Representative Matters

Employment Law
• Disparate Treatment

  • Mediated and presided over cases where employees alleged denial of overtime hours because of their protected classes or because they engaged in protected employment activity
  • Mediated and presided over cases where employees alleged discriminatory schedule changes, reassignment, discipline and termination
  • Mediated and presided over cases where employees were subjected to different terms and conditions of employment because of their race, color, disability or age
  • Presided over and mediated numerous “failure to hire” or “failure to promote” cases due to an applicant’s sex, religion, race, national origin, color, disability or age

  Hostile Work Environment

  • Presided over a national origin discrimination case where an employee was repeatedly investigated for security infractions due to ordinary activity at the workplace
  • Presided over and mediated numerous cases where female and male employees were physically and verbally subjected to sexually harassing behavior in and out of the workplace, including harassment via social media
  • Presided over and mediated numerous sexual harassment cases where a male supervisor or manager subjected a subordinate female employee to a sexually harassing environment, including engaging in sexual favoritism, unwanted touching, offensive remarks, quid pro quo behavior and abuse of authority
  • Presided over cases where a manager or supervisor was subjected to national origin and religious discrimination by subordinates
  • Presided over cases where employees were harassed because of their sexual orientation
  • Presided over cases where female employees were subjected to repeated exposure to sexually explicit graffiti in the workplace
  • Litigated and settled a case where a mentally disabled employee of a fast-food chain was repeatedly harassed, bullied and given the most unpleasant tasks
  • Mediated and presided over numerous reprisal cases where employees alleged they were harassed because they complained about job discrimination or because they assisted with a job discrimination investigation or lawsuit

  Pregnancy Discrimination

  • Litigated and settled a case where an employee was treated differently at a retail store when she became pregnant and was denied workplace accommodations that were previously provided to her and co-workers
  • Presided over cases involving denial of temporary accommodations due to pregnancy, such as schedule changes, job transfers, frequent and longer breaks, dress code or uniform modifications and a private space to pump breast milk

  Religious Discrimination

  • Litigated, presided over and mediated cases alleging religious discrimination, including workplace accommodation requests to allow prayer at work, uniform modifications, schedule modifications and other accommodation requests

  Reprisal

  • Presided over and mediated cases of per se reprisal where management is accused of making comments that cause employees to be fearful of complaining about discrimination

  Denial of Reasonable Accommodation

  • Presided over and mediated cases of denied accommodations based on physical and mental disabilities, including PTSD, depression, asthma, paranoid schizophrenia, anxiety, ADHD, arthritis, sleep apnea, narcolepsy, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer and heart disease
  • Presided over cases where the requested accommodations were a hardship to the employer, including requests to telework, modify schedules, reduce hours, transfer, make ergonomic adjustments and restructure a position
  • Presided over and mediated cases of denied religious accommodations, including requests to make exceptions to dress/grooming policies, schedule changes for religious holidays or daily prayer, and changes to job tasks

  Age Discrimination

  • Presided over and mediated cases alleging failure to hire, performance rating-based harassment and forced retirement based on applicant’s age
Business Commercial
• • Represented a small business owner accused of copying a competitor’s product and copyright- and trademark-protected text and images on advertisements and internet marketing materials
  • Litigated contract, intellectual property and employment cases in federal and state courts
  • Represented national clients in class actions and toxic-tort defense matters involving complex regulatory and scientific issues
  • Represented clients in asbestos matters involving direct exposures through employment as well as claimed secondhand exposure
  • Represented a manufacturer against claims of inadequate warning labels
  • Represented a chemical manufacturer of hazardous materials involving exposure that spanned several decades and involved hundreds of litigants and voluminous discovery
  • Represented employers in cases alleging personal injuries (including cancer, neurological and cognitive injury, and risk and fear of future injury claims) due to chemical exposures occurring at the workplace, from drinking water, or from using industrial or consumer products
Civil Rights
• • Oversaw administrative hearings involving alleged violations of federal civil rights statutes in public-service employment contexts
  • Provided training to legal and HR professionals on preventing harassment and ensuring compliance with EEOC standards to public and private employers and attorneys
Personal Injury
• • Litigated personal injury, premises liability and product liability cases in federal and state courts
Construction
• • Litigated construction defect matters, including design defect cases that allegedly caused cracked foundations and leaky roofs