Labor & Employment

Lewis Brisbois' Labor & Employment Practice represents clients from coast to coast in all phases and types of employment litigation, counseling, and training. Our team of employment professionals is spread throughout our locations across the United States and provides clients with sound counsel in dozens of jurisdictions. Our size and geographic coverage allow us to provide our clients with consistent representation throughout the nation.

Our Labor & Employment Practice’s general focus is on preventing litigation and reducing exposure to our clients. However, while sound policies, training, and self-auditing generally prevent significant problems, sometimes employment litigation is inevitable, and it is in this arena where our team truly excels. Our attorneys have extensive experience in handling state and federal litigation from commencement of the action through appeal, addressing all disputes from the simplest unemployment claim to complex appellate matters. We represent clients before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (and its state equivalents), unemployment agencies, OSHA (and its state equivalents), the National Labor Relations Board, state departments of labor, and other government agencies concerned with employment law and regulations.

Due to the sensitive and volatile nature of employment litigation, plaintiffs are often motivated to advance their cases to trial. While most firms have limited trial experience, our Labor & Employment Practice tries many lawsuits each year, and participates in many trial-like settings such as arbitrations and administrative hearing proceedings. We also boast several members of the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).

Areas of focus for our team include:

  • Discrimination and harassment pertaining to age, race, disability, gender, religion, national origin, citizenship, military service, pregnancy, and sexual orientation
  • State and federal wage and hour disputes related to alleged violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including defense of wage and hour class actions
  • Wrongful termination and retaliatory discharge
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) litigation relating to public accommodations
  • Non-competition agreements and trade secret protections
  • Affirmative action compliance
  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance
  • Preventative measures, including training, policy review, and employee handbooks

In addition, we offer services related to federal contractor compliance, including Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), preparation of Affirmative Action Plans, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) auditing, and Service Contractor Act (SCA) requirements. Our attorneys work with government contractors to design, implement, maintain, and audit effective compliance protocols and other programs to ensure conformance with applicable federal and state government contracting requirements.

Visit our COVID-19: Labor & Employment page and download our "COVID-19 Immunity for Employers" 50 State Survey.

Chairs

  • Elior Shiloh (Partner) - Elior.Shiloh@lewisbrisbois.com, 212.232.1362

Vice Chairs

  • Steven Gatley (Partner) - Steven.Gatley@lewisbrisbois.com, 213.580.3977
  • William Helfand (Partner) - Bill.Helfand@lewisbrisbois.com, 832.460.4614
  • Alan Rupe (Managing Partner) - Alan.Rupe@lewisbrisbois.com, 316.609.7901
  • Jeffrey Spiegel (Co-Managing Partner) - Jeffrey.Spiegel@lewisbrisbois.com, 646.783.1703
  • Kenneth Walton (Managing Partner) - Ken.Walton@lewisbrisbois.com, 857.313.3936
  • Mary Smigielski (Partner) - Mary.Smigielski@lewisbrisbois.com, 312.463.3377
  • Jonathan Beckerman (Partner) - Jonathan.Beckerman@lewisbrisbois.com, 954.678.4062
  • Peter Shapiro (Partner) - Peter.Shapiro@lewisbrisbois.com, 212.232.1322
  • Cheryl Wilke (Managing Partner) - Cheryl.Wilke@lewisbrisbois.com, 954.495.2220
  • Benjamin Stone (Partner) - Benjamin.Stone@lewisbrisbois.com, 206.455.7413