With an international footprint, Armstrong Teasdale advises employment and labor clients across industry sectors no matter where their operations may be. We represent employers of all sizes around the world, from emerging companies to some of the world’s largest listed companies, as well as governmental entities, educational institutions and nonprofits. While our teams work seamlessly across international borders, employment and labor law presents distinct differences and jurisdictional nuances. Our lawyers have in-depth experience navigating those various challenges, particularly in the U.S. and U.K.
In the U.S. our robust Employment and Labor team provides proactive counseling and training, and is active in conducting thorough investigations and negotiating labor relations, as well as defending clients in court and before regulatory bodies.
We regularly represent clients in litigation involving:
- Class action and individual claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, among others, as well as related state and local anti-discrimination laws
- Wrongful discharge and workers’ compensation retaliation claims
- Claims arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
- Claims seeking to enforce confidentiality, noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements
Our experience includes preparing employee handbooks and advising management on policies. We provide training and counsel on employee issues and compliance with anti-discrimination statutes, regulations and ordinances of the federal and state governments; Affirmative Action Plans and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) reviews; and Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) compliance and investigations. We also advise employers on executive agreements, noncompete and trade secrets, severance agreements and workforce adjustment issues.
Our attorneys have a deep understanding of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Railway Labor Act (RLA), and have appeared before regulatory bodies including the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). We advise employers concerning union avoidance, representational proceedings and elections; unfair labor practice investigations and hearings; contract negotiations; and labor arbitration hearings, including interest arbitration. Our experience also includes the administration of collective bargaining agreements and litigation to enforce them; and representation in injunctions against unlawful strike activity, picketing and work jurisdictional disputes.
In the U.K., our experienced Employment team advises large national and international companies, as well as small and medium enterprises, on all workplace issues, both contentious and non-contentious.
We provide legal advice to employers on a variety of day-to-day, operational documents including employee handbooks, and draft and negotiate employment contracts, service agreements and bonus schemes. We help companies navigate the complexities and requirements of U.K. employment laws, including leading and guiding on staff restructuring projects (including collective and other redundancy consultation processes). We also advise employers on all other types of workplace issues during the life cycle of the employment relationship, including performance/conduct management, resolving employee grievances, disciplinary processes, dismissals, Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE), and other employee events, including matters related to parental leave.
On the contentious side, we have a wealth of experience defending employers against claims brought against them in the Employment Tribunal. Our experience ranges from defending straightforward, unfair dismissal claims, to high-value, complex, multi-party claims for discrimination, whistleblowing and failure to collectively consult. We have also been involved in proceedings in the Employment Appeal Tribunal and Court of Appeal.
Our work further includes acting for employers in High Court injunction matters, where urgent proceedings to enforce confidentiality and restrictive covenant clauses are necessary for business protection reasons.
