Dow Lohnes labor and employment lawyers assist our clients with a wide range of employment related matters. We work closely with our clients to ensure that they develop practices and procedures that not only comply with applicable Federal, state, and local legal requirements, but also anticipate likely consequences from a practical perspective. We believe that an early investment in the establishment of appropriate practices will ultimately save significant time and resources which can be focused on the long-term success of your business.
We regularly assist clients in dealing with a wide array of problematic employment situations including such things as executive separation arrangements, employees requiring leave or accommodation due to physical or mental difficulties, sexual harassment investigations, employee discipline and termination for misconduct or poor performance, violation of non-competition agreements and other restrictive covenants and union organizing. We represent clients defending against all matter of employment charges including, discrimination, retaliation, whistle blower, and wrongful discharge claims as well as unfair labor practice charges. We also represent clients in collective bargaining negotiations and in grievance and arbitration proceedings.
We work together with our clients in preparing employee handbooks and in establishing and administering employment policies and practices such as e-mail and Internet use, sexual harassment, inspection of personal property, use of recording devices at work, employee monitoring and drug and alcohol abuse and testing policies.
Our lawyers have significant experience and expertise in employment issues arising out of transfers of ownership, including successorship, reductions in force, WARN Act and local plant closing law compliance, severance agreements and contract survival and termination. We also draft and negotiate a wide range of employment and talent agreements, addressing such issues as alternative forms of compensation, confidentiality, covenants not to compete and ownership and use of work product.
While the experience of our lawyers is both geographically and substantively broad, our employment lawyers have a particular expertise and concentration in employment questions which arise for media clients, such as television, radio, cable, newspaper, Internet and new media companies. Because of this concentration, we combine a knowledge of the industry practice and procedure in which those principles must be applied.