Overview
The litigation of employment law matters has been on the rise. New types of claims relating to pay equity, diversity, harassment, and discrimination were the expected result of widespread legislation that expanded the scope of employment laws and extended them to more protected classes.
Disputes stemming from company restructuring and layoffs, as employers try to reduce costs in a tight economic climate, will also likely increase.
Our experienced Employment Litigation group defends employers of all sizes and sectors against those claims and disputes and advises employers on how to prevent them. Our attorneys have successfully litigated cases involving virtually every aspect of the employment relationship, and represented clients before judges, juries, arbitrators, and administrative agencies throughout the United States. And as the volume of COVID-19-related litigation continues to grow, we’re handling all manner of claims concerning returning to work, workplace accommodations and safety, and employee benefits.
Focusing on What Matters
Our approach to litigation is entirely practical, based on the needs and resources of the employers we represent. Our clients count on us to separate what matters from what’s superfluous, and to defend their interests while working within their financial and operational constraints. We help them assess the real-world business consequences of litigation, and plan accordingly.
Interpreting New Legislation
In employment law, the legislative landscape is constantly shifting, and failure to comply with each new rule can attract the attention of the plaintiffs’ bar, too often leading to ruinous class actions. Especially for employers with nationwide footprints, the rules from state to state are imprecise and difficult to interpret. We help employers navigate the gray areas, and when litigation occurs, we defend them in all jurisdictions.
Willingness to Go to Trial
Our reputation in the courtroom precedes us. While employment lawsuits do not often go to trial, there is nonetheless a clear advantage to having a law firm prepared to do so. Plaintiffs’ groups nationwide know us well, and they afford us the sort of deference that encourages settlements and prevents trials.
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Focus Areas
Services
- ADA and Public Accommodations
- Class Actions
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Counseling
- Employment, Labor & Workforce Management
- Executive Compensation
- Financial Services Litigation
- Health Care Litigation
- Labor Management Relations
- Litigation & Business Disputes
- Pandemic Workforce Issues
- Pay Equity
- Remote and Hybrid Work
- Trade Secrets & Employee Mobility
- Wage and Hour
- Whistleblowing and Compliance
- Workplace Investigations
Industries
Trending Issues
Experience
- Defended a major retailer in a case involving allegations of racial discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliatory discharge, in which the plaintiff asked for the statute of limitations to be “equitably tolled,” i.e., extended because of a delay beyond his control. Our Employment Litigation attorneys obtained dismissal on the grounds that the plaintiff did not take prompt action after the delay ended.
- Convinced a federal judge to deny the plaintiff’s motion for class certification on claims that a staffing company did not timely pay final wages to more than 1,000 terminated employees in California.
- Ended a disability discrimination suit against a major retail client brought by a former employee who claimed that after undergoing back surgery, our client ignored needed work restrictions against heavy lifting or carrying and assigned him tasks that included lifting heavy objects. Our lawyers successfully filed to dismiss for failure to state a plausible claim for relief.
- Successfully arbitrated an employment action seeking $5 million in liquidated damages and an additional $25 million in actual damages against an individual who was sued by the prospective employer for not joining that firm, in a claimed breach of contract. We argued the employer’s liquidated damages clause was an unlawful restrictive covenant that proved the employer had no provable actual damages. In a complete victory for our client, no damages were awarded.
- Represented a communications client in a nationwide collective action in which installation technicians alleged off-the-clock work. Though plaintiffs initially sought a multimillion-dollar settlement, our lawyers convinced the federal court to decertify, which compelled the two remaining plaintiffs to settle for a small fraction of their initial demands.
- Defeated a lawsuit brought against a national pharmaceutical company alleging retaliatory discharge for protected whistleblowing. Our attorneys persuasively demonstrated that the employee was discharged for reasons unrelated to the complaint and the employee voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice.
- Defeated reverse discrimination claims against a financial services firm. The day after our attorneys took the plaintiff’s deposition, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed his case and received nothing.
- Defeated discrimination and retaliation claims filed by a former server in the New York State Division of Human Rights against a restaurant operator client. Our client wished to go to trial to be completely vindicated. After a four-day hearing and a lengthy post-trial briefing, the administrative law judge ruled completely in our client’s favor.
- Defended an industry-leading real estate owner and management firm against sexual harassment and emotional distress claims. We helped our client avoid a jury trial by enforcing an arbitration agreement and then won dismissal in arbitration through cross-examination showing that the plaintiff was not credible and had altered key diary entries logging alleged incidents of harassment and reports to the employer.
- Obtained a temporary restraining order in state court and leveraged firm contacts to pursue criminal sanctions through the U.S. Attorney's Office against a former independent contractor of a global telecommunications company. The contractor, who was separated from the company, engaged in a campaign of sending harassing, threatening, and disparaging emails and text messages to the company. Once we initiated litigation, the contractor ceased his harassing conduct, personal safety was restored, and business relationships remained unharmed.
