WFHRMA: Employment Law Symposium

WFHRMA: Employment Law Symposium

Friday September 11th 2026, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

The Forum: 2120 Speedway Ave, Wichita Falls, TX 76308

Our Speakers

Dustin A. Paschal

Founding Member

Simon | Paschal PLLC

Texas SHRM State Director

“Mastering Conflict Resolution”

Description:

If there is one thing that is more certain than death and taxes, it is that there will be conflict in the workplace. Learning how to manage that conflict is a critical skill for any HR professional. Hear from a lawyer about how to minimize and manage conflict.

Learning Objectives :

• Attendees will learn the common causes of conflict in the workplace.

• Attendees will learn steps and tips on how to avoid workplace conflict.

• Attendees will learn how to manage workplace conflict when it inevitably arises.

Michael Deponte

Principal & Office Litigation Manager
Jackson Lewis

Michael J. DePonte is a Principal in, and the Litigation Manager for, the Dallas, Texas, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. He is Board Certified in both Labor and Employment Law, as well as Civil Trial Law, by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Of the approximately 90,000 attorneys that are licensed in the State of Texas, only 29 are Board Certified in both of these areas. Mr. DePonte has an extensive litigation and trial background having tried numerous cases in state and federal courts in Texas. Mr. DePonte’s practice focuses on advice and counseling and the litigation of employment claims – including wage and hour issues, class and collective actions, and civil rights claims under state and federal law. Mr. DePonte has defended national and regional employers on a broad range of employment-related issues. He has represented employers before numerous federal and state agencies, and has handled trials and appeals in federal and state courts. Mr. DePonte also provides his clients with general advice and counseling on a broad range of employment and labor issues, prepares and presents training seminars to clients, and has prepared materials for and presented lectures at multiple employment law seminars and human resources workshops. He has presented to organizations across Texas and New Mexico and in 2020 he was inducted to the HR Southwest Conference Speaker Hall of Fame.

John Hagan

Board Certified Labor & Employment Attorney

“How to Manage the Trickiest Pay & Leave Compliance Issues under the FLSA, OBBBA, and the ADA/PWFA”

Description:

This 55-minute program equips HR professionals with a current, Texas-specific compliance framework for wage-and-hour and leave/accommodation obligations. The session opens with the FLSA fundamentals most likely to trigger enforcement exposure — including the unsettled status of the federal salary threshold following the 2024 rule's vacatur — then translates the pay-related provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into concrete payroll and recordkeeping action items. The program then shifts to accommodation practice, walking attendees through a defensible, step-by-step interactive process under the ADA and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), identifying how the Act’s obligations can apply simultaneously to a single employee absence. The session closes with a 90-day compliance action plan attendees can implement immediately.

Learning Objectives:

• Distinguish current FLSA salary-threshold and duties-test obligations from the vacated 2024 rule, and identify the wage-hour practices — misclassification, off-the-clock work, rounding, and improper deductions — most likely to generate DOL or Texas Workforce Commission exposure.
• Apply the Texas Payday Act's pay-frequency, final-pay-timing, and permissible-deduction rules as an independent compliance layer on top of federal FLSA requirements.
• Run a legally defensible, documented interactive accommodation process under the ADA and the PWFA, correctly distinguishing PWFA's broader accommodation standard — including temporary suspension of essential functions — from traditional ADA practice.
• Evaluate a single employee leave or accommodation scenario against FMLA, ADA, PWFA, and Texas-law obligations concurrently, and apply a 90-day action plan to close identified compliance gaps.