Labor and Employment
Our
Labor and Employment attorneys routinely represent
employers in federal and state court lawsuits, in out-of-court
arbitrations, and before administrative agencies such as the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), the Texas
Workforce Commission ("TWC"), the Department of Labor
("DOL"), and the National Labor Relations Board
("NLRB"). We also counsel employers on personnel policies,
investigations, disciplinary actions and terminations, and general
compliance with the many interrelated federal and state laws that
may affect employment relationships. Our mix of litigation and
counseling experience allows us to approach each matter with a
comprehensive strategy designed to achieve the best result for the
client.
We have successfully defended employers against all types of
employee lawsuits before judges and juries in the federal and state
courts. A few examples of the types of lawsuits we handle include
wrongful discharge, sexual harassment, discrimination claims based
on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination
in Employment Act ("ADEA"), the Americans with
Disabilities Act ("ADA") and the counterpart statutes of
Texas, workers' compensation retaliation, leave issues covered by
the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), issues arising
under the National Labor Relations Act ("Act"), minimum
wage and overtime issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act
("FLSA"), and employee benefit claims under the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"). We have
successfully defended numerous individual suits, multi-party suits
and class actions.
While we pride ourselves on thorough and aggressive defense of
our clients, we also understand that defending labor and employment claims creates a significant toll on a client's finances, time
and human resources. We therefore strive to provide clients a
cost-effective solution to labor and employment problems. In
litigation, for example, we have a good record of persuading the
courts to dismiss lawsuits before trial where summary proceedings
are appropriate. Our case preparation and knowledge of the law have
also allowed many of our clients to manage risk in successful
out-of-court mediations. We also advise and counsel employers on
taking preventive measures to avoid or limit litigation altogether.
The employers we represent in labor and employment matters
are engaged in many and varied businesses such as refining,
petrochemicals, paper, health care, manufacturing, construction,
staffing, lumber, legal, education, retail, and banking. Our
familiarity with these and other businesses, and the labor and
employment laws that apply to those businesses, promotes effective
and economical delivery of legal services. Members of the Labor
and Employment Group:
Robert J. Hambright
S. Donean Surratt
John Seth Bullard
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