Employment
Employment law refers to the myriad of ever-changing federal and state regulations on a broad range of employer/employee relations such as hiring practices, wages and hours, harassment and discrimination, privacy in the workplace, personnel policies and employee discipline and termination.
A Cautionary Client Tale
How a small company could have avoided a discrimi- nation suit, and saved thousands of dollars in court costs, by having an employee manual and grievance procedures in place.
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Employment law is a practice that requires an expertise in litigation as well as the numerous state and federal statutes that govern these relationships.
Why Employment legal advice is important
Employment law is not only complex, it can change quickly, with the courts and government agencies issuing new rulings almost daily. And employment litigation is on the rise, with an estimated one in four private companies being sued by a current or former employee (source: Chubb Group).
Without proper legal advice, a company's standard employment agreements–including hiring contracts, severance packages and personnel policies–can create unintended financial obligations or leave the business vulnerable to a costly lawsuit.
How Nina L. Kaufman, Esq. can help
Based on our own litigation experience, clients have spent well in excess of $25,000 to defend employee lawsuits before they even reach the court–regardless of the verdict. To help companies who can ill afford these damaging lawsuits, we can review all employee-related agreements to ensue they comply with and include all the necessary legal requirements.
We can also help clients put their personnel policies in writing to ensure employee expectations and grievance procedures are clearly detailed to minimize the threat of a discrimination lawsuit.
Nina L. Kaufman, Esq. provides sound legal advice and assistance for a wide range of employment law matters, including:
Drafting, reviewing and executing:
- Personnel policies and manuals
- Employee agreements
- Confidentiality agreements
- Independent contractor agreements
- Non-solicitation agreements
- Enforceable restrictive covenants
Providing legal advice for:
- Employment and workplace relations
- Employee hiring, termination and training practices
- Use of independent contractors vs. employees
A Cautionary Client Tale
We represented a small import/export company that was named as a defendant in a sexual discrimination and hostile environment lawsuit. The plaintiff claimed a colleague called her derogatory names during a heated argument. A subsequent investigation revealed that this was a single incident that took place two years before the plaintiff quit her job, and no further incidents occurred. In fact, the offending colleague had been transferred to another office.
However, the company had no employee grievance procedures in place for situations like this, nor did it have an employment manual that addressed how these kinds of complaints would be handled. Although the plaintiff lost the case after a series of costly motions before the case even got to trial, she eventually appealed the decision and the company was forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees to defend a claim that the courts eventually held was not sustainable.
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