LABOR & EMPLOYMENT

Our department’s 26 attorneys spend 100 percent of their time as full-service management-side employment counsel, providing both traditional labor law and employment law services. Our comprehensive knowledge of the extensively regulated employment relationship fosters practical advice in planning, compliance, and human resources problem solving.

In addition to representing clients in state and federal courts, in collective bargaining, and before a wide variety of administrative agencies, our labor and employment attorneys assist clients in anticipating and resolving issues arising in mergers and acquisitions and related business transactions.

CORE SERVICES

Labor Law
Union Avoidance: Hearings before the NLRB on union elections and guidance throughout the entire election process.

Managing Union Relations: Advice on corporate structures to promote corporate labor strategies, responding to and defending NLRB unfair labor practice charges, handling labor grievances and conducting labor arbitrations.

Collective Bargaining: Serving as chief spokesperson in collective bargaining negotiations and/or providing advice regarding the negotiation process.

Labor Litigation: Defend actions arising under the Labor Management Relations Act and other federal labor laws.

Managing Labor Disputes: Guiding clients through strikes and other labor disputes, including seeking injunctions in court.

Managing Corporate Change: Advice on labor law issues in connection with mergers, acquisitions, and restructuring in union-represented workplaces.
 

Employment Law
Litigation: Represent employers in single plaintiff, multi-plaintiff and class action lawsuits, in both state and federal court, including employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure to accommodate, leave of absence, wage and hour (including misclassification, meal and rest period, recordkeeping and related claims), wrongful termination, breach of contract, trade secret, unfair competition, tort and other employment claims.

Advice, Drafting and Training: Advise employers regarding legal compliance, reorganizations, discipline and discharge, workplace safety and other difficult human resource issues. Conduct training on all areas of employment law, including sexual harassment avoidance, discrimination law, legal compliance, leave of absence administration and best practices. Draft executive employment agreements, personnel policies and procedures, arbitration, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements and other employment documents.

Alternative Dispute Resolution: Guidance and counsel, both at the prelitigation stage and as a method of resolving pending litigation when such methods are in the client’s best interest.
 

Representative Labor Law Matters Expand

Representative Employment Law Matters Expand

News

MS&K Alerts

  • Supreme Court Decisions Offer Some Positive News for Employers, MS&K Labor & Employment Alert
    By Kevin Gaut and Amr Shabaik (May 2013)

    Two recent decisions of the United States Supreme Court provide employers with some helpful means of combating employment claims brought on a classwide or collective basis.

  • No Peace With A Piece Rate Unless Every Hour Is Paid, MS&K Labor & Employment Alert
    By Steven M. Schneider and Hector A. Pacheco
    (April 2013)

    Piece-rate compensation pays employees on a task-completed basis rather than a fixed hourly rate in order to provide an economic incentive for focused and efficient work. Piece-rate systems accordingly often result in greater employee productivity. Now a recent California Court of Appeal decision has upset traditional piece-rate compensation at some employers.

  • The New I-9 Employment Verification Form, MS&K Immigration Alert
    By
    John E. Exner IV (March 2013)

    After many months of announcements and discussion, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”), released a new edition of the Form I-9 on March 8, 2013. This newest version of the form goes into effect immediately. However, USCIS has authorized a sixty (60) day grace period during which either the new version of the form or the last version may be used. Following the end of the grace period, on May 7, 2013, all U.S. employers are required to use the new Form I-9 for all new hires.