Barton’s team of skilled lawyers has extensive experience guiding our clients through the maze of changing labor and employment requirements of federal, state, and local governments. Nationally, Barton is ranked in Chambers USA for Labor Relations (Band 1) and Labor & Employment (Band 5) citing our “…experience representing management clients in collective bargaining negotiations and complex employment litigation.” Barton is also featured in Chambers’ Regional Spotlight New York Guide, where we have been distinguished as a firm who “deliver(s) specialized support to in-house counsel needs.”
Our primary focus is to work with our clients to develop, implement, and maintain policies and practices that foster positive employee relations. We believe a successful partnership between an effective human resources program and an informed, well-trained operations team is the best way to avoid costly litigation.
When problems or complaints arise, Barton assists clients with developing solutions to their labor and employment issues that minimize costs and maximize results. If proactive, informal, or non-adversarial solutions are not possible, we offer our clients thorough and committed representation in administrative proceedings before state and federal agencies; arbitrations and mediations; internal grievance or dispute resolution proceedings; and litigation in state and federal courts.
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Labor & Employment – Transactional
Barton’s labor and employment team offers a strategic alternative to firms who over-specialize and reflexively pass clients around to attorneys with no knowledge of the client’s business. We know that there is tremendous value in having a labor and employment partner who truly understands and cares about the client’s business.
We build client relationships by taking an active interest in what clients do, where they are, and who they hire. Investing in clients allows us to develop practical, business-oriented solutions to the increasingly complex web of federal, state, and local employment laws across the United States.
Our advice is both strategic and tactical, ranging from helping executive leadership stay ahead of major legal developments to promptly assisting HR personnel and front-line leadership with day-to-day employment issues in the field. Through engagement with clients at all levels, we can provide valuable perspective to senior leaders and help clients maintain enterprise-wide consistency and cohesion.
While clients can rely on us for virtually anything in the labor and employment space, we frequently assist with the following:
- Day-to-day employee relations issues
- Compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws across the United States
- Drafting and reviewing employee handbooks, supervisory manuals, and personnel policies
- Offer letters, background screening authorizations, pre-adverse action notices, wage notices, and other onboarding documents
- Employment agreements, business protection agreements, non-disclosure agreements, non-solicitation agreements, non-competition agreements, and other restrictive covenants
- Internal wage and hour audits to determine if employees and independent contractors are properly classified and compensated under the FLSA and state laws
- Minimum wage exemptions, overtime exemptions, pay transparency notices, pay equity audits, tip credits, tip pools, and other wage/hour issues
- Employee terminations, reductions-in-force, layoffs, outsourcing, offshoring, severance agreements, and WARN compliance
- EEO training, sexual harassment training, anti-discrimination training, supervisor training
- Union avoidance audits, union avoidance training, and unionization campaigns
- Employment diligence for M&A and fundraising activity
- Immigration issues and work visas
- Commission and bonus plans
- Executive compensation, equity and other incentive compensation arrangements, retention agreements, change-of-control provisions, 409A compliance, and other executive-specific issues (Learn more about our capabilities regarding executive compensation and separation here.)
Labor & Employment – Dispute Resolution
We also recognize that, even in the best-run companies, employment litigation and union organizing activity can arise. There are always practical, proactive steps that clients can take to position themselves favorably when employees sue or attempt to organize. We have also defeated employee organizing efforts by performing union avoidance audits and training during times of labor peace. We frequently represent clients in the following:
- Discrimination, harassment, and retaliation lawsuits
- Unfair labor practice charges
- OSHA complaints
- Wage and hour lawsuits
- Class and collective actions
- lawsuits involving non-disclosure agreements, non-solicitation agreements, non-competition agreements, trade secrets, and unfair competition
- Labor negotiations and collective bargaining
Read more about our labor and employment dispute resolution capabilities here.
