Employment and Human Resources
Employment law is in a constant state of flux, requiring both employees and employers to stay informed regarding their respective rights and responsibilities. The McHattie Law Firm will keep you current throughout the life cycle of your company. Our attorneys have extensive experience helping companies update their workplace policies and procedures to conform to the most recent federal and state laws and to avoid problems resulting there from, paying particular attention to compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) and the various electronic communication laws that apply to employment, including the Electronics Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).
Our lawyers are also well versed in the overlap between employment and intellectual property law. We have broad experience with non-compete and non-disclosure agreements. We can also help your company protect its trade secrets by developing appropriate employee policies and procedures. Well-crafted employment contracts reduce confusion about who owns intellectual property created by an employee. Internet, social media, and electronic communications policies help ensure that trademarks and copyrights are properly handled, providing guidance to employees as to what they may and may not post to the internet and what the employer may do if company policies are violated.
Our lawyers’ proactive approach to assisting you with the creation and implementation of employment policies and procedures will create a positive and productive work environment for managers and employees alike, helping your company avoid expensive and disruptive disputes. However, if a dispute does arise, even if just a threat of litigation, our attorneys are adept at getting those matters resolved, (whether an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) inquiry, or a filed formal dispute before the EEOC or an employment litigation in the State or Federal Court). We don’t just go through the motions; we think about what we’re doing and, in addition to getting the matter ready for trial, devise and implement strategies and tactics designed to obtain appropriate, efficient and pragmatic results for all involved.
Moreover, given the multi-level impact of any litigation on a business (whether the business regularly deals with litigation or not), we address the facts and issues of the dispute, as well as the broader implications to both the insured and enterprise risk management. Our attorneys don’t merely look at the costs of litigation versus resolution, but also consider and provide counsel on the matter’s impact on other aspects of the business, such as long term implications, precedent, human resources, and regulatory implications and compliance. The goal is to solve a problem without creating two more.