into Cutting-Edge Issues
October 24, 2025
In light of the current employment situation for federal workers, implementation of the Pregnant Workers
Fairness Act, and ripple effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, panelists of the D.C. Bar’s CLE course “Changing Currents in Employment Law 2025” will have a lot of ground to cover. This year’s program takes place on October 28 both in person and online from 6 to 9:15 p.m.
The D.C. Bar spoke with R. Scott Oswald, managing principal of the Employment Law Group, who will once again moderate the discussion. Oswald also heads the Bench-Bar Committee of the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association.
Here, Oswald offers a preview of the “Changing Currents in Employment Law” discussion, sharing how 2025 has been a busy year for attorneys practicing in this area.
D.C. Bar: What would you say is the general purpose of this CLE course?
Oswald: The concept is that we choose cutting-edge concepts [and] trends in employment law that are emerging. We then pick really good speakers from both the employee and employer sides to give their perspectives on the current status of the law and what folks should consider in the future. It is a good way to take a look at the crystal ball and see how these cutting-edge topics will develop over time.
D.C. Bar: How have the general trends changed in 2025 with the new administration?
Oswald: Well, in some areas, this new administration has turned employment law on its head. In particular, we will have as one focus the federal workforce. The current administration has put forth some dramatic actions, not only with ultimatums to reduce the federal workforce in the early days of the administration but now with furloughs. We are going to explore how that is impacting the federal workforce and talk about the current status of litigation that is being pursued by unions and other groups of employees that are pushing back.
The other area of dramatic change relates to diversity, equity, and inclusion. This was a topic, for example, that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), prior to the [current] administration, was focusing on. It was a way to diversify your workforce, be a resource for all your employees — a framing that corporations were implementing.
That is very different now. The Trump administration has its sights on what it calls “illegal DEI.” It is not entirely clear what that is, but what we do know is that it has turned this area on its head. And the administration has this perspective for a number of different areas, including with law firms, universities, and corporate America. Corporate America is trying to respond to this, and we’ll explore these issues.
D.C. Bar: Are employment lawyers in our metropolitan area very busy with these federal employee matters?
Oswald: The answer is yes — it is all hands on deck. For law firms like mine, that is pretty much what we spent our entire spring doing, trying to help federal employees navigate the shoals of this. It is having an enormous impact because even employees who are retaining their jobs are being reassigned to far-flung jurisdictions with little notice. And if they can’t or won’t relocate, they are identified for firing.
We’ll explore this as well as many other issues on the panel. We have two very prominent lawyers representing employees and [who] were on the federal Merit Systems Protection Board, and they will identify important issues. Also, there are papers that lawyers on the panel put together. Folks who want to take a deeper dive can do that in the written materials of the program.
D.C. Bar: In covering the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and Loper Bright decision during the discussion, what do you hope attendees will take way from the program?
Oswald: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act came into effect in 2023. It largely has not been adjudicated in the courts yet, but this will become a staple of the employment practice, in my opinion. So, we are going to introduce the subject, talk about trends likely in the future, so that folks are ready — both those who represent employees and those who represent employers.
About Loper Bright, this Supreme Court decision is really a sea change with regard to the deference lawyers and courts give to agencies. It used to be that appropriately issued agency guidance would be given great deference. How is that going to change? How do employers implement policies and procedures if they can’t rely upon guidance from an agency? For employees, can they cite these regulations with the same force? This is relevant across the board because EEOC and the Department of Labor issued significant guidance both to employers and employees earlier.
Because Loper Bright calls into question much of the guidance that EEOC issued, now the question is what kind of deference do we give to that EEOC and Department of Labor guidance and the regulations issued that lawyers took as the law? Our experts will navigate these issues and hopefully give us some guidance.
D.C. Bar: What are some of the case law or local government issues that will be examined by the panelists?
Oswald: Another area that has changed dramatically is post-employment restrictive covenants. During the Biden administration, the National Labor Relations Board and the Federal Trade Commission took a muscular role. The thought was these covenants would no longer be enforced or issued by employers. That has changed. The Trump administration has abandoned those efforts.
We are back to looking at this through a local lens, and that is important because for employers that operate in all three metropolitan jurisdictions, there are different laws and requirements for when you can use these covenants. All of this will now be a local matter and require much more nuanced review of local statutes in these three jurisdictions and in the jurisprudence. Our experts will explore those subjects to give people some guidance.
D.C. Bar: Is there anything else you would like attendees to know about this program?
Oswald: What we feel really wonderful about is the fact that everyone will come away with new information. I will tell you that I am steeped in these issues, and I learn something every time I do one of these programs. We have experts who are thinking about these issues in a very deep way, and they impart that knowledge to us.
Another great thing about “Changing Currents in Employment Law” is that we have both sides, you get both perspectives. I am looking forward to it and coming away with some new information that I can use, and I am confident that those who attend will do the same.
“Changing Currents in Employment Law 2025” features James (Jim) Eisenmann, a partner with the Alden Law Group; Yvette V. Gatling, a shareholder with Littler Mendelson PC; Linda M. Jackson, a partner at ArentFox Schiff LLP; Daniel B. Kohrman, of counsel with Gilbert Employment Law PC; Heather Murray, a senior associate at Erlich Law Office PLLC; Stephanie Rapp-Tully, a partner at Tully Rinckey PLLC; Zakiyyah Salim-Williams, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; Rob Shriver, a managing director at Democracy Forward; J. Thomas Spiggle, founder of The Spiggle Law Firm; and Christopher B. Wilkinson, senior counsel at Perkins Coie LLP. Register here.
