Our employment group provides employment related legal advice and representation to both employers and employees.
-EMPLOYMENT REPRESENTATION-
Employers must comply with requirements under federal, state and local law, while being mindful of the bottom line. Our attorneys provide business oriented legal advice and representation to employers on a range of employment related matters, including:
Advising on personnel matters: We counsel employer clients regarding personnel matters, risk mitigation, and general employment policies and practices. Some of the areas include:
Wage / hour compliance (including classification audits)
Internal claims of discrimination, harassment or retaliation
Handbooks, policy manuals and drug testing plans
Employment and independent contractor agreements
Reduction in force policies and best practices
Terminations, severance plans and releases
Managing sexual harassment (including prevention)
Protecting trade secrets and confidential business information
Intellectual Property ownership and assignment issues
Leaves of absence and return to work issues
Employment background checks and compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and related state laws.
Employment Litigation: We represent employers in a wide variety of employment disputes. Our cases include class actions and individual cases, and we represent employers ranging from large to small, in federal and state courts, and in arbitrations and mediations. Cases include:
Employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, and affirmative action
Family Medical Leave Act,
Wage and hour issues (including Fair Labor Standards Act, Wage Payment and Collection Law, state minimum wage claims),
Employee mobility disputes, including restrictive covenants, non-disclosure, non-competition and/or non-solicitation agreements,
Trade secret misappropriation,
OSHA,
Use of independent contractors,
Union organizing and
Other disputes pertaining to hiring, promotion, compensation, termination and unfair competition.
-EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATION-
In addition to our general employment law practice, Chuck Curley leads a team that represents and counsels individuals with respect to employment issues, including hiring and termination matters.
Employment Contracts, Restrictive Covenants and Severance Agreements: We review and provide advice to employees on employment agreements, restrictive covenants (such as non-competition and non-solicitation agreements) and severance packages.
Discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the workplace.
Discrimination/Harassment: Federal, state, and some city laws prohibit discrimination and harassment based on certain protected characteristics. This means that employers are not permitted to discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, disability, national origin, sex, and other grounds. Those other grounds may include (depending on the state or city) sexual orientation, marital status, and conviction and arrest records.
Retaliation: Under federal and state laws, employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who oppose or complain about discrimination or harassment occurring due to protected characteristics. This applies whether the employees oppose the discriminatory practice for themselves or on behalf of other employees, and whether the complaint is made internally at the employer, in any agency or court proceeding, or if the employee participates in proceedings relating to the discriminatory practices
Pre-employment and post-employment: Discrimination is not limited to on-the-job issues. It may occur before employment begins (e.g., discriminatory hiring practices or questions), during the employment relationship (e.g., discrimination in compensation, promotions, or other terms and conditions of employment), or at the end of employment (e.g., discriminatory firing on constructive discharge). It may even occur after employment ends (e.g., a bad reference in retaliation for objecting to discrimination).
Wages, Compensation, and Other Benefits of Employment: Although an employer generally may set the terms and conditions of employment, there are a number of federal and state laws that impose certain requirements on employers. For instance, there are laws setting the minimum wage that employees must be paid, and what an employee’s rights are when an employer does not pay earned wages. There also are federal and state statutes detailing whether and when employers are required to provide job protected leave to employee.