Contacts
- Member of the Firm
- Board of Directors / Member of the Firm
- Member of the Firm
Media
Events
Past Events
- September 7-10, 2023
Insights
Insights
- Media CoveragePaul DeCamp Quoted in “Judges Order Arrests in Rare Labor Agency ‘Punch’ Over Defiance”2 minute read
- Media Coverage
Featured in Los Angeles Sentinel: Attorney Kimberly Carter Joins Epstein Becker Green Law Firm
1 minute read - Media Coverage
Featured in Law360: Employment Attorney Kim Carter Joins Epstein Becker Green
2 minute read - Media CoverageKim Carter Featured in “Wake Up Call: Laterals, Moves, In-House”1 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green Bolsters West Coast Presence with Employment Attorney Kimberly Carter3 minute read
- Media CoverageKim Carter Featured in “Epstein Becker Green Adds Employment Attorney as Member in LA”1 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green Announces 2024 Promotions6 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green’s Pete Steinmeyer Honored in Crain’s 2023 Notable Leaders in Employment & Labor Law
1 minute read - PublicationsOverlooked Risks for Employers Using AI Tools6 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green’s Edward J. Loya, Jr., Elected as Texas Bar Foundation Fellow3 minute read
- Media CoverageKevin Sullivan Quoted in “California Top Court Weighs How to Split Big Labor Law Cases”2 minute read
- Media CoveragePaul DeCamp Quoted in “11 States Support Bid In 5th Circ. to Nix DOL Tip Rule”4 minute read
- Media CoverageSteve Swirsky Quoted in “Who’s Most Affected by NLRB’s Joint Employer Final Rule?”4 minute read
- Media CoveragePaul DeCamp Quoted in “Restaurant Groups Urge 5th Circ. to Toss DOL's Tip Rule”3 minute read
- Media CoverageJeff Ruzal Quoted in “Tipped Credit Rule May Bring Down Tipped Wages”3 minute read
- Media CoverageSteve Swirsky Quoted in “NLRB Adopts Expanded Joint Employer Rule”3 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Two Epstein Becker Green Attorneys Named to the 2023 Connecticut Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
13 minute read - BlogsBusiness Enterprise Value as a Measure of Damages for Business Torts5 minute read
- Media CoverageCarter DeLorme Quoted in “4 Cases to Watch as New Supreme Court Term Kicks Off”3 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Twenty-One Attorneys Named to the 2023 New York Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists
12 minute read - Media CoverageJeff Ruzal Quoted in “5 Things to Know About Retaliation in Employment Law”2 minute read
- Media CoverageEmma Pelkey Featured in “People on the Move”1 minute read
- Media CoveragePaul DeCamp Quoted in “Proposed Change in Overtime Threshold Likely to Face Challenges”3 minute read
- Media CoverageSharon Peters Featured in “People on the Move”1 minute read
- PublicationsIllinois Legislative Update: Big Changes for Employers26 minute read
- Media CoverageAndrew Lichtenstein Featured in “On the Move”1 minute read
- Media Coverage
Paul DeCamp Quoted in “No Salary 'Window Dressing' After Helix”
3 minute read - Media CoverageAndrew Lichtenstein Featured in “Epstein Becker Picks Up Ex-O'Melveny Atty in LA”2 minute read
- Media CoverageElizabeth Houghton LaGreca Quoted in “Religious Objections Over Pronouns Test High Court’s New Stance”2 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green Continues West Coast Expansion with Employment Attorney Andrew Lichtenstein in Los Angeles ...2 minute read
- Media CoveragePaul DeCamp Quoted in "Restaurant Groups’ Tip Rule Challenge to Return to Fifth Circuit"2 minute read
- Media CoverageMike Kun Quoted in “Calif. High Court Sparks 'Last Great PAGA Fight'”3 minute read
- Media CoverageEric Neiman Featured in “People on the Move”1 minute read
- Media CoverageAnn Knuckles Mahoney Quoted in “US Soccer's Equal Pay Deal Resonates in World Cup Spotlight”3 minute read
- Media CoverageJames Oh Quoted in "Employer Not Liable for Allegedly Spreading COVID-19 to Employee’s Wife"2 minute read
- Publications#WorkforceWednesday: Affirmative Action Takes a Hit, SCOTUS Reinforces Religious Accommodations, NYC Enforces AEDT Law ...3 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Earns National Recognition and High Rankings in the 2023 Edition of Legal 500
3 minute read - Media CoverageHeath Edwards Featured in “People on the Move”1 minute read
- Media CoverageRobert O’Hara Quoted in “Even as Multimillion-Dollar Fines Pile Up, Dollar General Says It's Making 'Sustained Effort ...2 minute read
- Media CoverageHeath Edwards Featured in “Wake Up Call: Laterals, Moves, In-House”1 minute read
- Media CoveragePaul DeCamp Quoted in “5 Questions as 5th Circ. Revives Attack on Min. Wage Rule”4 minute read
- Media CoveragePaul DeCamp Quoted in “5th Circ. Flips Injunction Ruling That Kept DOL Tip Rule Alive”2 minute read
- Media CoverageHeath Edwards Featured in “EBG Adds Another Waller Veteran”2 minute read
- Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green’s Nashville Office Expands with Employment Litigator Heath Edwards4 minute read
- PublicationsIDOL Finalizes Amended Regulations for Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act7 minute read
- Media Coverage
Jim Flynn Featured Guest on Sidebar Podcast: “No Laughing Matter”
2 minute read - Firm AnnouncementsEpstein Becker Green Welcomes Labor & Employment Trial Lawyer J.T. Wilson III in Chicago3 minute read
- PublicationsNew Jersey Enacts a Temporary Workers’ Bill of Rights12 minute read
- Media CoverageRobert O’Hara Quoted in “Shareholder Sues Dollar General After OSHA Assesses $15M in Safety Fines and Says Chain 'Puts ...3 minute read
- Media CoverageLisa Pierce Reisz Featured in “People on the Move”1 minute read