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Employment Law

Given the somewhat unique attributes of employment law problems, an attorney must respond immediately when a client calls with a personnel issue. Jackson & Campbell, P.C.’s employment law clients have come to expect that level of support when they request legal guidance. Employment managers trust us to assist them in devising and implementing cost effective strategies that will reduce their risk of liability and at the same time help them meet legitimate business objectives. A central feature in the success of this practice group is the relationship of trust and confidence that our clients develop with our attorneys and our ability to find the most cost-effective way to reduce the risk of liability through tailoring compliance audits and partnering, where possible, with in-house counsel. Our Employment Law Practice Group services are broadly grouped into three areas: counseling, litigation, and training.

Counseling

The sheer number and complexity of laws governing the employment relationship, coupled with the dynamics of today’s non-static and diverse workforce require employers to consider the risk of liability arising from almost every decision that involves an employee.

At Jackson & Campbell, our attorneys provide counsel in many areas of employment law including:

  • Affirmative action compliance
  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act
  • Alternative dispute resolution
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) issues
  • Discrimination
  • Employee discipline and termination
  • Employee handbooks and personnel manuals
  • Employment contracts
  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) compliance audits
  • Executive compensation
  • Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rules and regulations
  • Internal investigations
  • Mergers and acquisitions and related employee liabilities
  • Non-compete and related restrictive covenants
  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations
  • Overtime compensation requirements
  • Personnel policies
  • Reductions-in-force
  • Unlawful discrimination
  • Unlawful harassment
  • Wage and hour law
  • Wrongful termination suits

Litigation

Members of the Employment Law Practice Group, working closely with the General Litigation & Trial Practice Group, when litigating employment disputes in federal and state courts and in numerous administrative tribunals. We represent clients in a wide variety of claims including:

  • ADA regulations
  • Breach of covenants not to compete and other restrictive covenants
  • Breach of employee privacy rights
  • Breach of employment contract
  • COBRA regulations
  • Civil Rights Act of 1991
  • Common law intentional tort claims, such as: defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress
  • Common law negligence claims (negligent hiring)
  • Drug testing
  • Employment Retirement Income Security Act
  • Fair Labor Standards Act
  • FMLA regulations
  • Non-compete and other restrictive covenants
  • Portal to Portal Act
  • State and federal child labor laws
  • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 discrimination
  • Violence in the workplace
  • Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988
  • Wrongful discharge

Training

Attorneys in our Employment Law Practice Group have substantial experience in designing and conducting trainings for clients. Our informative and interactive seminars have covered many subjects, including:

  • Accommodations under ADA regulations
  • Compliance with FMLA regulations
  • Promotion, discipline, and termination of employees
  • Recruitment and hiring
  • Sexual and other unlawful harassment
  • Wage and hour requirements

Our training programs provide practical, readily applicable answers to the most frequently asked questions. Role playing and hypothetical questions are frequently used to stimulate active participation by employees and attendees in training sessions.

Additionally, at the request of clients, we have developed multi-discipline training programs that incorporate the expertise of professional communications coaches and consultants skilled in team building. This approach can be particularly helpful where individuals may know what the law requires, but modification of behavior patterns requires additional coaching or improved interaction with groups.

