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Annette A. Idalski practices exclusively in the areas of labor and employment litigation, and is Chair of the Firm's Labor and Employment Litigation Group in Atlanta.

She has successfully defended numerous employers nationwide against single and multi-plaintiff lawsuits involving restrictive covenant claims (including declaratory judgment actions), wage and hour compliance, race, gender, age and disability discrimination, workplace harassment, traditional labor matters, contract disputes, whistleblower actions, and other employment torts.  Ms. Idalski's practice focuses heavily on FLSA collective actions and related class actions under state laws. 

Ms. Idalski proactively counsels employers on a daily basis regarding employment issues arising out of or concerning complex leaves of absence, hiring and firing, wage and hour compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and collective bargaining matters. She conducts legal compliance audits of clients' human resources functions and prepares employee policies and handbooks and employment agreements. Ms. Idalski has conducted hundreds of training courses and seminars on prevention of litigation with respect to sexual harassment and discrimination under Title VII, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and other state and federal employment laws.

Ms. Idalski is past president of the Georgia Association For Women Lawyers (GAWL) and currently serves on the GAWL Advisory Board.

Representative Matters

• Gate Guard Services, L.P. v. Solis, No. 6:10-cv-91, 2011 WL 2784447 (S.D. Tex. July 12, 2011) (Successfully filed a declaratory judgment action in FLSA collective action concerning alleged misclassification of contractors and defeated motion to dismiss on behalf of oil field services company against Hilda Solis, United States Department of Labor)
• Hill v. Lanier Parking Meter Services, LLC, No. 3:09-cv-627-H3, 2010 WL 5209346 (W.D.Ky. Dec. 15, 2010) (Obtained summary judgment on all claims for parking company in lawsuit involving allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act and the Kentucky whistleblower statute) 
• Anthony Mugno v. Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques, Ltd., et al., No. 05-cv-2037 (DRH) (ARL), 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6570 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 30, 2007) (Obtained complete dismissal of claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act and ERISA. 
• Seward v. Alexander Properties Group, No. 1:05-CV-601-SEB-JPG, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31150 (S.D. IN Nov. 21, 2005) (Obtained complete dismissal of pregnancy discrimination case for property management company at pre-answer stage based on lack of personal jurisdiction) 
• Cogburn Healthcare Ctr, Inc. v. NLRB, 437 F.3d 1266 (D.C. Cir. 2006) (Successfully argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that Gissel Bargaining Order should be reversed)
• Obtained directed verdict as lead counsel in jury trial against Title VII retaliation claims, the Florida Civil Rights Act, and the Florida Whistleblower's Act in United States District Court, Southern District Miami for technology client. 
• Twice obtained summary judgment and significant attorneys' fees awards for manufacturing company against age discrimination lawsuit in Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. 
• Obtained summary judgment for pharmaceutical company in multi-plaintiff litigation involving allegations of Title VII national origin discrimination, harassment and retaliation in United States District Court, Western District of Michigan. 
• Obtained summary judgment for Georgia public employer in multi-plaintiff litigation involving allegations of Title VII sexual harassment and Equal Pay Act in United States District Court, Northern District of Georgia. 
• Obtained dismissal with prejudice after Plaintiff's deposition in FMLA lawsuit in United States District Court, Northern District of Florida for property management company. 
• Obtained dismissal of class action complaint filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia at pre-Answer stage for property management company. 
• Obtained arbitration award for Minnesota employer against their former employee alleging sexual assault and related torts in Broward County, Florida Circuit Court.   
• Successfully obtained decertification of FLSA collective action for telecommunications client in the United States District Court, District of Nevada.

