The Labor and Employment Group lawyers practice in the firm's Chicago, Irvine, Kansas City, London, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. offices. We work in all areas of traditional labor and employment law and related litigation. The Group's lawyers interact with lawyers in other offices through the firm's advanced communications systems, and are readily available to provide support with respect to labor and employment laws and regulatory practices in many states.

Labor lawyers have experience in all areas of traditional labor law:

• Practice before the National Labor Relations Board, including unfair labor practice charges and litigation before administrative law judges, the Board and Federal Appeals Courts;
• All aspects of collective bargaining negotiations and contract administration;
• Arbitrations, representation in union organizing campaigns and advice regarding maintenance of nonunion status;
• Strike and boycott related litigation; and
• Counseling with respect to the labor aspects of mergers and acquisitions.

Lawyers practicing in the employment area have experience in counseling, document preparation, preventative training and in all types of employment litigation matters:

• Defense of claims relating to age, race, sex, national origin, disability discrimination, and sexual harassment claims;
• Defense of claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA");
• Defense of claims under the state and federal wage and hour laws;
• Defense of claims under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act for breach of contract and violation of the duty of fair representation;
• Breach of contract actions, including employment, noncompete and confidentiality agreements;
• Drafting of separation and release agreements, including covenants not to compete;
• Defense of various state tort claims such as defamation, tortious interference with business expectancy, and wrongful discharge;
• Actions to vacate and enforce arbitration awards;
• Review and preparation of employment policies and employee handbooks;
• General advice and training on employment issues, such as discipline, discharge, and harassment;
• Development of policies and procedures for AIDS, plant relocation and shutdown, reductions-in-force, drug testing and polygraph testing, development of affirmative action plans, and compliance with federal and state statutes and regulations, including OSHA and WARN; and
• Resolution of claims through alternative dispute resolution ("ADR"), both mini-trials and mediation.

Employment Class Actions

Employment class actions are becoming a greater challenge for employers.  The astronomical potential liability and the public relations issues class claims present require counsel with experience in successfully defending these claims.  Our clients look to us to handle these matters because they find Bryan Cave gives them substantial advantages.

Bryan Cave has the knowledge and capabilities necessary to defend employment class actions anywhere in the country. At any given time, we are defending dozens of class action matters around the country.  Our Employment Class Action Practice combines our experience defending class actions in federal and state courts throughout the country with the specialized insight of lawyers in our offices from coast to coast who regularly counsel clients in all areas of traditional labor and employment law. This combination of experience and knowledge offers benefits for our clients, both in terms of result and cost, that few firms are capable of providing.

Our reputation for excellent results includes employment class actions involving allegations of race discrimination; sex discrimination, including “glass ceiling” and Equal Pay Act claims; age discrimination; sexual harassment; wage claims and employee benefits.  A few examples include:

• Obtaining a summary judgment against the EEOC in an age discrimination case brought on behalf of 450 former employees;
• Negotiating a favorable settlement for a national retailer in a 3,000-member class race discrimination case for hiring, pay and promotion;
• Settling a nationwide class action claiming retiree health care benefits for 50,000 former employees for an international aircraft manufacturer;
• Defeating class certification sought to cover 1,000 employees, then obtaining summary judgment in a pay discrimination case for the largest U.S. telephone company;
• Obtaining dismissal of class action allegations in race discrimination case against a manufacturer alleging hiring, promotion and hostile work environment violations;
• Negotiating strategic pre-litigation settlement with Saperstein firm to avoid nation-wide race discrimination class action against retailer;
• Obtaining summary judgment on “glass ceiling” pattern and practice claims, followed by a favorable settlement on remaining individual claims;
• Winning at trial (which was affirmed on appeal) in a WARN Act case as to whether sudden mass layoffs were “reasonably foreseeable”;
• Obtaining summary judgment in two related WARN Act cases challenging the employer’s determination regarding “single sites of employment.”

The plaintiffs’ bar is extremely familiar with our capabilities and reputation -- and results such as those noted above.  Having counsel regarded as “formidable” by plaintiffs’ lawyers works to your advantage.

We fully understand class actions can be costly and a risk to your business interests.  Our approach is to build a strong defense strategy from the start. The lawyers at Bryan Cave are well-versed in issues critical to the outcome of these cases. We take calculated steps toward the important goal of defeating class certification. We use motion practice to restrict inappropriate discovery of sensitive corporate information. And we are conscious of and experienced at handling the public relations, marketing and regulatory issues that often arise in high-exposure employment class action litigation.

Bryan Cave recognizes that cost containment in all areas - including legal fees - is an important issue. We provide the leanest staffing on employment class action matters consistent with the highest professional standards. We achieve efficiency by staffing cases with a combination of lawyers who have strong working knowledge of employment issues and those who have experience in defending class actions and other complex litigation.  Because we have handled so many class actions and continue to do so on an ongoing basis, we have systems to ensure we handle each case efficiently and effectively.

UK Employment Law Practice

Bryan Cave’s UK Employment Law Practice provides a comprehensive range of advice on all aspects of employment law and practice.   From employment litigation to strategic employment advice and mergers and acquisition expertise, the UK group provides a full range of support to UK, US and international companies. The UK group comprises employment lawyers who work closely with colleagues in areas such as employee benefits, pensions, tax, intellectual property, information technology and corporate transactions.  As part of Bryan Cave’s global Labor and Employment Group, the UK practice can also offer a valuable international perspective and a point of entry to worldwide human resources issues.

The UK employment practice has expertise in areas such as:

• employment contracts and service agreements
• termination packages
• consultancy, agency and other non-typical working arrangements
• restrictive covenants and confidentiality clauses
• business reorganizations and redundancy programmes
• trade union, worker representation and collective issues
• industrial disputes
• European legislation
• maternity rights and equal opportunities
• race, sex and disability discrimination
• disciplinary and grievance hearings
• workplace related stress/injuries
• health and safety matters
• pensions
• employee benefits and incentives
• employee tax and National Insurance
• mergers and acquisitions, transfer of business issues
• business immigration including work permits, training and work experience permits, investor advice, visa applications, settlement and citizenship applications.