Related Practices
Practice Chair(s)
We stand with business owners, whether they are facing a government investigation, bet-the-company class actions, or are simply seeking advice to provide a stable, productive, and profitable working environment.
Overview
Labor & Employment Law
The workplace is not what it used to be. During the last twenty years, an ever-evolving economy, the smart-phone and social media revolution, and an explosion of entrepreneurial opportunities in the gig economy have transformed our whole idea of what it means to have a job and go to work. From the employer’s perspective, what used to be a simple agreement to hire an employee has become a universe of choices – from traditional employees to independent contractors to work-from-home arrangements – all with unique risks and opportunities.
Employment law is not what it used to be, either. At the state, local, and federal level, legislators and regulators are scrambling to address cutting-edge issues in the workplace, including LGBTQ rights, protection of digital information and trade secrets, health care, and the increasing polarization of religious, political, and racial discourse. Companies who do what they have always done because there has never been a problem before will soon find themselves on the wrong side of the law.
Chamberlain Hrdlicka understands the new workplace, and we are ready to help you develop an integrated employment strategy, custom-tailored to the unique needs of your workplace. From executive stock and bonus plans to restrictive covenants to company-wide payroll analysis, our broad experience helps companies answer the legal questions that crop up across the employment relationship. And when the employment relationship sours and litigation ensues, our deep litigation experience provides us with a solid basis for a results-oriented strategy. Having litigated matters in federal and state courts from coast-to-coast (including California, Nevada, Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, West Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island), we have the nationwide experience to handle litigation anywhere, at any time.
Fighting for Employers
At Chamberlain Hrdlicka, we stand with business owners, whether they are facing a government investigation, bet-the-company class actions, or are simply seeking advice to provide a stable, productive, and profitable working environment. We represent employers in multiple industries, including oilfield services, telecom, manufacturing, and hospitality. Our labor and employment experts partner with clients throughout the life cycle of employment, from policy development to employment agreements to wage/hour and benefits questions to workplace investigations to termination decisions, severance agreements, and restrictive covenants. We handle state and federal administrative and court proceedings at the trial and appellate levels across the country. We are more than just litigators – we partner with our clients to find creative ways to change business practices and minimize risk, even in the face of ongoing litigation.
Areas of Expertise
Litigation
- Wage/hour class, collective, and hybrid actions, including claims based on:
- Joint employment allegations
- Classification of workers as independent contractors
- Classification of employees as exempt from overtime
- Defense of government investigations and enforcement actions
- Enforcement and defense of noncompetes, nonsolicits, and nondisclosure agreements
- Computer fraud, theft, and trespassing
- Discrimination, harassment, and retaliation allegations under Title VII, § 1981, ADEA, ADA, FMLA, GINA, USERRA
- ERISA litigation
Counseling
- Executive employment and bonus agreements
- Restrictive covenant agreements, including multi-state restrictive covenant programs
- Multi-state employee handbooks and employment policy development
- Analysis of payroll, use of independent contractors, and classifications under wage/hour laws
- Training on discrimination, harassment, retaliation, FMLA, workers’ compensation, eDiscovery, wage/hour, and union avoidance issues
Labor & Employment Blog
To read the Chamberlain Labor & Employment blogs, click on https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/labor-employment.
News
News
- Super Lawyers names Diana Perez Gomez and Julie Offerman to Texas 2020 Top Women ListDecember 16, 2020
- Lawdragon's names Annette Idalski to Leading List of Employment LawyersDecember 16, 2020
- December 15, 2020
- Houstonia Magazine names Chamberlain Attorneys as 2021 Top LawyersHoustonia Magazine, November 30, 2020
- Labor & Employment Update - New York & California Employers: Don't Forget Your Annual Sexual Harassment TrainingNovember 10, 2020
- Super Lawyers names Chamberlain Hrdlicka Attorneys as 2020 Texas Super LawyersOctober 19, 2020
- Labor and Employment Update - Independent Contractor Proposed RuleSeptember 24, 2020
- Labor & Employment Update - High Court Says Title VII Protects Gay, Trans WorkersJune 15, 2020
- Labor & Employment Update - Government Agency Guidance on the COVID-19 PandemicJune 9, 2020
