Labor & Employment - Employers
The legal landscape impacting employers is ever-evolving. The associated compliance mandates can be complex and confusing, even for the most seasoned owners and HR professionals.
At Lockaby PLLC, we provide creative, compassionate, and business-minded counsel on the full spectrum of labor and employment issues to businesses of all sizes. We partner with our clients to fully understand their industry, their operations, their risk tolerance, and their unique workplace and workforce challenges to provide proactive and pragmatic legal counsel on all matters that arise during the employment lifespan, from recruiting, hiring, and onboarding to termination, layoffs, and reductions in force—and everything in between.
Our attorneys are among the most experienced and well-respected members of the bar, having previously worked at some of the largest law firms in the country. They are recognized by their peers as Kentucky SuperLawyers and SuperLawyers “Rising Stars.” And they are thought leaders, regularly speaking and presenting on the hottest topics in labor-and-employment law.
Successful Results
- Obtained summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims for workers’ compensation retaliation and unpaid overtime wages in action against healthcare client.
- Obtained summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims for FMLA interference, FMLA retaliation, disability discrimination, and workers’ compensation retaliation in action against healthcare client.
- Obtained summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims for disability discrimination and retaliation in action against manufacturing client.
- Obtained dismissal of the plaintiff’s wage-and-hour claims on mootness grounds after the plaintiff rejected a Rule 68 offer of judgment, the first such dismissal of its kind in the Sixth Circuit and only the second such dismissal in the United States in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Campbell-Ewald opinion, in action against healthcare client.
- Obtained summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff’s ERISA claims, which was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and obtained denial of the plaintiff’s cert petition before the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Obtained Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims for sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and wrongful termination in action against hotel client.
- Obtained summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims arising under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in action against national cable TV provider.
Human Resources
Most small and midsized businesses don’t have an internal team of HR professionals. And most larger businesses don’t have specific experience and expertise in every discrete HR, labor, and employment discipline. That’s why businesses of all sizes turn to Lockaby PLLC for actionable insight and guidance on the wide variety of HR and legal issues impacting the workplace, including talent acquisition, talent retention, employee relations, and workforce management; day-to-day HR, labor, and employment law compliance; and terminations, layoffs, reductions in force, and other restructurings..
Talent Acquisition
An employer’s ability to efficiently recruit, hire, and onboard top talent is one of its biggest competitive advantages. At Lockaby PLLC, we provide strategic counsel every step of the way, ensuring employers remain in compliance with recruiting, hiring, and onboarding practices, including properly conducting background checks, properly classifying workers, preparing employment contracts, and drafting restrictive covenants.
Talent Retention, Employee Relations, and Workforce Management
An employer’s ability to not just retain, but to nurture and develop, top talent is directly correlated with an ever-improving bottom line. We provide trusted advice every step of the way, ensuring employers manage their workforce with the utmost efficiency and humanity, including with respect to employee handbooks, policy development, and policy implementation; standard operating procedures or SOPs; employee training; employee disciplinary action; performance management, evaluations, and reviews; medical and personal leaves of absence; and reasonable accommodations.
Termination, Layoffs, Reductions in Force, and Other Restructurings
It is inevitable that employers, at one time or another and for any number of reasons, will part ways with employees. These separations may be involuntary and allow for little or no notice, such as terminations for cause. These separations may also be planned and coordinated with prior notice, such as early retirements, layoffs, and reductions in force. Either way, it is imperative that employers navigate the applicable laws and regulations impacting each employee and each separation. At Lockaby PLLC, we guide employers through these difficult times and difficult decisions to ensure that they not only remain in compliance, but that they do so in the most efficient manner possible, avoid as much operational disruption as possible, and avoid litigation where possible.
HR and Labor & Employment Compliance
The scope and extent of statutory and regulatory compliance mandates can quickly overwhelm even the most savvy and experienced HR professionals and in-house counsel. At Lockaby PLLC, we partner with businesses of all sizes to ensure they are and remain in compliance with the myriad workplace regulations, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Affordable Care Act (ACA)
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
- Equal Pay Act
- Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
- National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)
- Older Workers’ Benefit Protection Act
- Pregnancy Discrimination Act
- Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII)
- Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)
- U.S. Department of Labor regulations
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations
- U.S. National Labor Relations Board regulations
- Kentucky Civil Rights Act
- Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act
- Kentucky Wages and Hours Act
- Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Act
Whether we are providing strategic counsel to a board of directors, a CEO, an HR manager, or a supervisor, our objective is the same: to provide a range of options for immediate action, with our recommendations, based on our understanding of each client’s business interests, risk tolerance, and the specific circumstances.
Investigations
Receiving a discrimination or harassment complaint from an employee, or worse, having a government investigator appear without notice at the office, is as disappointing as it is unsettling. Employee complaints about any kind of misconduct and government investigations into any kind of compliance violations can create tension in the workplace, reduce productivity and morale, and lead to costly legal battles.
At Lockaby PLLC, we conduct a variety of internal investigations and audits, from investigation of reports of discrimination and sexual harassment and other complaints of employee misconduct to audits of equal-pay and worker-classification issues, among others. We stand side-by-side with employers and their management, helping them preserve the attorney-client privilege for these sensitive matters and offering realistic action plans for fair, speedy, and efficient resolution on a cost-effective basis.
We also defend employers against a litany of investigations by government agencies, including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, and the Kentucky Labor Cabinet. We have successfully defended investigations into child-labor practices, various unfair-labor practices, and wage-and-hour violations, such as unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime wages, and meal- and rest-break violations, often obtaining dismissals of the claims or charges, limiting or narrowing the scope of the investigation, and/or negotiating decreased fines and penalties.
