the conference board

Join Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Congressman Ken Buck (R-CO) and Gretchen Carlson, the woman whose lawsuit helped ignite the #MeToo movement and who co-founded the non-profit Lift Our Voices, to discuss the recent groundbreaking bipartisan legislation, The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act.

Passed with strong bipartisan support in February, the legislation marks one of the most significant workplace reforms in the last 50 years. Under the legislation, employers would be prohibited from requiring workers to settle discrimination and harassment claims through arbitration. Instead, employees have the choice to file suit in court with their own legal representation.

Listen to learn:

• What the law is and why it matters: What the law does, doesn’t do, and its significance
• How a grassroot movement led to bipartisan support, and what it took to pass in both the House and Senate
• What companies should consider doing now, both in response to the legislation and in creating a safe and harassment-free environment
• What’s next, including potential future federal legislation addressing forced arbitration in other contexts and state legislation relating to non-disclosure agreements. 

Traditionally, corporate board members played a limited – and only occasional – role in discussions with investors. But now investors expect to hear from independent directors on the board’s oversight of ESG issues.  And companies are recognizing that involving their directors in discussions with investors can have significant near-term and long-term benefits.    

In this podcast, Paul Washington, Executive Director of the ESG Center, speaks Bill Ultan, Managing Director at Morrow Sodali, to discuss what’s happening, why, the do’s and don’ts of effective engagement, and how both directors and investors can make their engagements as constructive as possible.  As more companies involve their directors in shareholder engagement, they should do so with a clear purpose in mind and ample preparation beforehand.

Additional resources:

Six Ways Boards Can Prepare for a Challenging Proxy Season

2022 Proxy Season Preview and Shareholder Voting Trends

Evolving Trends in ESG Disclosure: Morrow Sodali Q&A with Maryann Waryjas

Lighthouse – March 2022 Edition

Much has been written about the impact of technology, especially as it relates to teaching and learning during the pandemic, whether at the early grade school levels or for ongoing training in the workplace. How must our higher education system transform to keep up with workplace demand in our knowledge-driven economy that is based on a foundation of equitable access, including the role of credentials and employer hiring practices?   

Join Cindy Cisneros, Vice President of Education Programs at the Committee for Economic Development, the public policy center of The Conference Board (CED), as she discusses reforms needed in approaches to learning and training for an increasingly shifting and interconnected world. Joining her is Scott Pulsipher, President of Western Governors University, the nation's premier nonprofit competency-based University.

Is immigration the solution to the US Labor Market’s problems? As we know, The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a sharp drop in international migration to the United States under several different work visa programs. At the same time, the US labor market has shown signs of tightening—the unemployment rate is low, wages are rising, and job openings are plentiful.

Wouldn’t it be natural that the decline in the number of new foreign workers entering the US labor force has resulted in better outcomes for US workers.? Join Senior Economist Jessica Nicholson of the Committee for Economic Development, the policy arm of The Conference Board, as she unveils a surprising conclusion.

In this podcast with Dr. Madeline Zavodny, an expert on immigration, you can learn how the decline in foreign workers actually impacted the US Labor Markets.

For the year ahead, what are the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) priorities of business leaders around the world? This year’s annual survey of the C-suite provides fascinating ESG insights. Listen to this ESG News and Views podcast as Chuck Mitchell, Executive Director of Content Quality, unpacks the findings with Paul Washington, Executive Director of the ESG Center.

Many have viewed corporate political activity with skepticism, if not suspicion.  In 2021, companies faced a combination of surprises and scrutiny that made their political activity exponentially more difficult . . . and 2022 promises to be equally, if not more, challenging. 

In this podcast, Paul Washington, Executive Director of the ESG Center, speaks with experts, Adie Olsen and Jason Abel, Partners at Steptoe and Johnson, and Bruce Freed, President of the Center for Political Accountability, to address some of the myths and misunderstandings about corporate political activity, the challenges corporate PACs, company political contributions, and lobbying faced last year, as well as what to expect in the mid-term election year of 2022. 

Listen in to find out how this era of heightened scrutiny may provide an opportunity for fresh thinking about corporate political activity.

Additional Resources:

From the Conference Board

• Under a Microscope: A New Era of Scrutiny for Corporate Political Activity
• Shareholder Voting Dashboard
• Many Orgs Say 2022 Will Be Harder for Political Activity (Survey)
• Corporate Political Activity Proposals

From Steptoe and Johnson

• Adie J. Olson - Partner | Steptoe & Johnson LLP
• Jason Abel - Partner | Steptoe & Johnson LLP
• DOJ Seeks Comments on Changes to the Foreign Agents Registration Act Regulations | Steptoe & Johnson LLP

From the Center of Political Accountability

• 2021 CPA-Zicklin Index of Corporate Political Disclosure and Accountability
• Conflicted Consequences
• CPA-Wharton Zicklin Model Code of Conduct for Corporate Political Spending

In a new episode of Sustaining Capitalism, two experts—Bo Cutter, Senior Fellow and Director, Next American Economy Project at the Roosevelt Institute, and Joe Kasputys, CEO of Economic Ventures—will put the dangers to the economy into perspective, and discuss potential solutions.