Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act: What Employers and Employees Need to Know (Presented by the Federal Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Section)

Moderator, TJ McGrath, General Counsel | Medicare Payment Advisory Commission

T.J. McGrath serves as the General Counsel for the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission advising the Executive Director on legal and business matters. Prior to MedPAC, she was the General Counsel at the Congressional Budget Office and Associate General Counsel for the TRICARE Management Activity now the Defense Health Agency. She served 12 years on active duty with the Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps and 18 years as a reservist.

T.J. co-founded Ardaithe Consulting LLC, developing tailored soft skills training for leadership and staff. Specializing in Resiliency Training, Resolving Workplace Disputes, and Leading Teams, she has deployed training modules on Ethics, Sexual Harassment, Bystander Intervention, Mindfulness, and De-escalation.

For the FBA she currently serves as the Co-Chair for the Leadership Subcommittee, Diversity & Inclusion Standing Committee.

Katherine Greenberg, Director of Strategic Litigation | A Better Balance

Katherine Greenberg is the Director of Strategic Litigation at A Better Balance, where she enforces and defends laws protecting pregnant workers and caregivers, including pregnancy accommodation and lactation laws, and paid family and medical leave laws. Prior to joining A Better Balance, Katherine worked for the New York City Commission on Human Rights in various enforcement and policy roles. Katherine began her legal career as a judicial clerk, following which she joined The Legal Aid Society as a Skadden Fellow representing pregnant workers and caregivers in discrimination and FMLA claims.

Katherine earned her J.D. magna cum laude from NYU School of Law and holds an M.A. from Kings College London and a B.A. from Vassar College. She previously served as the Chair of the NYC Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Committee, and a board member of the New York chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association.

Pamela Irons, In-House Attorney | Federal Express Corporation

Pamela Irons is an in-house attorney for Federal Express Corporation. She focuses primarily on compliance with paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave laws, reasonable accommodation issues, and responding to administrative complaints and charges. Prior to FedEx, Pamela worked in private practice, defending management in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Fair Labor Standards Act and retaliation cases, as well as state employment law cases.

Pamela is admitted to practice law in Illinois and Tennessee. She earned her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2001. She also received an M.S. in Industrial Relations and B.S. in Psychology from Loyola.

I. History of PWFA and Regulations | 1:00pm – 1:20pm

II. Rights and Responsibilities under PWFA | 1:20pm – 1:35pm

III. How’s It Going? “Real-World” Examples and Hypotheticals | 1:35pm – 1:50pm

IV. Need to Know and Questions | 1:50pm – 2:00pm