Practice Areas: Labor & Employment

Latest News:

Judge Strikes Down NLRB's New Ambush Election Rule (5/16/2012)

Washington, D.C. Prohibits Discrimination Based on Unemployment Status (5/7/2012)

view more news

---

McGuireWoods offers clients access to 80 labor and employment lawyers across the United States and Europe. Our clients include local, national and multinational employers – from small businesses to governmental entities and nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies. We counsel employers in every aspect of the employer/employee relationship, including federal, state and international law compliance; traditional labor issues; internal investigations; federal contracting; and executive compensation. Areas of representation include:

• Human Resources Compliance
• Employment Litigation
• Wage and Hour
• Non-Competes, Trade Secrets and Employee Fraud
• Labor-Management Relations
• Affirmative Action and OFCCP Compliance Reviews
• Occupational Safety and Health
• Visa Processing
• Immigration Compliance
• UK, Europe and International Employment
• Management Training

We work with clients proactively to prevent, triage, defend and resolve internal and external workplace disputes, claims, and litigation. We also collaborate with clients to deliver tailored employment services in the most flexible, efficient manner possible, which includes the use of alternative fee arrangements, value-added billing and retainers. If litigation proves inevitable, our team is ready to aggressively defend our clients from federal and state civil rights and antidiscrimination claims, trade secret and employee raiding actions, and whistleblower and other suits. We also represent employers in a wide range of administrative proceedings, including on charges of discrimination filed with the EEOC and state and local human rights agencies, in DOL compliance checks and audits, and in proceedings before administrative forums and in federal court.

Recent Accolades

• Law360 ranked McGuireWoods in the top 25 of the United States’ largest labor and employment practices in 2012.
• Corporate Counsel named McGuireWoods a "Go-To” law firm – highly valued by Fortune 500 clients, and ranked 12th in labor and employment of 900 firms surveyed in 2009.

 

---

 

Human Resources Compliance

At McGuireWoods, we counsel clients to be proactive rather than reactive. We encourage employers to adopt positive, preventive approaches to employee relations at the earliest stage possible. To support employers in these efforts, we provide counseling and on-site training on a number of issues, including:

Arbitration Agreements Bonuses and Incentive Compensation Confidentiality/Trade Secret Protection Corporate Reorganizations Covenants Not to Compete Disabled Accessibility Discipline and Discharge Diversity Programs Documentation and Record Retention E-mail, Internet and Social Media Use Emergency Planning Employee Handbooks Employee Opinion Surveys Employee Participation Programs Employment Contracts	Inventions/Copyright Protection Leave Rights and Limitations Pandemic Response Performance Appraisals Personnel Policies and Procedures Privacy and Employee Monitoring Reasonable Accommodations Reductions in Force Responding to EEOC/DOL Charges Severance Agreements Statutory Compliance Substance Abuse Prevention and Drug/Alcohol Testing Visa Processing Wage and Hour Compliance

Employment Litigation

Accomplishing clients’ goals while avoiding litigation is our primary objective. However, when litigation is inevitable, our team is comprised of seasoned trial lawyers, here to vigorously defend your interests. Examples of the types of claims typically handled by our group include:

Age, Race, Sex, Religious, National Origin and Disability Discrimination Defamation Disability Access and Accommodation Employment-Related Constitutional Issues ERISA and Employee Benefits Invasion of Privacy Malicious Prosecution/Abuse of Process Mass Layoffs Negligent Hiring and Retention Negligent and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress	Negligent Supervision Non-Compete Enforcement/Defense OSHA/Safety Retaliation Sexual and Other Harassment Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets Wage and Hour Compliance WARN and Reductions in Force Whistleblower Claims Wrongful Discharge

For additional information and representative matters, please click here.

Wage and Hour

Compliance issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage and hour laws are important for employers of all sizes. At McGuireWoods, we counsel clients on how to adopt proper policies and procedures to ensure compliance, advise on ways to minimize the cost of compliance, provide training for managers and supervisors, and assist employers in responding to government investigations. We also represent employers in single party, class and collective actions throughout the country. Examples of related services include:

Compensation Self-Audits DOL Audit Defense Donning and Doffing Exempt and Non-Exempt Identification Incentive Compensation Impact Hours Worked Recording	Meal and Rest Periods Off the Clock Work Overtime Management and Calculation Prevailing Wage Determination Timecards and Recordkeeping Vacation and Leave Policies

For additional information and representative matters, please click here.

Non-Competes, Trade Secrets and Employee Fraud

In today’s competitive marketplace, protecting a company’s trade secrets, proprietary information, assets and customer relationships is critical. We believe a proactive, preventive strategy is the best way to insulate clients from unfair competition and employee fraud. We can assist you in addressing:

Breach of Employment Contracts Contract/Customer Interference Computer Fraud Electronic Communications Embezzlement	Employee Raiding Non-Compete Enforcement Protection of Trade Secrets Theft of Company Property Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices

For additional information and representative matters, please click here.

