
“Managing Within the Law Training is still making its impact on management 18 months later.
I was stopped by a manager a few days ago, who wanted to let me know that he had been dealing with a situation and was able to correct the behavior and performance issue successfully due to specific skills and examples he acquired in your program.”
H.R. Manager | Hitachi Data Systems
“On target, engaging, and educational. Absolutely wonderful. Thank you!“
Manager | Oracle
Description
Employment law is constantly evolving, making it increasingly challenging for managers to make sound people decisions while minimizing organizational risk. This research-based Managing Within the Law Training equips leaders with the practical knowledge, legal awareness, and management skills they need to confidently navigate today’s workplace.
Rather than focusing solely on legal compliance, this highly interactive program emphasizes the spirit of the law by helping managers develop an ethical decision-making framework that promotes fairness, consistency, accountability, and respect.
Participants gain practical guidance on the employment laws most likely to affect everyday management decisions, including:
The curriculum is updated annually to reflect changes in federal and state employment laws, including state-specific harassment prevention requirements. Each workshop can also be customized to incorporate your organization’s policies, procedures, values, and real-world management challenges.
All programs are led by experienced employment attorneys who combine extensive courtroom expertise with exceptional facilitation skills. Through engaging stories, practical examples, and appropriate humor, they make complex legal concepts accessible, memorable, and immediately applicable.
Learning is reinforced through:
Managers leave with practical tools they can use immediately to make better decisions, improve employee performance, reduce legal exposure, and foster a respectful workplace.
Target Audience
This program is designed for:
Delivery Options
Available in Full-day workshops, Half-day workshops, Live virtual instructor-led training.
Executive overview and consulting sessions are also available.
Managing Within the Law Training Workshop Outline
I. How Company Values Guide Management Decisions
- Aligning leadership behaviors with organizational values
- Applying ethical decision-making in difficult situations
II. The Four Foundations of Employment Law
- Making consistent management decisions
- Establishing legitimate business reasons for employment actions
- Documenting performance, conduct, and disciplinary issues effectively
- Knowing when to involve HR, leadership, or legal counsel
III. Managing Employee Performance Legally and Effectively
- Setting clear expectations and accountability
- Coaching for improved performance
- Conducting fair performance evaluations
- Using progressive discipline appropriately
- Understanding the legal implications of policies, employee handbooks, and verbal commitments
- Protecting employee whistleblower rights
IV. Preventing Discrimination
- Understanding protected characteristics
- Avoiding stereotypes and unconscious bias
- Conducting legally compliant behavioral interviews
- Recognizing illegal interview questions
- Managing reasonable accommodations
- Following best practices for employment references
V. Creating a Respectful Workplace
- Preventing harassment, discrimination, retaliation, bullying, and abusive conduct
- Understanding why disrespect is often unintentional
- Recognizing unconscious bias and workplace microaggressions
- Responding appropriately as a bystander
- Meeting a manager’s legal responsibility to prevent and address misconduct
- Applying the Platinum Rule to build an inclusive, respectful culture
VI. Managing Leave, Disability, and Workplace Accommodations
- Responding appropriately to workplace injuries
- Understanding workers’ compensation requirements
- Navigating Family and Medical Leave and Pregnancy Disability Leave
- Following organizational leave-of-absence policies
- Meeting obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Ready to Customize Managing Within the Law Training?
Whether your goal is to reduce legal risk, strengthen management capability, improve documentation, or create a more respectful workplace, this program can be customized to your organization’s industry, policies, legal requirements, and leadership challenges.
Contact an LSA expert today to discuss how Managing Within the Law Training can be customized and delivered onsite or virtually for your managers and leaders.
Managing within the law training helps managers make legally sound employment decisions while creating a fair, respectful, and high-performing workplace. Participants learn how to reduce legal risk related to hiring, performance management, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, accommodations, and documentation. The training also equips leaders to confidently handle difficult employee situations before they become costly legal issues.
The program covers the employment laws and management practices that leaders use most often, including wrongful termination, workplace harassment, discrimination, retaliation, documentation, performance management, whistleblower protections, interviewing, reasonable accommodations, leave management, workplace investigations, and respectful leadership. The curriculum is regularly updated to reflect changing legal requirements and organizational best practices.
Managing within the law training is designed for new and experienced managers, supervisors, executives, team leaders, and anyone responsible for hiring, coaching, evaluating, disciplining, or terminating employees. HR professionals also benefit from attending alongside leaders to reinforce consistent decision making and organizational policies.
Yes. The training is customized to your organization's policies, culture, business challenges, and applicable federal, state, and local employment laws. Experienced attorney-facilitators incorporate your real-world scenarios, policies, and procedures to ensure the learning is practical, relevant, and immediately applicable. Programs are available in full-day, half-day, and virtual formats.
Managers often create legal exposure through inconsistent decisions, poor documentation, ineffective performance management, or a lack of understanding of employment law. Managing within the law training provides practical tools, ethical decision-making frameworks, and legally defensible management practices that help organizations reduce lawsuits, strengthen workplace culture, improve consistency, and build greater employee trust.
Explore real world results for clients like you striving to create higher performance