- Annette Idalski and Monica Pogula quoted in “Employers Must Investigate Whether Coronavirus Infections Are Work-Related"Society for Human Resource Management, June 1, 2020
- Annette Idalski quoted in “Tesla winds down unpaid coronavirus leave as Fremont factory reopens”San Francisco Chronicle, May 21, 2020
- Labor & Employment Update - DOL Expands OT Exemptions for Certain Employees of Retail and Service EstablishmentsMay 20, 2020
- Annette Idalski quoted in “Managing Human Assets Gets Harder in COVID-19 Era”Engineering News-Record, April 29, 2020
- Chamberlain L&E Update - Unemployment Benefits in Georgia and TexasApril 2, 2020
- Chamberlain L&E Update - Layoff vs. Furlough: Legal and Practical RamificationsMarch 30, 2020
- Chamberlain L&E Update - Families First Coronavirus Response Act - Effective Date ChangeMarch 24, 2020
- Chamberlain L&E Update - Georgia Department of Labor mandate for Georgia Employers on Unemployment Insurance ClaimsMarch 23, 2020
- Chamberlain L&E Update - Summary of Paid Leave provisions under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201)March 19, 2020
- 2020 Georgia Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Named at Chamberlain HrdlickaMarch 4, 2020
- February 13, 2020
- December 2019
- September 26, 2019
- Attorneys with national law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka have been selected to the 2019 Texas Super Lawyers listSeptember 3, 2019
- July 31, 2019
- July 17, 2019
- May 24, 2019
- May 15, 2019
- Staffing Industry Analysts, March 11, 2019
- San Antonio Business Journal, March 8, 2019
- Employment Law Daily, March 8, 2019
- March 7, 2019
- E&E News, March 5, 2019
- Oil & Gas Journal, March 5, 2019
- Chamberlain Hrdlicka Law Firm Secures Significant Appellate Victory for Client, Premier Directional Drilling, and All Oil and Gas CompaniesMarch 4, 2019
- February 7, 2019
- Attorneys with national law firm Chamberlain Hrdlicka have been selected to the 2018 Texas Super Lawyers listSeptember 20, 2018
- San Antonio Joins Austin and Adopts Paid Sick Leave Law but Stay TunedAugust 28, 2018
- The Atlantan, August 28, 2018
- U.S. Supreme Couurt Holds Employees Can No Longer Abuse the Class Action Tolling RuleJune 13, 2018
- May 24, 2018
- Revenue at mid-size firms lags nationwide, but Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s figures are outpacing 2013
- April 14, 2014
- Atlanta Business Chronicle, April 11, 2014
- Is Your Company In Compliance With The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act (“Obama Care”)?November 2012
- Facebook Warns Employers: Accessing Employee Accounts May Spur Legal ActionApril 2012
- Highlights of the California and New York Wage Theft Prevention ActsFebruary 2012
- Oil field company fights back after being accused of misclassifying employeesAugust 2011
- Classifying Workers: Potential Gains Versus Potential ProblemsHouston Business Journal, June 2011
- Highlights of The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Final ADAAAMay 24, 2011
- Highlights of the U.S. Department of Labor's Final Rule Revising Regulations Based on Amendments to th FLSA and Portal-to-Portal ActMay 2011
- ABA Journal, April 2011
- Chamberlain Hrdlicka Expands Corporate, Labor and Employment Practices with Veteran Talent from Duane Morris LLPMarch 2010
Presentations
Seminars & Presentations
- Free Webinar on New Legal Considerations for Opening Up Your Business During a PandemicOnline Webinar, June 11, 2020
- Free Webinar on Top Legal Traps for Opening Up Your Business in a PandemicOnline Webinar, June 3, 2020
- Free Webinar on Top Legal Traps for Opening Up Your Business in a PandemicOnline Webinar, May 28, 2020
- Free Webinar on Top Legal Traps for Opening Up Your Business in a PandemicOnline Webinar, May 21, 2020
Publications
Publications
- Article by Annette Idalski and Ray Abilmouna on “Provisions Protect Against Frivolous Overtime Litigation”American Oil & Gas Reporter
- Article by Annette Idalski and Brian Smith on “Proposed DOL Guidance Broadens Definition of Independent Contractors for Oil and Gas Employers”December 2, 2020
- Article by Annette Idalski, Kaitlin Lammers, and Brian Smith on "DOL Guidance Sheds Light on Employee vs. Independent Contractor Debate"Bloomberg Law, November 4, 2020
- Article by Annette Idalski and Kyle Winnick on "Beware of 'Benevolent Reasons' to Treat Older Workers Differently Amid COVID-19"Daily Report, October 14, 2020
- Article by Annette Idalski, Kaitlin Lammers and Ray Abilmouna on “OSHA’s Latest Guidance Serves As Recommendations to Oil and Gas Businesses”SHALE Oil & Gas Business Magazine, September 30, 2020
- Article by Annette Idalski and Brian Smith on “Oil and Gas Personnel Issues: Legal Minefields”Oil & Gas Investor, September 16, 2020
- Article by Annette Idalski and Pooneh Momeni on “Sexual & Gender Discrimination in the Oilfield,”SHALE Oil & Gas Business Magazine, July 2020
- Article by Annette Idalski and Brian Smith on “Oil & Gas & COVID-19 Hit Hard, Consider All Options Before Layoffs”SHALEMAG.com, June 3, 2020
- American Oil & Gas Reporter, November 19, 2019
- Houston Business Journal, May 10, 2019
- Houston Business Journal, March 22, 2019