OIG attorneys Amy Oppenheimer, Danielle Drossel and Madeline Buitelaar will team up for this CALPELRA conference session exploring the generational nuances in today’s workplaces. This year’s conference, hosted by the California Public Employers Labor Relations Association, will take place November 17-20 in Monterey, California. With a theme “Digital Future, Human Leadership,” the conference brings together public sector leaders, workforce innovators, and labor and HR professionals to prepare for the many challenges and opportunities presented by our rapidly changing world.

About the session: 

Public agencies increasingly manage workplaces that span four or more generations, from Baby Boomers to Generation Z. Differences in communication styles, expectations around technology, workplace culture, and professional norms can create misunderstandings that escalate into employee relations conflicts, investigations, and discrimination claims.

This session examines the multigenerational workplace through three complementary lenses:

• First, we’ll explore the workplace dynamics that commonly drive generational conflict.
• Second, we’ll review the legal framework governing age discrimination, focusing on the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, including disparate treatment and disparate impact theories and recent case law developments.
• Finally, we’ll bring these concepts to life through interactive role-play demonstrations based on real workplace scenarios involving generational miscommunication, modernization initiatives, promotion decisions, mentoring conflicts, and workplace culture debates.

Following the scenarios, we’ll engage in a facilitated discussion examining legal risk, management responses, and practical strategies. You’ll leave this session with tools for recognizing potential age discrimination risks early and effectively managing generational workplace dynamics.

For more information, please visit the CALPELRA Conference website.