Employment Litigation

Home / Services / Employment Litigation
All services
Litigation

Employment litigation defense for employers facing discrimination, wage and hour, and executive disputes, handling everything from EEOC charges through trial with an eye on both the verdict and the workplace you have to run afterward.

Employment disputes hit your business and your culture at the same time, and the right answer is rarely just winning the motion. We defend employers in discrimination, wage and hour, and executive matters, from the first agency charge through trial. We push hard where the facts support it and counsel an early exit where they do not, because the goal is protecting the company, not running up the fight.

Discrimination And Harassment Defense

We defend claims under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA, and parallel state statutes, starting at the EEOC or state agency stage and carrying through litigation and trial. That means building the factual record early, testing the plaintiff's causation theory, and positioning summary judgment where the evidence allows. We also help you fix the underlying practice so the same claim does not arrive again from a different employee.

Wage And Hour Class Claims

Wage and hour exposure scales fast once it becomes collective or class litigation over overtime, misclassification, or off-the-clock work. We defend FLSA collective actions and state-law class claims, challenging conditional certification, attacking the commonality the plaintiffs need, and pressing the individualized questions that defeat class treatment. We also review the pay and classification practices behind the suit so you are not just defending this case but preventing the next one.

Executive And Departure Disputes

Fights over departing executives mix compensation claims, equity disputes, non-compete enforcement, and trade secret risk into a single high-stakes matter. We litigate these on either side of the separation, enforcing restrictive covenants and protecting confidential information, or defending against overreaching ones. Because these disputes often turn on what an executive took on the way out, we move quickly to lock down evidence and seek injunctive relief when the facts warrant it.

Agency Charges And Investigations

Many employment matters begin at an agency rather than a courthouse. We represent employers before the EEOC, the Department of Labor, and state agencies investigating pay, leave, and discrimination practices, drafting position statements, managing document requests, and steering toward a resolution before litigation. Handling the agency stage well often resolves the dispute entirely or sets up a far stronger position if it does proceed to court.

Frequently asked questions

Investigate the underlying facts thoroughly, prepare a well-supported position statement, and consider whether mediation makes sense. Many charges resolve at the agency stage without turning into a lawsuit, so a careful, documented response early on can shape the outcome and avoid litigation. Avoid any action that could look like retaliation against the employee who filed.

The common ones are misclassifying employees as exempt or as independent contractors, off-the-clock work, and missed meal or rest breaks. These add up across a workforce, so the exposure in a class or collective action can be substantial. The most effective defense is auditing your pay practices proactively and fixing problems before a plaintiff finds them.

It depends on the strength of the case, your potential exposure, and business factors like disruption and precedent. A weak claim with limited damages may be worth defending, while a strong claim with significant exposure may warrant early resolution. An honest evaluation of the facts and law up front is what drives a sound decision.

A properly drafted arbitration agreement with a class action waiver can require employees to bring claims individually in arbitration rather than as a class, which significantly limits exposure. Enforceability varies by state and by claim type, and some claims may fall outside what can be compelled. The drafting details matter, so these agreements should be reviewed carefully.

Start by reviewing the executive's employment, equity, and any restrictive covenant agreements, then address protection of confidential information and trade secrets on the way out. Negotiating clear separation terms, including releases and post-employment obligations, reduces the chance of a later dispute. Careful, documented handling at the exit is what prevents litigation down the road.

Retaliation claims are common and can succeed even when the underlying discrimination or harassment claim doesn't, because the employee only has to show they suffered an adverse action for engaging in protected activity. That makes how you treat someone after they complain just as important as the original decision. Document legitimate, non-retaliatory reasons for employment actions contemporaneously.

Document products

Related document products

Order attorney-drafted documents related to this service.

Browse all products

Let's talk about your employment litigation needs.

Get in touch