Effective counsel for any employment relationship begins with an understanding of the employer’s business and its goals. Our attorneys work with clients to provide comprehensive management services addressing all aspects of the employment relationship. We represent both unionized and union-free employers. From handbook and policy reviews, to benefit and compliance issues, to routine hiring, firing, and retention challenges, to employment immigration issues, our attorneys are well-versed in the issues facing employers day-in and day-out.
Employment
We provide real-time practical guidance and advice on employment issues for employers of all sizes, on matters routine to complex. We advise clients on matters such as hiring, firing, and claims for unemployment compensation, harassment, discrimination, and accommodation. We review handbooks and related policies, and counsel on compliance issues. We also prepare and evaluate contracts, covenants not to compete and restrictive covenants, confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, and separation and termination agreements.
Labor
From union organizing, elections, and collective bargaining to labor arbitration and other matters under the authority of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the State Employment Relations Board (SERB), our attorneys provide comprehensive management services for unionized employers and management. We also provide services in defense of unfair labor practice charges, grievances, and matters subject to arbitration.
Litigation
A significant focus of our employment practice is the defense of employers facing charges in state and federal courts, as well as in administrative proceedings before a governmental agency such as the National Labor Relations Board, Department of Labor (DOL), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), State Employment Relations Board (SERB), Ohio Civil Rights Commission (OCRC), Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), Ohio Department of Commerce, Ohio Unemployment Compensation Review Commission (UCRC), Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), Ohio Industrial Commission, or Michigan Department of Civil Rights. We also regularly prosecute and defend actions seeking injunctive relief, including temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, in matters involving violations of restrictive covenants/non-compete agreements and other kinds of employment contracts. Our litigators also defend trustees, administrators and plan sponsors in fiduciary breach and other claims under ERISA and related regulations.
Workers' Compensation and Workplace Safety Issues
We represent the interests of both state fund and self-insured employers before the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) and the Ohio Industrial Commission (IC). Our lawyers regularly appear before District Hearing Officers (DHO), Staff Hearing Officers (SHO) and the Industrial Commission, and through appeals and mandamus actions in the courts of common pleas beyond the administrative stage. We also defend employers against VSSR claims, and assist with disputes before the BWC over premiums assessed and employee classification issues for purposes of premium allocation.
Labor
Employment Law
Benefits
Employment-Related Litigation
Workers’ Compensation