Employment & Labor

Overview

Along with a surge in employment claims, today’s employers face formidable challenges, including ever-changing national, state and local employment laws; perilous wage-and-hour pitfalls; intensified business expansion and contraction; and evolving perspectives on what a workplace should be. Wilson Elser forms strategic alliances with our clients to help them manage and navigate the shifting legislative and regulatory terrain of employment and labor law.

When claims arise, Wilson Elser has the experience and wherewithal to act appropriately and decisively, as demonstrated by our outstanding record of dismissals, targeted settlements and trial victories. In conferring with clients, we take into consideration the demands of their industries, the history of their businesses and what outcomes would constitute success.

Wilson Elser maintains a dedicated team that helps U.S. colleges and universities navigate the complex and changing regulatory, legislative and litigation landscape and mitigate associated financial and reputational risk. Our counsel focuses on termination of employment, promotion denials, tenure disputes, sexual abuse and harassment, civil rights violations, mental health, hazing incidents, educational malpractice, campus safety and Title IX, among other difficult and sensitive issues.

Our work transcends advice, counsel and litigation assistance. We also provide a range of capabilities relative to restrictive covenants, collective bargaining agreements, noncompete disputes, labor force reductions and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

Recognizing that our clients seek cost-effective resolutions to complex and potentially protracted cases, when appropriate we seek to accommodate them through alternative resolution options, including arbitration, conciliation and mediation. To prevent lawsuits and administrative actions from arising in the first place, one of the hallmarks of our Employment & Labor Practice is to work proactively with clients to create a culture that reduces legal exposure and avoids specific situations that can give rise to claims.

With clients consisting of private- and public-sector employers, our attorneys are skilled in all aspects of federal and state employment discrimination laws. We handle cases arising under all state and federal fair employment practices statutes. We are also – quite literally – at our clients’ side when they appear before administrative and judicial tribunals such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Labor Relations Board or the U.S. Department of Labor, as well as state and federal administrative agencies and courts.

• Our attorneys have experience in the full range of employment and labor acts and legal service areas

  Age Discrimination in Employment Act Americans with Disabilities Act Black Lung Benefits Act Breach of Contract (Employment, Severance, etc.) Class Actions COBRA Collective Actions Consumer Credit Protection Act Copeland Act Davis-Bacon Act Defense Base Act EEO and Diversity Training Employee Polygraph Protection Act Employment Contract Preparation, Including Restrictive Covenants Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act Equal Pay Act ERISA Executive Order 11246 Fair Labor Standards Act Family and Medical Leave Act Federal Employees’ Compensation Act Federal Mine Safety and Health Act Federal Transit Law Wrongful Termination of Employment Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Immigration and Nationality Act Internal Investigations

  Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act National Labor Relations Act Occupational Safety and Health Act OFCCP/Affirmative Action Plans Older Workers Benefit Protect Act Policy Reviews Pregnancy Discrimination Act Reductions in Force Rehabilitation Act State Human Rights Acts State Medical and Family Leave Laws State Sick Leave Laws State Wage Payment and Collection Acts Title VII Title IX Training and Compliance Audits Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act Veterans’ Employment and Training Service Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act Wrongful Death Actions