Labor-Management Relations

Whether advising non-unionized employers on strategies to remain union-free or assisting employers with a unionized workforce in negotiations, labor arbitrations and defending unfair labor practice charges, our nationally recognized labor attorneys are ready to help. This includes matters relating to:

Breach of Collective Bargaining Agreements Campaign Management Collective Bargaining Negotiations Corporate Campaigns Grievances Under Union Contracts  Labor Litigation	Managing Existing Union Relationships Strikes and Boycotts Unfair Labor Practice Charges Union Avoidance Union Decertification

For additional information and representative matters, please click here.

Affirmative Action and OFCCP Compliance Reviews

McGuireWoods has assisted employers with affirmative action plan design, preparation and implementation and related audit defense for more than 40 years. We can assist you in addressing:

Affirmative Action Plan Preparation Applicant Tracking System Design Candidate Outreach and Recruiting Compensation Evaluation Data Collection	EEO-1 and VETS-100 Reporting Employee Selection and Testing OFCCP Audit Defense Record Retention Statistical Analysis

For additional information and representative matters, please click here.

Occupational Safety and Health

McGuireWoods has extensive experience representing employers across the nation in all matters relating to the Occupational Safety and Health Act, state-OSHA programs, and the Mine Safety and Health Act. Our team includes attorneys from several practice groups, including Labor & Employment, Environmental Solutions, and Toxic Tort and Environmental Litigation. This multi-disciplinary team is uniquely equipped to handle all workplace safety and health issues that arise, including:

Accident/Fatality Response Employer Self-Audits Enforcement Action Defense Indoor Air Quality Management OSHA and MSHA Inspections	Regulatory Compliance Retaliation and Whistleblower Claims Safety and Health Program Design

For additional information and representative matters, please click here.

Visa Processing

At McGuireWoods, clients count on us to obtain temporary and permanent resident visa status for foreign nationals to work in the United States, including the following visa classifications:

H-1B (Skilled Professionals) B-1 (Business Travel) E-1/ E-2 (Trading / Investors) F-1/J-1 (Academic Study / Training) L-1 (Intra-Company Transfer) O-1/P-1 (Athletics / Arts / Sciences) TN (Canadian / Mexican Professionals)	R (Ministers / Religious Workers) Employment-Based Permanent Residence (Job-Based “Green Cards”) Family-Based Permanent Residence (Spouse / Parent / Child / Sibling “Green Cards”)

For additional information and representative matters, please click here.

Immigration Compliance

In addition to visa processing, we also help employers comply with the increasingly complex laws and regulations that relate to employer verification of worker identities and employment authorization. We partner with clients to create effective I-9 programs, which includes training in the completion and maintenance of forms. We can also assist you with: 

Employment Eligibility Verification E-Verify Participation Governmental Audits / Raids I-9 Compliance ICE Enforcement Identity Theft	IMAGE Program Participation Internal Investigations National Origin Discrimination Recordkeeping Social Security No-Match Letters State Immigration Laws

For additional information and representative matters, please click here.

UK, Europe & International Employment

Because clients’ interests are not limited to geographic boundaries, McGuireWoods has teams of attorneys based in our offices abroad with experience in all aspects of international employment law. We can assist you in addressing:

Business Reorganizations Collective Bargaining Directors’ Service Agreements Employee Share Option Schemes Employment Aspects of Business Transfers (TUPE) Employment Contracts, Including Breach of Contract and Bonus Disputes Employment Share Option Schemes EU and Domestic Information and Consultation Obligations European Legislation Expatriate Assignments Family-Friendly Working, Including Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Flexible Working Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Compliance Foreign Trade Union Issues Garden Leave, Post Termination Restrictions and Obligations (such as Nonsolicitation, Noncompete)	International Mergers and Acquisitions  Litigation in the English Employment Tribunal, the English High Court, the Belgium Labour Court and Other Jurisdictions Part-Time, Fixed-Term and Agency Workers erformance, Conduct and Ill-Health Issues Policy and Staff Handbooks Redundancy Programs References Restraint of Trade Issues Secondment Agreements Statutory Severance Obligations Tax The Working Time Regulations 1998 Unlawful Deduction from Wages Work Permits and Visas Wrongful Dismissal Claims

For additional information and representative matters, please click here.

Management Training

If the best offense is a good defense, a good defense is meaningless if supervisors don’t take timely action to spot and address issues on the ground. That’s why we offer proactive training to human resources professionals and mangers on numerous topics, including those below. We also provide training in a variety of “non-traditional” formats, including “Employment Law Jeopardy”, “Termination Deal or No Deal”, “Tales From the File Zone”, “Who Wants to Make a Plaintiff a Millionaire” and interactive role playing. Some of our training classes include:

ADA Compliance / Accommodations Affirmative Action Compliance Employee Privacy / Social Networking Employee Testing and Surveillance Federal Discrimination Law Overview Hiring, Supervising and Firing Investigating Misconduct / Harassment Managing the FMLA Minefield	Pre-Employment Inquiries Reference Check Pointers and Pitfalls Responding to Employee Complaints Sexual Harassment Top 10 Manager / HR Mistakes Union Avoidance Wage and Hour Law Basics Workplace Violence

Representative Work

For a list of representative matters that reflect the Labor & Employment Group’s capabilities across a range of industries and issues, please click on the individual subject area links referenced above.