Labor & Employment
We are labor and employment lawyers who try labor and employment lawsuits, counsel our clients on increasingly complex workplace laws and regulations, and represent our clients before federal, state, and local labor and employment agencies, such as the NLRB, the EEOC, and OSHA.
Our litigation practice includes complex executive compensation matters, class/collective actions, trade secret/unfair competition cases, breach of fiduciary duty and executive malfeasance cases. Our vast labor and employment litigation experience is the platform from which we provide advice and counsel to help our clients solve workplace challenges covering the entire range of employment issues. We focus both on traditional labor issues–including elections, contract negotiations, arbitration, strikes and lockouts–to employment law areas, such as discrimination, disability, Family and Medical Leave Act, workplace safety, and wage and hour issues.
We practice employment law backed by the resources of a full service firm in corporate, tax, bankruptcy, intellectual property, securities, employee benefits, oil and gas, media, complex litigation, cybersecurity, and all the areas offered by Jackson Walker’s over 300 attorneys. By blending our labor/employment subject matter experience with practitioners from these areas, we offer a unique blend of labor/employment subject matter know-how to handle complex litigation cases that cross disciplines, counsel clients on high level executive compensation matters, and offer practical solutions for business issues from a multi-disciplinary perspective. We empower our clients with this multi-disciplinary knowledge and experience, in the courtroom and the boardroom.
Our clients include international Fortune 100 companies, privately held companies of all shapes and sizes in media, retail, oil and gas, alternative energy, technology, entertainment and hospitality, trucking and delivery, financial and insurance, and manufacturers. Our cases range the full spectrum from “bet the company” cases to single plaintiff labor/employment lawsuits.
We are Texas lawyers, with all of our lawyers and offices in Texas. This gives us unparalleled knowledge of the Texas legal landscape, from county to county. It also drives our national practice because our clients regularly hire us to handle matters in other states. Our unique position also results in opportunities to represent international companies that find themselves faced with significant employment matters that require the resources of a full-service firm.
Within only the last two years, we have enjoyed the following successes for our clients:
- We tried a complex executive fraud/breach of fiduciary duty case,with significant counter claims against our client, to a jury for nearly four weeks. After we tried the rest of the case to the court, we ultimately prevailed with a $1.7 M judgment against the former executive, settling the case after that on extremely favorable terms.
- We decertified a 100-plus plaintiff collective action FLSA overtime case, and then tried the first group of those plaintiffs to a jury, resulting in a settlement during jury deliberations with which our client was very pleased.
- We tried a case against a labor union that was seeking millions of dollars in allegedly unpaid benefits and won so emphatically that the union did not appeal.
- We filed a computer fraud and abuse act against a former executive of a large, publicly traded company, and brought such force to bear in the case, using a team led by our labor/employment lawyers but including bankruptcy and e-discovery lawyers, that it settled very favorably 6 weeks after we filed it, with the executive losing millions of dollars in benefits as a result of a “cause” termination.
- We decertified an FLSA collective action that would have had nearly 100 plaintiffs, leaving it with only 7 named plaintiffs, against whom we ultimately won summary judgment.
June 11, 2021
Insights
OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard for Occupational Exposure to COVID-19
By Sara Harris
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) COVID-19 workplace safety rules have been long in the making. On June 10, 2021, OSHA finally issued those rules in the form of an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). Coming as a surprise to many who were expecting broad rules that would apply to all workplaces, the ETS instead covers only workers in the healthcare industry.
June 11, 2021
Attorney News
Albon Head and Jay Rutherford Recognized Among 400 Most Influential People in Fort Worth
Jackson Walker proudly congratulates Albon Head and Jay Rutherford on being named among the 400 most influential people in Fort Worth. Launched in July 2018, “The 400” identifies the most influential individuals in Tarrant County across a range of sectors, including arts, business, education, economic development, government, professional services, nonprofits, and philanthropy, as determined by the editorial staff at Fort Worth Inc.
June 1, 2021
Mentions
Jamila Brinson Featured in ‘Houston Chronicle’ as Employees Return to the Office Following New CDC Guidance
Following the CDC’s recent announcement of revised guidance for fully vaccinated people, Jackson Walker partner Jamila Brinson spoke with the Houston Chronicle about what employers can and cannot do as their employees return to the workplace and how, speaking from personal experience as she and her family deal with her returning to the office, employees may require flexibility.
May 20, 2021
Webinars
“Avoiding Labor and Employment Nightmares: Strategies for Reducing Risk and Protecting Your Workforce”
View the Labor & Employment symposium sponsored by Jackson Walker and Insperity to keep up with the latest developments affecting employers. CLE, CPE, HRCI and SHRM credits are available.
May 20, 2021
Spotlight
Chambers and Partners Recognizes Jackson Walker Attorneys and Practices in 2021 USA and Global Guides
Jackson Walker is pleased to announce that Chambers and Partners has selected 41 attorneys and 14 departments for inclusion in the 2021 edition of the Global and USA guides.
May 18, 2021
Podcasts
What Do Revised CDC Guidelines Mean for the Workplace?
~9 minutes | Before returning to pre-pandemic behavior in the workplace, Gary Fowler, Sara Harris, and Brooke Willard discuss some key issues for employees and employers to consider.
May 14, 2021
Insights
The CDC Issues Revised Guidelines—Is It Time to Go to “No Mask Required”?
By Gary Fowler, Sara Harris, & Brooke Willard
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced revised guidance for persons who have been fully vaccinated. The CDC stated directly, “If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did prior to the pandemic.” However, employers and employees feeling the urge to discard masks and social distancing rules should take a moment before rushing to do so.
May 12, 2021
Newsletters
Labor & Employment Dispatch: May 2021
The May 2021 issue of Jackson Walker’s Labor & Employment Dispatch features insights on recent executive orders affecting employers, COVID-related changes to paid sick leave, morality clauses in talent contracts, and more.
May 6, 2021
Podcasts
Labor & Employment Actions in Biden’s First 100 Days
~10.5 minutes | Jackie Staple returns to discuss what actions President Biden and his administration have taken during his first 100 days in office.
May 7, 2021
Insights
President Biden’s Recent Executive Orders Seek to Advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
By Jackie Staple
Back in February, Jackson Walker summarized several of President Biden’s executive orders and memoranda that addressed areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Since taking the Oath of Office, Biden has signed over 40 executive orders, a number of which touch upon DEI.
The Labor & Employment Dispatch newsletter from Jackson Walker provides news and insights in labor and employment law.
