Phoenix Employment and Labor Lawyers

Employment and labor laws are incredibly complex, and the legal and regulatory requirements that employers must follow are constantly changing.

Companies that lack the right systems and procedures to ensure full compliance with these laws will inevitably find themselves exposed to significant monetary costs, as well as unproductive business disruptions, reputational harm and a negative employee experience.

Our experienced team of employment and labor lawyers believe that problems like these can almost always be prevented by using a holistic and proactive approach.

We partner with the client to identify vulnerable and risk-prone areas, audit compliance standards and ensure that the right systems, strategies policies and procedures for the business are in place before problems exist.

We have the knowledge and expertise to guide you and your company through all of the relevant local, state, federal and international employment and labor laws and we will do the work for you in making sure your business is up-to-date with all the current employer obligations and requirements.

Our Employment and Labor Services

We offer comprehensive legal services, as well as a variety of integrated and stand-line business and HR solutions, all of which are tailored specifically for your company’s employment and labor needs. Our services fall into five (5) categories:

Consult & Advise

For virtually any type of employment, labor, HR and/or personnel issue, our experienced team can provide you with top-level legal and general business consultation and advice service.

We offer an array of representation arrangements in which your business can obtain on-demand and as-needed advice and recommendations from an experienced employment and labor attorney on any type of employment issue or concern that arises for your company.

Our consultation services are ideal for companies who do not currently have their own full-time, in-house employment and labor counsel and/or who need expertise in Arizona employment and labor laws or other state and local laws in the Southwest region.

We regularly advise employers on the following employment and labor topics:

• Employee Termination and Discipline Matters
• Lay-offs, Plant Closing, WARN Act Compliance and other Reorganization and Reduction-in-Force Matters
• Internal HR Investigations and Grievance Procedure
• Recruiting, Interviewing and Hiring Procedure and Best Practices
• Discrimination and Harassment (i.e. Title VII, ADA, ADEA, Equal Pay Act, Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Arizona Civil Rights Act, Other State Discrimination Laws, General EEOC Procedure, EEO Policies and Best Practices, Ect)
• Sexual Harassment and Hostile Work Environment
• W-2 Employee vs Independent Contractor Analysis and Classification Issues
• Workplace Safety, Violence Prevention and OSHA Compliance
• ADA Compliance and Disability Accommodations
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• General Employee Absence Management (Medical Leave, Military Leave, Funeral/Bereavement, Sick Pay, Vacation, PTO, Jury Duty, Voting, etc)
• National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Unfair Labor Practices and Protected Concerted Activity Claims
• Drug-Testing Laws and Procedure (including Medical Marijuana issues)
• Data and Trade Secret Protection and Employer Property Matters;
  Employee Benefits and Benefit Compliance (including ERISA and COBRA)
• Employee Compensation Matters and Best Practices
• Personnel File Management, Record-keeping Requirements and Employment Documentation Best Practices
• Wage and Hour Matters (Payday requirements, overtime classification and pay issues, minimum wage requirements, meal and break periods, requirements under FLSA and individual state/local laws, etc)
• Various Other Federal, International, State and Local Employment and Labor laws and issues

Create & Design

We work with you to create, design, develop and draft custom policies, procedures, HR systems and employment documents and forms of all types that meet the needs of your business, ensure compliance with relevant laws and minimize workplace conflict, business disruption and liability exposure when it comes to employment and labor issues.

Our creation and design services include a broad range of drafting and development needs including but not limited to:

• Employee Handbooks and Workplace Policies
• Employment/Freelance/Consulting Agreements, Offer Letters and Term Documents
• Non-compete, Non-solicitation and Restrictive Covenant Agreements
• Confidentiality/Nondisclosure Agreements and Trade Secret Licensing Contracts
• Relocation Agreements, Wage Deduction Authorizations, Loan Repayment Contracts, Retention Incentive Plans and Bonus Clawback Agreements
• FCRA-compliant Notices and Background Check Authorizations
• Medical Certification Forms
• Leave Administration Forms and Templates
• Severance Agreements and Layoff Notices
• Job Descriptions, Online Job Postings and Applications
• Discipline Forms, Performance Improvement Plans and Warning Letters
• Performance Evaluations and Annual Review Forms and Procedures
• Compensation Packages, Incentive Pay Plans and Commission Formulas
• Drug-testing Policies, Procedures and Legally Compliant Forms
• Various HR Forms and Procedural Systems (i.e. personnel file request, accommodation request form, change of employee information form, interview questionnaires, employee surveys and satisfaction evaluations)

Inspect & Monitor

Our team has developed a number of internal compliance tools and resources that we can quickly and easily customize for your business to use for purposes of evaluating and monitoring your company’s compliance with any and all employment and labor laws and regulations, whether federal, international, state or local.

