Mazzola Lindstrom’s Labor and Employment team is a veteran group of litigators and advisors who represent and advise both corporate and individual clients.
Possessing a deep understanding of the laws governing the relationship between employers and employees, our lawyers understand the challenges our clients face in the workplace.
Our lawyers have an deep understanding of the laws governing the relationship between employers and employees. We understand the challenges our clients face in the workplace. Our experience in helping clients navigate the complex landscape of employment law, and our commitment to understanding our client’s business objectives, allow us to achieve innovative solutions on challenging and sensitive employment issues. Our team brings years of experience to assist our clients in their employment compliance, investigation, training, risk management, and litigation needs.
We draw on a wealth of experience in defending employers in state and federal actions involving discrimination, harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation. We also litigate disputes involving employment contracts, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition, defamation, and restrictive covenants.
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers and places of public accommodation to ensure equal accessibility to individuals with disabilities. Our lawyers have experience helping employers and business owners and operators achieve and maintain compliance under the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state and local disability access laws. Our clients look to us to create and implement company policies providing effective accommodations for employees and customers with respect to the workplace and public facilities. Our lawyers are experienced with new types of accessibility claims, including website accessibility and allegations of noncompliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Employers and business owners today are under ever-increasing scrutiny with regard to ADA compliance. Our team is committed to guiding our clients through these compliance challenges. From helping our clients assess exposure to defending single plaintiff and class action lawsuits, our goal is to offer the most expedient and efficient guidance and representation. We focus first on preventative measures and provide actionable advice on identifying and eliminating accessibility barriers. When the necessity for litigation arises, our attorneys are skilled at aggressive advocacy and are adept at facilitating dispute resolution.
We routinely counsel clients on all aspects of the employment relationship, from contract formation and hiring through separation and post-employment enforcement of restrictive covenants. Using a variety of tools, we counsel our clients on the implementation of the constantly changing federal, state, and local statutes affecting employee rights and benefits. We regularly provide management-level training on discrimination and sexual harassment. We are often consulted to help our clients implement fair and balanced workplace rules and guidelines regarding the hiring, discipline, and termination of employees. We guide our clients in crafting and maintaining compliant employment policies and we work closely with our clients in building a workplace infrastructure that balances business needs while mitigating legal exposure. Our attorneys assist clients in the preparation of employee handbooks, drafting and negotiation of employment agreements, and investigation of employee misconduct.
Discrimination and harassment can take many forms and can negatively impact the conditions of employment, employees’ wellbeing, and overall productivity of the business. We provide our clients with a broad range of services to help ensure that the workplace is free from discrimination and harassment, including sexual harassment. We work with our clients to take proactive measures to mitigate risks, including conducting audits, correcting non-compliant practices, and implementing best practices. We offer training to help clients correctly identify discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. We assist our clients in investigating and responding to complaints and allegations. Our attorneys represent clients in litigation involving all types of discrimination cases, including age, race, gender, sexual orientation, domestic violence victim status, religion, national origin, pregnancy, disability, sexual harassment, and retaliation.
Well drafted employment agreements are an integral part of a successful employment relationship for both the employer and the employee. Our lawyers have years of experience in negotiating and drafting employment agreements for both businesses and employees. Because we understand the complexity of employment law at every level and the inevitable exposures to our clients, we are uniquely qualified to advise on the most appropriate terms and conditions to govern employment relationships. We have litigated many disputes over employment agreements and our team is up to date with the latest decisional and statutory law on the subject. We are well versed in all aspects of employment agreement detail, including wage and hour requirements, benefits, discipline, termination, prohibitions, discrimination, and harassment.
For many of our clients, their trade secrets, know-how, and confidential information is key to their business and their success. The Mazzola Lindstrom team has years of experience in drafting and negotiating Confidentiality, Non-Disclosure, Non-Compete, and Non-Circumvent Agreements, as well as litigating disputes related to agreement terms for our clients. We are regularly called upon by our clients to take the steps necessary to protect the privacy, secrecy, and confidentiality of their most valuable assets fully and completely.
Mazzola Lindstrom’s employment lawyers recognize the risks and exposures faced by their clients regarding wage and hour compliance. We have experience counseling clients and litigating lawsuits regarding wage and hour compliance and are fully versed on the Fair Labor Standards Act, the New York Labor Law, and laws of other states regarding unpaid wages, overtime claims, meal and rest breaks, and donning and doffing. We have proactively worked with clients to conduct internal reviews to detect and identify wage and hour issues before they ever become a problem and have guided clients on how to remedy self-discovered non-compliance efficiently and discretely. Our lawyers are experienced in matters regarding misclassification, recordkeeping, vacation claims, and other benefits claims. When disputes cannot be resolved, we have represented our clients in contested litigations in both the state and federal courts.
When an employee’s time with an employer comes to an end, employers must be prepared to support the decision to terminate employment. While most of workers are employed “at will,” termination of an at will employee can still be in violation of the law or public policy, or a breach of contract, or may constitute constructive wrongful termination. When the decision to terminate comes under scrutiny, our attorneys are skilled at helping clients, both businesses and individuals, navigate through their rights, defenses, and remedies. We carefully analyze the circumstances surrounding the employment and termination of the employee. Our attorneys are strategic negotiators and experienced litigators that will do what it takes to achieve the best and most equitable results for our clients.