Biography
Jackie Staple, a labor and employment attorney based in Jackson Walker’s Houston office, focuses on advising and counseling companies on employment law compliance and handling labor and employment transactional matters. Jackie has depth of experience drafting various employment, separation and release, and restrictive covenant agreements, as well as conducting due diligence of employment considerations in equity and asset transactions as a member of mergers and acquisitions deal teams.
As a trusted counselor, Jackie helps her clients navigate a variety of personnel matters, including:
- applicant and employee testing,
- background checks,
- discipline decisions,
- discrimination and harassment claims,
- disability accommodation and the interactive process,
- employee and independent contractor classification,
- employees with mental health concerns,
- joint employment issues,
- layoffs, furloughs, and the WARN Act,
- leaves of absence,
- protected, concerted activity,
- social media use by employees,
- unemployment compensation,
- wage and hour issues,
- workers’ compensation and retaliation,
- workplace misconduct, and
- workplace safety.
She conducts trainings in union and non-union workplaces, helping to empower managers in navigating these and other personnel matters on a day-to-day basis.
Jackie helps employers create and update sound policies and procedures, including multi-state employee handbooks, to comply with ever-changing employment laws. If an employee files an internal complaint, Jackie has experience serving as an independent investigator to interview witnesses and provide factual findings and recommendations.
When litigation is unavoidable, Jackie calls upon her background in education and the arts, as well as her litigation experience, to guide clients through administrative processes and prepare for trial. She has handled numerous administrative charges across the country filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and similar state agencies. Jackie has defended employers in lawsuits involving allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination, whistleblowing, breach of employee covenants, and breach of employment contracts. Specifically, she has handled matters related to Title VII, FLSA, ADA/ADAAA, ADEA, FMLA, NLRA, and various other state laws.
In addition to labor and employment matters, Jackie has handled a number of civil rights cases for counties and municipalities brought under Section 1983, often by pro se plaintiffs. Jackie regularly works with human resources professionals and in-house counsel across multiple industries but has focused knowledge of the manufacturing, transportation, and higher education industries, in part due to her work experiences at a university and at a chemical and transportation company.
Education
B.S., cum laude, Case Western Reserve University
M.A., Case Western Reserve University
J.D., summa cum laude, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
- Cleveland State Law Review
Bar Admissions
Ohio, 2013
Texas, 2019
Court Admissions
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Board Certifications
Labor and Employment Law
A sampling of Jackie’s notable matters include the following:
- Handled numerous EEOC charges for two different national insulation installation companies
- Achieved summary judgment on two race discrimination cases in federal court for a national financial services company
- Assisted global controls company in settling discrimination lawsuit brought by former in-house counsel
- Secured dismissal of hybrid Section 301 Labor Management Relations Act for major automobile manufacturer
- Reached early and favorable settlement of Family and Medical Leave Act claim for major automobile manufacturer
- Engaged in fact-finding in a labor dispute for a public library
- Handled many workers’ compensation administrative hearings and resulting litigation if the claimant appealed to court
- Advised a coal mining company regarding Mine Safety and Health Administration matters
- Drafted and reviewed dozens of employee handbooks and policies for employers in various industries, such as chemicals, energy and utilities, home improvement, poultry farming, private equity, religious institutions, snack food manufacturing, trucking and transportation.
- Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch (Woodward/White Inc.)
- Education Law, 2021-2022
- Labor and Employment Law – Management, 2021-2022
- Litigation – Labor and Employment, 2021-2022
Notable Speaking Engagements
- “COVID-19 Labor and Employment Law Issues,” Appelbaum Training Institute – remote nationwide live broadcast (May 15, 2021)
- “Protecting Women From Harassment in the Workspace,” Women in Trucking 2018 Accelerate! Conference and Expo, Frisco, Texas (November 12–14, 2018)
- “Intensive Trial Advocacy,” University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, guest faculty (August 19-20, 2021; August 11-13, 2018; September 2-3, 2016; February 15, 2016)
- “Handling EEOC Charges,” National Business Institute (October 4, 2017)
- “Employee Discipline Techniques that are Legally Compliant, Performance Appraisal Fundamentals to Stay out of Hot Water,” National Business Institute (May 9 & 15, 2018)
- “Workplace Privacy and Employee Monitoring, Discipline and Firing,” National Business Institute (June 14, 2017)
- “Legal Basics: What Entrepreneurs Need To Know,” Youngstown Business Incubator’s Women in Entrepreneurship — WE Launch, Youngstown, Ohio (May 2, 2018)
In the News
- “Six-Figure Income Plus Overtime Ruling Hits Energy Sector Pay,” Bloomberg Law (September 2021)
- Houston Association of Women Attorneys, Member