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 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.
With a deep bench of experienced lawyers, Jackson Walker’s employment practice has unparalleled knowledge of the Texas and national labor and employment landscape.
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.
July 26, 2024
Speaking Engagements
Jackie Staple to Present at Gulf Coast Symposium on HR Issues
Jackson Walker partner Jackie C. Staple was selected to speak at HR Houston’s annual Gulf Coast Symposium on HR Issues on August 7.
July 11, 2024
Attorney News
‘Austin Monthly’ Lists 21 Jackson Walker Attorneys Among “Austin’s Top Attorneys” of 2024
Jackson Walker congratulates the 21 attorneys recognized among Austin Monthly’s list of “Austin’s Top Attorneys” for 2024. For recognition in the list, Austin attorneys must be nominated by their peers on the basis that they offer experienced counsel in one of 39 categories.
July 9, 2024
Insights
Court Issues Injunction Against Enforcement of FTC Non-Compete Rule
By G. Scott Fiddler and Michael Drab
A federal court in the Northern District of Texas has issued an injunction against enforcement of the Federal Trade Commission’s rule banning non-compete agreements, which is scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024. The Court has stated it intends to issue a ruling on the merits on August 30, 2024, less than a week before the Rule is scheduled to take effect.
July 3, 2024
Speaking Engagements
David Schlottman to Discuss Workplace Retaliation at EEOC Training Institute
Jackson Walker partner David Schlottman is scheduled to present at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Training Institute on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at The Hurst Conference Center in Hurst, Texas.
June 21, 2024
Insights
Proving Discrimination in Title VII Cases: The New World for Employers in the Wake of ‘Muldrow’ | Texas Lawyer
Lionel M. Schooler examines the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis and its impact on Title VII discrimination claim standards.
June 21, 2024
Insights
Top Termination Mistakes Employers Make | Texas Lawyer
G. Scott Fiddler provides an in-depth analysis of frequent missteps in wrongful termination cases and outlines strategic practices for employers to reduce the risk of litigation.
June 6, 2024
Spotlight
Chambers and Partners Releases 2024 USA Guide Featuring 67 Jackson Walker Attorneys and 23 Ranked Departments
Jackson Walker is pleased to announce that Chambers and Partners has selected 67 attorneys and 23 departments for inclusion in the 2024 edition of the Global and USA guides. Attorneys were ranked across 27 departments, with 3 attorneys listed among multiple areas, 8 ranked nationwide in their respective areas, and 15 recognized for the first time.
May 17, 2024
Speaking Engagements
David Schlottman to Present “Groff v. DeJoy” at UT Law CLE’s Labor and Employment Law Conference
Jackson Walker partner David Schlottman will present at The University of Texas School of Law’s 31st Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference.
