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Katherine Hesse, Kier Wachterhauser and Nan ONeill, three partners at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, presented “COVID Now & Later: Navigating the COVID-Related Issues Today and Preparing for the Changed Workplace Tomorrow”, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network. During this 90-minute webcast, Mr. Wachterhauser and Ms. ONeill discussed the latest COVID developments affecting employers, such as regulatory developments regarding unemployment insurance, reasonable accommodation and vaccination issues. They also examined the changing workplace and made suggestions for best practices on work from home policies, hybrid workplaces and top wage and hour issues to consider in such environments. Lastly, they detailed the ongoing workplace safety concerns like employer vaccination policies and employee reluctance to return to work. Ms. Hesse provided guidance on the new American Rescue Plan Act and how it impacts COBRA. She discussed the new subsidy and its required notices, as well as key litigation trends pertaining around those notices.

Katherine Hesse is one of the founding partners of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP. Ms. Hesse concentrates her practice primarily in labor and employment and employee benefits law serving as counsel to individuals, business, government, and tax-exempt organizations including hospitals, colleges, churches, and major private and public retirement and health plans. Ms. Hesse was a recipient of the Cushing-Gavin Award for excellence in providing management labor relations legal counsel. Ms. Hesse is a graduate of Smith College and the Boston University School of Law.

Ms. ONeill is a Partner at the firm with 30 years of experience counseling and representing employers in all aspects of traditional labor law and employment. She has extensive experience in labor arbitration and litigation of employment-related disputes, including discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination matters, before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. As an employment lawyer, in addition to the litigation of employment-related disputes, Ms. ONeill counsels clients on a day-to-day basis on employment compliance issues. Ms. ONeill is a graduate of Boston College and the Georgetown University Law Center, where she served as Articles and Notes Editor of the American Criminal Law Review.

Mr. Wachterhauser is a partner at MHTL. Mr. Wachterhauser represents private and public sector clients in all areas of labor and employment law and maintains a general litigation practice. Mr. Wachterhauser regularly counsels clients on employment matters, including wage and hour, leave entitlements, and discrimination and harassment matters, as well as the drafting of employment policies and contracts, and represents clients in employment-related litigation before state and federal courts and administrative bodies. Mr. Wachterhauser received his Juris Doctor from Boston University School of Law, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Boston University Law Review. He received a Masters of Arts degree from Northwestern University and graduated from Swarthmore College with honors.