Labor & Employment

Representation of clients before administrative agencies, including the NLRB, SERB, EEOC, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, local fair employment practice agencies, local civil service commissions, the State Personnel Board of Review, OSHA, the federal and state Departments of Labor, and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Several of our attorneys have significant experience in working with clients to develop affirmative action plans required of government contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers. This work includes the creation of plan language as well as the statistical work force analysis and utilization analysis. Our firm has also represented clients during audits by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance.

The use of out-of-court dispute resolutions, common in the union context, are gaining favor in non-union settings as a means of controlling the cost and time devoted to normal litigation. Our attorneys have developed substantial expertise in mediation, arbitration, and conciliation procedures. Our attorneys are also experienced with win-win bargaining in the collective bargaining context.

Our attorneys have a long history of representing employers with organized labor and have been involved in all aspects of labor negotiations and the administration of collective bargaining agreements including advising employers on contract interpretation, the “just cause” standards for employee discipline, investigations of employee misconduct, processing of grievance issues as they arise, and representing private and public employers at arbitration hearings. This experience enables us to handle not only labor arbitration under collective bargaining agreements, but also any arbitration for non-union employers who have adopted their own ADR policies and procedures.

We have developed an in-house human resources audit program to help clients identify potential problems and initiate preventive measures. This includes the review of employment policies, employee handbooks, and personnel practices and procedures to ensure compliance with myriad federal and state laws that impact human resource management.

Our firm has a long history of representing employers in collective bargaining negotiations for both public and private sector clients throughout West Central Ohio. This experience includes representing our clients at the bargaining table, as well as providing support and back-up for those clients who choose to negotiate independently with the union. We are also experienced in handling strikes, lockout situations, and representation before the National Labor Relations Board and the State Employment Relations Board.

We have handled numerous cases involving alleged disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and similar Ohio laws. In addition to litigation, we routinely advise clients concerning the definition of disability, the requirements for reasonable accommodation under the law, and the interaction between disability laws and other related statutes such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and workers’ compensation law. Our lawyers have prepared numerous written materials regarding disability discrimination and lecture frequently on the subject of disability discrimination.

Several of our attorneys have extensive expertise in the area of employee and student drug testing in both public and private contexts. Our lawyers have prepared numerous written materials on the issue of employee drug testing and have frequently spoken on the constitutional law, common law, and privacy issues pertaining to this area of the law. We have assisted numerous clients with the development of drug and alcohol abuse policies and testing procedures, and handled many litigation matters arising out of the discharge or discipline of drug offenders.

EEO litigation is another area our attorneys excel in. Our attorneys have handled hundreds of individual discrimination suits and charges in both state and federal courts, and administrative agencies involving alleged race discrimination, sex discrimination, age discrimination, disability discrimination, sexual harassment, and similar allegations. Our attorneys frequently write, lecture, and participate in seminars on civil rights and EEO issues. We regularly present in-house seminars to our clients—at no cost—on topics of interest.

We have a number of attorneys who work with our tax department in reviewing employee benefit plans regarding ERISA compliance, tax planning, and tax administration. Our attorneys are experienced in litigating benefit claims arising under ERISA and are knowledgeable about issues such as federal preemption and Section 510 claims.

We represent employers before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on a range of issues that come under its jurisdiction including representation hearings, the defense of unfair labor practice charges, objections to union elections, and decertification petitions. We also represent numerous public employers and school boards, providing similar services before the State Employment Relations Board (SERB).

Several of our attorneys have significant experience working with clients to develop affirmative action plans required of government contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers. This work includes the creation of the plan language as well as the statistical workforce analysis and utilization analysis. We further serve our clients in this area by representing them during audits by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance and during compliance proceedings.

Members of our Labor & Employment group have represented numerous clients regarding OSHA inspections, OSHA citations for safety standards violations, and benefit awards under Ohio law for alleged violations of specific safety requirements (VSSR hearings).

We have extensive experience in counseling employers contemplating a plant closing, reduction in force, voluntary early retirement incentive program, or an involuntary layoff. We’ve assisted each of these clients in complying with the diverse requirements of numerous overlapping laws that impact these types of employment actions. This includes the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARNA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Older Workers’ Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA).

We handle all types of wage and hour issues that arise under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Davis-Bacon, Walsh-Healey and Service Contract Acts, and other federal and state statutes.

We have several attorneys with experience in handling diverse workers’ compensation matters for employers including representation at hearings before the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, appeals to the Common Pleas Courts, intentional tort claims, and VSSR claims.

Our team is experienced in handling wrongful discharge and breach of contract claims. We regularly advise clients on the development of employee handbooks, employment applications, employment-at-will disclaimers and other appropriate measures to avoid wrongful discharge claims.