Labor & Employment Litigation - Litigation

Labor & Employment Litigation

Our Labor & Employment Practice Group offers the experience and expertise necessary to customize legal solutions for businesses and their insurers with regard to complex employment and labor law claims. We act as employer defense, coverage, and monitoring counsel on a regional and national basis. We also serve as trusted advisors on complex labor disputes. We provide our clients with expedient advice and practical analysis. When necessary we develop a thorough litigation plan, and a resolution objective.

Recognizing the enormous time and expense involved in these matters, we counsel our clients on the various defense and early resolution options available, and work to resolve these disputes in the most expeditious and efﬁcient manner. Depending on the case, this often means early mediation. However, in some cases where this is not feasible, we are fully prepared to litigate a case through administrative hearing or trial.

SmithAmundsen attorneys develop a comprehensive understanding of the businesses and industries in which our clients operate and we understand the effect labor disputes and employment claims have on an employer’s ability to conduct business. In addition to defending labor charges and employment claims, we pride ourselves on our ability to counsel clients on developing and implementing solid business practices to avoid future controversy or litigation. We collaborate often with members of SmithAmundsen’s Construction, Transportation, Health Care, and Financial Services and Business practice groups to handle a wide array of labor and employment issues unique to a specific industry or employer.

For more information on the Labor & Employment areas that we handle, please click the links to the left.

Employment Matters
SmithAmundsen’s Labor & Employment Practice Group has an impressive resume featuring extensive experience in all employment matters. Our attorneys have counseled and defended clients on discrimination and wrongful termination cases including all types of discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims brought under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, the Equal Pay Act, the FMLA, and equivalent state statutes, whistle blowing claims, and common law retaliatory discharge lawsuits. Our litigation services include defending companies against a vast array of employment-related claims in state and federal courts across the country and also defending employers against government claims brought by the EEOC, OSHA, DOL, and numerous state agencies. We also defend employers in litigation concerning the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), equivalent state wage and hour statutes, and applicable prevailing wage laws (with a particular focus on the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act).
Our attorneys provide proactive counsel and defense for human resource matters such as all aspects of the hiring process and harassment and discrimination investigations, employee handbooks, disciplining and terminating employees, policies and procedures, and affirmative action plans. We also serve as trusted advisors and resolve disputes in government regulations matters including government affirmative action plans, office of federal contract compliance, wage and hour laws, OSHA, and unemployment insurance hearings. We are also adept in handling unfair competition issues including drafting enforceable non-compete and sales representative agreements, litigating breaches of restrictive covenant agreements, and handling legal issues that arise from the employment of sales representatives.

Our employment attorneys handle complex independent contractor status issues including reviewing and revising independent contractor agreements, strengthening independent contractor relationships, defending companies when they are audited by state departments of unemployment insurance, the IRS, and other government agencies, keeping companies up to date about any changes in the law which might impact independent contractor situations, and advising companies about their risk in using independent contractors and helping them lower that risk. We have been on the forefront of day and temporary labor issues that increasingly impact the workplace.