  • September 2023
    Maryland Employers – Requirement To Establish Retirement Savings Program
    In recognition of the advantages of employees establishing retirement savings accounts, with few exceptions, Maryland employers (including non-profits) are now required to establish a payroll deposit retirement program for employees and must file an annual certification of compliance every December 1.  Employers could offer 401(k), SEP or Simple IRA, or similar programs, but, fortunately, the State of Maryland ... Read More
  • August 2022
    Client Alert: New D.C. Law Narrows the Sweeping Ban on Non-Competes
    Following harsh criticisms from the local business community, the D.C. Council has enacted an amendment to the near-total ban on non-competes that was set to go into effect.  The amended law, which goes into effect October 1, 2022, prohibits D.C. employers from imposing non-compete provisions on individuals who are not highly-compensated employees.  A more detailed look at the amendment is ... Read More
  • January 2022
    Court Limits Retirement Benefits For Those Who Received Civil-Service Pay
    David Babcock was a dual-status military technician, which meant he received both military pay and pension payments through his service with the National Guard, and also received civil-service pay from the Office of Personnel Management. After he retired, he applied for Social Security benefits. The Social Security Administration considered his civil-service pay to be a “windfall” and reduced his SSA ... Read More
  • December 2021
    DC to Mandate Proof of Vaccination Status at Indoor Establishments- UPDATE
    UPDATE: On Monday February 14, 2022, Mayor Bowser announced that, effective Tuesday February 15, 2022, DC will drop the requirement that patrons show proof of vaccination status before entering most businesses. On December 22, 2021, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced, via executive order, that the District of Columbia would join other major cities including Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, ... Read More
  • September 2021
    Considerations for Employers Mandating Vaccines in a Post-EUA World
    The FDA’s recent approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has ushered in a new wave of employer vaccine mandates.  Private employers had the right to impose such mandates even when the three vaccines available in the U.S. – Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson – were available only under emergency use authorization (EUA).  This was made clear by a memorandum ... Read More
  • April 2021
    Employer-Mandated COVID-19 Vaccines: Tips, Pitfalls, and Other Considerations
    President Joe Biden recently announced that all adult Americans will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine by April 19. That day has arrived, and all 50 states now allow all adults age 16 and older to register for the vaccine. As the pace of vaccinations continues to accelerate, and case numbers appear to be stable in most regions of the ... Read More
  • July 2020
    Client Alert: Sweeping Changes to Virginia's Employment Laws
    The Virginia legislature enacted a series of sweeping employment laws, all but one of which went into effect July 1. These changes affect employers and employees in many sectors of the economy, bringing about reforms that have long been sought by progressive activists and labor interests. A primer for Virginia employers is below: Non-Competes Following the lead of its more progressive sister ... Read More
  • June 2020
    Face Coverings in the Workplace: 5 Lessons You Need to Know
    As more businesses reopen and workers – many wearing face masks – return to in-person interactions with co-workers, customers and clients, here are five things that every worker should know about face masks in the workplace. What are the different types of face coverings and masks? Generally, there are three categories of face coverings and masks: cloth face coverings, surgical masks, ... Read More
  • May 2020
    Client Alert: OSHA Changes Guidance for Reporting Cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Workplace
    On May 19, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced changes to its previously issued guidance on reporting COVID-19 in the workplace, effectively reversing its six-week old policy which allowed a lesser standard of inquiry for employers outside the health care industry, emergency response organizations and correctional institutions. OSHA’s new guidance demands that all employers conduct investigations of all COVID-19 ... Read More
  • May 2020
    Client Alert: OSHA Issues Guidance for Reporting Cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Workplace
    Please Read: As of May 26, 2020, OSHA's revised enforcement guidance is in effect and the below information may be outdated. Please see Mr. Kelleher's detailed analysis of what has changed in the new guidance here. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently confirmed that COVID-19 in the workplace is a recordable illness and must be reported to the government ... Read More
  • May 2020
    Welcome Back to Work! Here’s a Swab Test and a Questionnaire about Your Health (Gastrointestinal Issues Included)
    As states begin easing COVID-19 restrictions and allowing employees to return to work, both employers and workers are reckoning with countless new concerns the return to normalcy presents. For employees, the questions focus largely on safety. What if I catch the virus from an asymptomatic coworker? Why is my coworker coughing? Do I still have to come in if I’m immunosuppressed? ... Read More
  • April 2020
    Emergency COVID-19 Legislation Requires D.C. Employers to Comply with New FMLA and Sick Leave Requirements
    While much attention has been paid to leave benefits made available under the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), the corresponding legislation enacted by the Council of the District of Columbia has gone largely unnoticed. However, the District’s orders contain a different set of requirements, and failure to comply could have serious implications for D.C. employers. D.C. employers should be ... Read More
  • March 2020
    Client Alert: Order of the Governor of the State of Maryland, Number 20-03-23-01
    Governor Hogan issued an order on March 23 updating his office’s order of March 19 prohibiting large gatherings and closing certain facilities and non-essential businesses.  The amended order urges Marylanders to stay home and asks employers to adopt work-from-home policies.  It is not, however, a shelter-in-place order. The amended order provides a non-exhaustive list of essential businesses that are not required ... Read More
  • March 2020
    Families First Coronavirus Response Act
    On March 18, 2020, the 118th Congress of the United States signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which will go into effect on April 2, 2020. The primary details of this newly enacted law are as follows: EMERGENCY FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE EXPANSION ACT (Section 3101) Applies to employers with fewer than 500 employees, but more than 25 ... Read More
  • January 2020
    Employers Receive Additional Guidance with the New Department of Labor Rule, Making It Easier to Avoid Classification as a Joint-Employer
    The Department of Labor issued a final rule on January 12, 2020 regarding the interpretation of joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires employers to pay employees the federal minimum wage for every hour worked and to pay overtime for every additional hour worked over 40 during a workweek. Liability for making such payments falls ... Read More
  • January 2020
    SCOTUS Opinion: ERISA Case Remanded To Consider Alternative Arguments
    Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v. Jander concerned a claim by Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) plan beneficiaries that the fiduciaries in control breached their duty of prudence on the basis of insider information. The standard for stating such a claim had been previously set forth by the Court in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, ... Read More
  • April 2019
    Changes to Paid Leave Policy Go into Effect for District of Columbia Employers
    Employers in Washington, D.C. have been waiting for the Universal Paid Leave Amendments Act of 2016 (the Act) to go into effect. Much to the chagrin of many small employers, that time is here. The Act creates a mandatory, employer-funded, paid leave program, which provides up to eight weeks of paid leave to covered employees working in the District of Columbia ... Read More
  • November 2018
    Court Rules ADEA Applies To All Governmental Entities Regardless Of Size
    When two firefighters were terminated to cut costs, they sued under the Age Discrimination Employment Act, alleging they were discriminated against based on their ages. The fire department argued that it did not have enough employees to qualify as an employer under the Act. The Act provides: “The term ‘employer’ means a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce ... Read More
  • August 2017
    Upcoming Event: How Women Lead
    How Women Lead Featuring Flora D. Darpino, 39th U.S. Army Judge Advocate General ... Read More