Whether we are conducting an internal investigations or defending a government-agency investigation, our lawyers have the necessary expertise to effectively interview witnesses, quickly synthesize competing facts and information, and provide sound, reasoned, and practical counsel to directors, officers, business owners, risk managers, insurance carrier representatives, management, and HR professionals.
Successful Results
- Obtained dismissal/closure of Kentucky Labor Cabinet investigation of professional services client related to complaints of worker misclassification and unpaid overtime wages.
- Obtained favorable settlement of Kentucky Labor Cabinet investigation of construction client for alleged OSHA violations, effectively limiting the scope of the investigation and reducing total fines and penalties.
- Obtained favorable settlement of U.S. Department of Labor investigation of food service client related to complaints of unpaid wages, limiting the temporal scope of the investigation and minimizing total liabilities.
- Conducted investigation of employee sexual-harassment complaint against non-profit client, providing guidance to Executive Director and culminating in the avoidance of litigation and legal exposure.
Litigation
Balanced. Nuanced. These are dirty words in the high-stakes world of litigation. Not so at Lockaby PLLC—these qualities are the hallmark of our litigation practice and at the very core of our victories and successful outcomes for clients.
Arguing and fighting for the sake of arguing and fighting only benefits lawyers, increasing the number of billable hours and decreasing the chances of a successful outcome. Instead, we approach each matter with a balanced, nuanced understanding of the issues involved, including our client, its business interests, its risk profile, its industry, and its operations, as well as the legal claims at issue and the jurisdiction in which the action is pending. At the outset of each matter, we provide a reasoned assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the case, an estimated budget, and a plan of action for achieving each client’s goals as quickly and efficiently as possible, whether that is early resolution or a vigorous defense.
Successful Results
- Obtained summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims for workers’ compensation retaliation and unpaid overtime wages in action against healthcare client.
- Obtained summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims for FMLA interference, FMLA retaliation, disability discrimination, and workers’ compensation retaliation in action against healthcare client.
- Obtained summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims for disability discrimination and retaliation in action against manufacturing client.
- Obtained dismissal of the plaintiff’s wage-and-hour claims on mootness grounds after the plaintiff rejected a Rule 68 offer of judgment, the first such dismissal of its kind in the Sixth Circuit and only the second such dismissal in the United States in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Campbell-Ewald opinion, in action against healthcare client.
- Obtained summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff’s ERISA claims, which was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and obtained denial of the plaintiff’s cert petition before the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Obtained Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims for sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and wrongful termination in action against hotel client.
- Obtained summary judgment and dismissal of the plaintiff’s claims arising under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in action against national cable TV provider.
Contracts
Every organization understands the need for clear and unambiguous contracts and agreements with its customers, vendors, suppliers, and other business partners. This need for effective and enforceable contracts is just as important with respect to an organization’s employees and independent contractors. Employment agreements, independent contractor agreements, and restrictive covenants—just to name a few—can protect the organization, its client base, and its confidential and other competitively-sensitive information.
At Lockaby PLLC, our lawyers regularly prepare a variety of workplace-related contracts across dozens of industries, catered specifically to each client’s unique needs and workforce, including employment agreements, independent contractor agreements, trade secret, confidentiality, and non-disclosure agreements, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements, retention agreements, arbitration and dispute resolution agreements, and severance and separation agreements.
Restrictive Covenants
Restrictive covenants, such as non-competition, non-solicitation, and non-disclosure agreements, can be vital tools for safeguarding an organization’s intellectual property, intellectual capital, and trade secrets—its competitive advantage in the marketplace. Pioneering startups want and need to protect proprietary innovations and developments. And established companies want and need to retain key talent, protect their customer base, and shield confidential and competitively-sensitive corporate information. At Lockaby PLLC, our attorneys understand the intricate legal, economic, and market dynamics at play, and we meticulously analyze applicable regulations, industry standards, and individual circumstances to craft effective and enforceable covenants designed to protect legitimate business interests.
Our attorneys have experience representing clients in a wide variety of industries, including automotive, banking, construction, food service, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, professional services, and retail, and we understand the nuances these heavily-scrutinized covenants demand. We have also handled numerous covenant-enforcement actions in state courts, federal courts, and arbitrations across the country—including in Kentucky, New York, and Florida.
Whether an organization is seeking to draft an ironclad agreement or litigate a contentious dispute, we stand ready to provide the strategic guidance and zealous advocacy needed to succeed.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Navigating the complex intricacies of labor and employment law is paramount to the success of any M&A transaction. At Lockaby PLLC, our attorneys possess the specialized expertise and strategic insight to guide clients through the complexities of due diligence, workforce integration, regulatory compliance, and employee retention in the context of mergers and acquisitions.
We advise buyers and sellers in preparation for, during, and immediately following M&A transactions, working closely with deal counsel, operations teams, and internal integration teams. Our involvement in the M&A transaction thus spans the planning, due diligence, and integration phases of every deal.
At Lockaby PLLC, our attorneys also help develop and implement strategic workforce integration plans tailored to the unique needs of each transaction, all while mitigating potential labor- and employment-related risks and liabilities. We take great pride in providing clients with a clear understanding of the labor-and-employment landscape applicable to every transaction, enabling them to make informed decisions throughout the deal process. From harmonizing compensation and benefits programs, addressing employee concerns regarding job security and career advancement, or navigating complex regulatory requirements, our attorneys leverage their expertise relating to HR, labor, and employment laws, specifically, and the M&A process, generally, to devise creative solutions that facilitate smooth transitions, reduce legal exposure and liability, and minimize disruptions to business operations.