Seminars & Speaking Engagements

• Critical Compliance:  What Every Employer Should Know, October 27, 2011
• 2011 Breakfast Briefing Series, The Top Three Employment Risks for Companies in 2011, January 27, 2011
• Panel Member, Technology Association of Georgia, Finance Society Presentation: "3 Hot Tech Finance/Legal Issues: 1099 Contracting; Non-competes and Health Care Reform", Atlanta, September 29, 2010 (PowerPoint Presentation)
• Speaker, "The Family and Medical Leave Act:  Is Your Company Prepared for 2010?," HR Star Conference, Atlanta, May 13, 2010
• Speaker, "HR Audits: 5 Key Areas to Review in 2009," SHRM Central Gem Meeting, May 20, 2009
• Speaker, "The New Family and Medical Leave Act: Is Your Company Prepared?," HR Star Conference, Atlanta, May 13, 2009 
• Speaker, "Conducting an Effective HR Audit," 2008 HR Star Conference, Atlanta, May 14, 2008
• Speaker, "Key Components for a Successful Human Resources Department," Women Leading Business Symposium, Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, 2005
• Speaker, "Human Resource and Legal Issues for Craft, Hobby and Scrapbooking Industry Employers," Memorytrends Trade Show, Las Vegas, 2005
• Speaker, "The Family and Medical Leave Act:  Is Your Company Prepared for 2010?," HR Star Conference, Atlanta, May 13, 2010 
• Speaker, "HR Audits: 5 Key Areas to Review in 2009," SHRM Central Gem Meeting, May 20, 2009
• Speaker, "The New Family and Medical Leave Act: Is Your Company Prepared?," HR Star Conference, Atlanta, May 13, 2009 
• Speaker, "Conducting an Effective HR Audit," 2008 HR Star Conference, Atlanta, May 14, 2008 
• Speaker, "Key Components for a Successful Human Resources Department," Women Leading Business Symposium, Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, 2005
• Speaker, "Human Resource and Legal Issues for Craft, Hobby and Scrapbooking Industry Employers," Memorytrends Trade Show, Las Vegas, 2005
• Speaker, "Keeping It Legal," Lorman Education Services, 2004
• Speaker, "Managing Human Relations," Southeastern Affordable Housing Management Association Regional Conference, 2003
• Speaker, "Family and Medical Leave Act," SHRM Southeast Conference, 2003
• Speaker, "How to Structure a Human Resources Department, Part I and II," SHRM-Atlanta Workshop, 2003
• Speaker, "Keeping It Legal," Lorman Education Services, 2004
• Speaker, "Managing Human Relations," Southeastern Affordable Housing Management Association Regional Conference, 2003
• Speaker, "Family and Medical Leave Act," SHRM Southeast Conference, 2003
• Speaker, "How to Structure a Human Resources Department, Part I and II," SHRM-Atlanta Workshop, 2003

News

• Oil field company fights back after federal government says it misclassified employees
  Oil field company fights back after being accused of misclassifying employees
  August 2011
• Chamberlain Hrdlicka Attorneys Named 2011 Atlanta SuperLawyers
  March 2011
• TAG Finance Society Discusses 3 Hot Legal and Finance Topics: Restrictive Covenants/HB 173, W-2 vs. 1099 Employee Classifications and Health Care Reform Impact on Technology Companies
  September 2010
• Atlanta Legal Powerhouse Shows No Signs of Rough Economy
  April 14, 2010
• Five Bolt Duane Morris Atlanta for Chamberlain Hrdlicka
  April 2010
• Chamberlain Hrdlicka Attorneys Named 2010 Atlanta Superlawyers
  April 2010

Articles & Publications

Co-Author, "Should employers include class-action waivers in their arbitration agreements?," Westlaw Journal Employment,  January 10, 2012 

Author, "IRS Gets Class Conscious:  Switching to Independent Contractors Draws Scrutiny," A.B.A. J., Apr. 2011 at 27, 28

Author, "Employee Versus Independent Contractor:  Classification Dilemma," Daily Labor Rep. (BNA) No. 5, at I-1 (Jan. 7, 2011)

Author, "Averting The March Toward Unionization," Law360, February 10, 2009

Quoted in "Know Your Layoff Rules & Procedures," HR Focus, February 2009

Co-Author, "Doing Layoffs the Right Way," Workforce Management Online, December, 2008

Columnist, “Managing Your Employees,” Craftrends Magazine, 2005-2006

Contributing Author, How Arbitration Works, Sixth Edition, American Bar Association, 2004

Published numerous CLE papers on a wide variety of employment law topics

Professional Affiliations

• Georgia Association For Women Lawyers; Advisory Board, 2008-Present; Past President, 2007-2008; President, 2006-2007; President-Elect, 2005-2006; Vice-President, Strategic Partnerships, 2003-2005; Legislative Co-Chair, 2002-2003
• Society of Human Resources Management; Member, 2003-2005