Employment Counseling
We combine decades of experience, careful research and creative thinking with our understanding of your business to tailor legal solutions to the unique labor and employment challenges faced by your organization. We understand that avoiding disputes through compliance, training, and prevention is often preferable to challenging litigation or arbitration.
This program addresses the complicated return to work issues employers face amid the continued impact of COVID-19, including whether vaccines should be mandatory before employees return, exceptions to mandate rules, and what enhanced testing should be implemented for employees who are granted an exception to a mandatory vaccine policy.
We offer comprehensive guidance on employment issues including:
- Employment contracts
- Arbitration agreements
- Confidentiality/nondisclosure agreements
- Employment manuals, forms, and policies
- Hiring and recruitment
- Performance management
- FMLA administration
- ADA accommodation
- OSHA and MIOSHA investigations
- Affirmative Action plans
- Plant closures, reductions in force, reorganizations, and downsizings
- Employment related investigations including claims of sexual harassment
- Wage and hours issues arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act or applicable state law
- Pensions and employee benefits
- Executive employment agreements
- Labor negotiations
- Union election support
- Defense of administrative charges, including unfair labor practice claims
- In-house training on all aspects of employment law, including union avoidance
- Responding to unemployment claims and representation in appeal hearings
- Classification or misclassification of independent contractors
COVID-19 Pandemic Counseling
We counsel clients in various industries through workplace reductions and employment restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce potential liabilities. We also assist employers with reduction in force and staffing modifications required by the pandemic, resulting in significant cost savings and operational efficiencies.
We provide guidance regarding reductions in force, including counseling regarding WARN and COBRA implications of layoff and potential alternatives to reduction in force.
In-house Training for Employers
We provide programs on issues such as hiring, counseling, termination and topics related to harassment, including sexual, union issues, family and medical leave, ADA, and wage and hour.
Administrative Charge Representation
We represent employers in charges filed with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division and the National Labor Relations Board.
Wage and Hour Audits and Counseling
We assist in properly classifying employees as exempt and non-exempt and regular employees versus independent contractors. We conduct wage and hour audits to identify potential violations for proper payment of minimum, calculation of overtime, proper designation of compensable time, how to include bonus and commission payments and child labor concerns.
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