Labor and Employment

Jennings Strouss’ management-oriented labor and employment practice devotes a significant amount of time to preventive law projects, counseling both private and public employers on how to achieve their management-employee relations goals while reducing legal risks.

Our attorneys regularly provide advice and other assistance on such issues as:

• harassment, race discrimination, and other Title VII claims
• wrongful discharge claims
• employee handbooks
• development of policies and procedures on such issues as discipline, searches and seizures, and drug testing
• design and review of employee compensation programs and benefit plans
• advice on compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and other legislative measures affecting employers

They also assist companies by conducting investigations of alleged wrongdoing and determining the appropriate course of conduct after assessing the results. Also, our attorneys help clients and administer severance programs and evaluate employee terminations on an individual or large scale basis.

Jennings Strouss assist clients in employee-related aspects of significant corporate transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, and reorganizations. Our attorneys also counsel clients in post-transaction integration issues, helping to combine compensation programs, policies, and benefits. They draft and help companies administer executive and employee compensation programs, including employment agreements, stock option and restricted stock plans, bonus and long-term incentive compensation programs, severance plans, employee trusts, and director compensation programs.

Our attorneys also have in-depth experience in helping clients deal with labor unions. They do everything from advising employers facing a union organization campaign to negotiating collective bargaining agreements and handling disputes and grievances through arbitration. Our attorneys also counsel clients regarding the avoidance of wage and hour problems stemming from minimum wage and overtime issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

When problems arise, the firm is well equipped to handle administrative proceedings and litigation. Our attorneys assist clients in hearings before numerous administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), U.S. Department of Labor, Arizona Civil Rights Division, and the Arizona Department of Economic Security.

Sometimes employers have no choice but to defend themselves in litigation. In those circumstances, our attorneys bring extensive experience to bear in defending clients in all types of lawsuits brought in the state and federal courts (both trial and appellate). They also assist clients in resolving disputes through negotiation, mediation, arbitration, early neutral case assessment, and other alternative dispute resolution techniques.

Our labor and employment clientele is extensive and includes a broad range of businesses and organization in various industries, including utilities, hospitals, school districts, cities, counties, construction companies, manufacturing concerns, grocery store chains, food distributors, and others.

Representative Engagements

• Handled hundreds of matters before the Arizona Civil Rights Division and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, national origin
• Represented a large hospital in an age discrimination lawsuit filed by a former manager
• Defended a large utility against claims of race discrimination in the employment application process
• Represented national hospitality and financial services employers in sex discrimination claims
• Defended public and private employers in claims alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Handled aggravated sexual harassment claim against a chemical firm
• Defended an employer against claims that the employer’s drug testing program violated the law
• Defended a title company in litigation alleging that the employer’s handbook created an implied-in-fact contract
• Handled a large number of unfair labor practice charges for a variety of employers
• Represented a county merit commission on procedural matters, administrative review work and appeals
• Defended national retailing client against claim alleging race discrimination in employee dress requirements
• Prepared drug and alcohol testing programs for a number of employers
• Defended claim of disability discrimination against an employer alleging debilitating effects from exposure to second-hand smoke
• Represented employer of large number of part-time employees in claim alleging violations of Immigration Reform & Control Act
• Defended the constitutionality of Arizona’s Farm Labor Law before the Supreme Court of the United States
• Defended employers in a substantial number of labor arbitration cases
• Represented a multi-national company before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in labor litigation involving the exercise of management rights in making decisions relative to asset deployment nationwide
• Challenged in U.S. District Court and the Ninth Circuit the EEOC broad subpoena powers
• Represented a major utility in its successful effort to prevent the unionization of its workforce over the course of several union organization campaigns
• Assisted various clients in handling of OFCCP audits and development of affirmative action plans in aerospace, utility and manufacturing business
• Represented a large construction company in Department of Labor’s audit of the company’s profit-sharing plan
• Defended employers in lawsuits including their alleged breach of COBRA duties
• Represented employers regarding restrictive covenants and protection of trade secrets