High-Stress Human Resources: Avoiding Litigation From Day One

High-Stress Human Resources: Avoiding Litigation From Day One
A Library 2.0 Service, Safety, and Security Webinar with Dr. Steve Albrecht

OVERVIEW:

A 60-minute training webinar presented by Library 2.0 and hosted by author and library service, safety, and security expert, Dr. Steve Albrecht.

There are lots of ways for libraries to get sued by the well-known "disgruntled ex-employees,” who have either planned such a tactic from the moment they realized they were not seen as a star performer, or who got the idea to at least threaten their library with litigation from someone in their personal or professional life who believes they have a “strong case.”

For example, many current or former employees who think they can sue their employer rely on a human resources concept known as the “hostile work environment.” What they fail to realize is that, for that claim to be true, the employee must have been targeted, discriminated against, or retaliated against because they are in a protected class. “My boss is a jerk” is not a valid hostile work environment claim, even if it’s true.

Let’s look at your HR processes from Day One: how you post, assess, interview, and select an employee; how you orient and onboard that employee; and how you use fair and empathic training, coaching, evaluation, and discipline to help shape that employee’s work time with your library.

This one-hour webinar is not legal advice (you have a library board lawyer, a city attorney, or county counsel for that); it’s HR survival advice.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Recognize red-flag employee behaviors and litigation risk factors.
Reviewing your HR employment cycle.
HR documentation strategies.
When employee coaching is not working: the value of PAM meetings.
How to help your legal counsel defend your library and its managers and supervisors.

DATE: Thursday, December 17th, 2026, 2:00 - 3:00 pm US Eastern Time

COST:

$99/person - includes live attendance, anytime access to the recording and presentation slides, and a participation certificate.
To arrange group discounts (see below), submit a purchase order, or ask about registration questions or difficulties, email admin@library20.com.

TO REGISTER:

Use the payment box above to register and pay. You can pay by credit card. You will receive an email within a day with information on how to attend the webinar live and how you can access the permanent webinar recording. If you are paying for someone else to attend, you'll be prompted to send an email to admin@library20.com with the name and email address of the actual attendee.

If you need to be invoiced or pay by check, if you have any trouble registering for a webinar, or if you have any questions, please email admin@library20.com.

NOTE: Please check your spam folder if you don't receive your confirmation email within a day.

SPECIAL GROUP RATES (email admin@library20.com to arrange):

Multiple individual log-ins and access from the same organization paid together: $75 each for 3+ registrations, $65 each for 5+ registrations. Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.
The ability to show the webinar (live or recorded) to a group located in the same physical location or in the same virtual meeting from one log-in: $299.
Large-scale institutional access for viewing with individual login capability: $499 (hosted either at Library 2.0 or in Niche Academy). Unlimited and non-expiring access for those log-ins.

DR. STEVE ALBRECHT

Since 2000, Dr. Steve Albrecht has trained tens of thousands of library employees in 28+ states, live and online, in service, safety, security, and leadership. His programs for both staff and library leaders are fast, entertaining, and provide tools that can be put to use immediately in the library workspace. His books include:

The Library Leader’s Guide to Employee Coaching: Building a Performance Culture One Meeting at a Time (in-press, Bloomsbury, 2026)

The Library Leader’s Guide to Human Resources: Keeping it Real, Legal, and Ethical (Rowman & Littlefield, 2025)

The Safe Library: Keeping Users, Staff, and Collections Secure (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023)

Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities (ALA, 2015)

Steve holds a doctoral degree in Business Administration (D.B.A.), an M.A. in Security Management, a B.S. in Psychology, and a B.A. in English. He is board-certified in HR, security management, employee coaching, and threat assessment. He has written 28 books on business, security, and leadership. He provides a loving home for four rescue dogs.

More on The Safe Library at thesafelibrary.com. Follow on X (Twitter) at @thesafelibrary and on YouTube @thesafelibrary. Dr. Albrecht's professional website is drstevealbrecht.com.