Employment and Labor
Representative
Cases and Matters
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Successfully defended against a wide variety of discrimination claims, including race, sex, age, and disability claims.
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Conducted a complex sexual harassment investigation for a client, which resulted in the resolution of potential claims and the identification of other workplace issues, which were then also resolved through the imposition of appropriate discipline.
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Successfully defended a company against claims made by a terminated employee, including charges of alleged racial discrimination and a charge filed with the National Labor Relations Board that she had been fired due to her participation in "protected and concerted activities".
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Successfully negotiated a settlement with the State of Maryland on behalf of a construction subcontractor that had been accused of violating the State's prevailing wage law. We also successfully defended the same company against claims made by a labor union on behalf of employees for unpaid overtime and wage payment violations.
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Settled a multi-party class action wage hour lawsuit via mediation in a short period of time. the settlement terms were very favorable to the client after it was successfully removed from the litigation track and mediated through the assistance of a federal magistrate judge.
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Successfully resolved misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty claims shortly after a federal lawsuit was filed by a former employee who raised insurance issues.
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Successfully and economically mediated a complex employment dispute as well as a contentious business dispute among the sibling owners of a family business.
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Conducted comprehensive training on a variety of employment issues, including preventing harassment claims and improving performance management, for numerous companies in a variety of industries.
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Newsletters
Employment and Labor
Bulletin
Articles
Click
here to view our article on the potential pitfalls of company organizational charts,
entitled
"Beware The Org Chart"
Click
here to view our article on measures employers should take to improve employment practices,
entitled
"A Smart Resolution: 10 Measures Employers Should Take in 2008 to Improve Employment Practices and Reduce the Risk of Litigation"
Click
here to view our article on new rules for paying for accrued vacation time,
entitled
"A Change in the Game Plan: New Rules for Paying for Accrued Vacation Time in Maryland"
Click
here to view our article on non-union employees and the National Labor
Relations Act,
entitled
"Memo to Non-Union Employers: The National Labor Relations Act Can Still
“Getcha""
Click
here to view Part 4 of our article on employee references,
entitled "Employee References: Why Not Tell The Truth?"
Click
here to view Part 3 of our article on employee references,
entitled "Employee References: Why Not Tell The Truth?"
Click
here to view Part 2 of our article on employee references,
entitled "Employee References: Why Not Tell The Truth?"
Click
here to view Part 1 of our article on employee references,
entitled "Employee References: Why Not Tell The Truth?"
Click
here to view our article entitled "Employers Beware: What the Supreme Court’s Employee-Friendly Decision on Retaliation Means and What Employers Should Do About It
"
Click
here to view our article "Employee Handbooks Provisions:
Introduction to Benefits, Part 2"
Click
here to view our article on "Employee Handbooks Provisions:
Introduction to Benefits, Part1"
Click
here to view the next article in our ongoing series about employee
handbooks, entitled "Employee Handbooks: Office Relationships"
Click
here to view our article on the
importance and value of an HR program to a business, entitled "Paper is Piling Up: It's Time for a Close Look at How You Handle Human Resources." The article originally appeared in the February 2006 edition of Washington SmartCEO magazine.
Click
here to view our article on "Employee Handbooks Provisions:
Resignations"
Click
here to view our article on "8 Steps to Make
Mediation Successful"
Click
here to view our article on the benefits of using the
mediation process.
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Employer Alert
March 18, 2005
As many of you know, the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) affects the job rights of individuals who voluntarily or involuntarily leave employment positions to undertake military service. USERRA also prohibits employers from discriminating against past and present members of the uniform services and applicants to the uniform services. The Department of Labor has recently issued new regulations concerning USERRA which require, among other things, that employers provide persons entitled to the rights and benefits under USERRA, a notice of the rights, benefits and obligations of such persons as well as the obligations of employers under USERRA. Employers may provide the notice, “Your Rights Under USERRA”, by posting it (in 8 ½ x 14 format) where employee notices are customarily placed. In addition, employers are also free to provide the notice to employees in other ways that will minimize costs while ensuring that the full text of the notice is provided, such as by handing or mailing out the notice or distributing the notice via electronic mail.
Accordingly, all employers should immediately post the notice where employee notices are customarily placed and also send the notice to all employees via electronic mail, or hand deliver or mail a copy of the notice to all employees.
A .pdf version of the poster is available by clicking
here.
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The Employment and Labor Group represents management in all matters that concern the employment relationship and the workplace. Its primary goals are:
(1) to empower employers to hire, direct, compensate, discipline, and if necessary, terminate employees to the fullest extent permitted by law;
(2) to assist employers in establishing sound practices in order to reduce the likelihood of employment claims; and
(3) to defend employers effectively and successfully against all workplace claims that may be made against them.
The firm also represents senior executives in connection with employment contract issues and disputes.
We frequently also make presentations to clients, for purposes of training their management and supervisors, regarding employment law issues and employer obligations. In particular, we address significant developing areas of employment law such as sexual harassment, wage-hour issues (particularly overtime and other compensation issues), and hiring and firing employees, in particular those who have health-related conditions.
Defense Against Claims and
Lawsuits
Our professionals represent private, corporate and public sector employers before all relevant federal, state and local administrative agencies. We also represent employers in federal and state court proceedings, if disputes proceed to litigation. Specifically, we represent our clients in defending against claims that allege employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including sexual harassment), national origin, age, and in particular, disability, as well as other bases protected under state and local laws (including sexual orientation and marital status.)
Attorneys in the group also represent employers in defending against claims that arise under the family and medical leave act, wage-hour claims (generally, overtime issues) that develop under the fair labor standards act, wage payment claims that arise under state law, and further, against wrongful discharge, breach of implied employment contract, and other common law claims.
The firm also has significant experience with respect to matters that involve compliance with the national labor relations act, the Uniformed Servicer Employment and Reemployment Act (USERRA), Executive Order 11246, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, The Vietnam Era Veterans‚ Readjustment Assistance Act Of 1974 (VEVRAA), and the Occupational Safety And Health Act (OSHA).
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Other Compliance Activities
In an effort to reduce the risk of litigation, our attorneys provide counseling and advice relating to compliance with all applicable employment statutes and regulations, and with judicial and administrative rulings. In this regard, among other things, we directly advise employers with respect to day-to-day employment matters (such as discharges), significant developing areas in the law and long-term policy issues.
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Policies, Procedures and Audits
Our employment and labor professionals regularly advise their clients with respect to:
(1) the development of personnel policies and procedures, including creation of employee handbooks and application forms,
(2) preparation and negotiation of employment, independent contractor, and severance agreements,
(3) preparation of, enforcement of, and in some cases, opposition to restrictive covenant agreements (non-competition, non-solicitation, and non-disclosure agreements), and
(4) implementation of internal compliance audits.
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