We will work with you to conduct comprehensive self-audit and internal inspections in order to identify gaps in your compliance program and make strategic recommendations for effective solutions and improvements that are easy to implement and minimize unnecessary costs and time investments for your business.

Our compliance solutions are optimized for durability, automation and accessibility and we always customize all of our solutions to meet the needs, values and priorities of your business.

Some of our common compliance services and established packages include, but are not limited to:

Internal Audits and Compliance Packages

100-point General Employment Law Compliance Check

Flat fee evaluation and internal inspection for employers to determine their compliance with 100 core areas of concern

Wage and Hour Audits

Variety of audit packages ranging from basic to comprehensive to ensure company compliance with federal, state and local wage and hour statutes, regulations and related laws

Required Record-keeping Self-Check

Consultation and Guided Inspection Process for Employers to ensure that all major employment record-keeping requirements are being met and files are stored properly for the minimum time periods required under the major federal and state law requirements;

1-9 Compliance Audit Package

Flat fee comprehensive package conducted alongside an experienced Immigration Attorney

Single Service Compliance and Enforceability Assessments

• Employment Contract and Key Contract Provision Reviews
• Single Workplace Policy Reviews and Recommendations
• Reviews of Employee Termination Letters and Similar Documentation
• Background Check Notices and Authorization Forms
• Wage Withholding and Deduction Authorizations
• Job Applications, Postings, Descriptions and Interview Questions
• Medical Leave and Accommodation Forms
• Personnel File Management
• Payroll Procedure and Policy
• COBRA Notices and Forms
• Review of other documents and procedures that require compliance and/or enforceability assessments

DOL Audit Assistance

Experienced guidance for employers who have been notified of a formal audit investigation by the Department of Labor.

Federal and State Law Poster Compliance

Guidance and assistance for complying with all required federal and state law posters and notifications.

Employment Handbook / Workplace Policy Review

Various flat fee packages and a la carte services for employers to ensure all “must-have” policies are present, to identify red flags and problem policy language, to insert “gold-standard” language and model forms for standard employment policies and to provide an overall assessment and cost estimate for additional improvements and changes to consider.

Conduct & Deliver

In addition to traditional legal and consultation services, we also provide employers with a number of third-party outsourced services that we will conduct and deliver in-house to your company, including conducting workplace investigations, providing management and employee trainings, retreats and team-building seminars and serving as outside Human Resources and in-house legal counsel for your company overall.

Below is a list of the most in-house services we provide companies currently. Do not hesitate to ask about other services and unique needs that your company may have because if we cannot provide it ourselves, we will always try to find recommendations for who can:

Impartial and Independent Workplace Investigations

• Witness interviews
• Document review and analysis
• Collection and analysis of objective comparators, statistics and data
• Investigation documentation preparation and personnel file document drafting
• Final investigation report with findings and recommendations

Management, HR and General Staff/Employee Training Programs

• Sexual Harassment
• Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity Compliance
• Sensitivity and Diversity Training
• Termination and Employee Discipline
• Team Building and Motivating Employees
• Effective Recruiting, Interviewing and Hiring Practices
• Data Protection and Trade Secrets
• Employee Privacy (including HIPAA Compliance)
• ERISA Compliance
• Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Managing Litigation
• Record-keeping and Document Retention
• Whistleblower Protections
• I-9 Compliance (conducted with an experienced Immigration Attorney)
• And several other topics as well!

Other Outsourced Services

• Outside Legal Counsel and Human Resources Professional Services (available in a variety of representation/payment arrangements
• Human Resources Strategic Planning and Implementation Services
• Performance Coaching (Management coaching, 360 reviews, corrective action advisement, etc)
• Employee Retreat and Teambuilding Planning and Hosting Services
• And more….just ask us!

Resolve & Defend

Lastly, we will provide formal legal representation to help you resolve and defend employment disputes and litigation matters, before or after a formal legal proceeding as commenced.We regularly represent and defend employers in the following types of employment claims:

 

• EEOC Charges of Discrimination (i.e. Age, Disability, Sex, Pregnancy, Race, Religion, etc)
• National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Complaints
• State Labor Department and Industrial Commission Wage Claims
• Department of Labor Audits and Investigations
• Wage and Hour Litigation (including overtime, minimum wage, unpaid wages and wage withholding, etc)
• OSHA Inspections and Whistleblower Claims
• Unemployment Benefit Disputes & Hearings
• Settlement and Severance Drafting and Negotiations
• Other Pre-litigation and Administrative Disputes
• ALL TYPES of Employment and Labor Litigation