Building and maintaining a competitive organization in the 21^st century requires that employers maximize the effectiveness of increasingly diverse workforces.

Our approach in this area is to assist our clients with the design, development and implementation of strategic Affirmative Action and EEO programs, which will help to achieve organizational goals, while at the same time assuring compliance with the complex and confusing myriad of laws and regulations.

Our staff of consultants includes a labor and employment attorney with 25 years of experience and a former compliance officer from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) with more than 25 years of Affirmative Action experience. We have designed and written close to 1,000 Affirmative Action Plans under federal Executive Order 11246, the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam-era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act, represented our clients at scores of OFCCP audits across the country, and handled and resolved hundreds of discrimination claims before the EEOC, OFCCP and numerous state and local discrimination agencies.

We offer the following services in these areas:

• The strategic design and drafting of fully-compliant Affirmative Action programs and plans including all required elements under the most recent changes to federal regulations in this area and assistance with AA plan implementation strategies and action programs;
• Assistance with completing the new and burdensome EO Survey and the annual EEO-1 and Veterans-100 forms;
• Conduct of comprehensive “mock” of practice audits of Affirmative Action Plans following the same procedures, methods and techniques as in a genuine OFCCP audit, including time limits, data requests, desk and on-site audit phases, and a full report on our findings and results;
• Assistance with the most difficult areas of AA compliance, such as: design and implementation of applicant tracking processes, equal pay salary analysis, and identification of minority, female, veteran and disabled outreach/recruitment sources;
• Comprehensive preparation for and representation throughout OFCCP Affirmative Action Plan audits, including management training and the negotiation of audit resolutions;
• Review of company recruitment, selection, hiring, promotion, discipline, termination and other Human Resource policies/practices for compliance with federal and state equal employment opportunity laws;
• Representation before federal, state or local discrimination agencies on administrative discrimination complaints, including investigation, preparing position statements and representation of fact-finding conferences; and
• Comprehensive management training in all of the above areas, with particular expertise in Affirmative Action, Sexual Harassment, Wage and Hour, and Union Avoidance.

The successful organization of the 21^st Century will strive to maintain a positive employee relations climate - - whether its employees are union, non-union, or both. Assessing the current employee relations environment, designing and development a positive employee relations strategies and programs, including employee communications, union avoidance and training for management and supervisory staff, are the focus of our practice in this area. We also assist employers with union relations issues and collective bargaining matters.

Our staff of consultants has more than 50 years of combined experience in Employee and Labor Relations matters, in both union and non-union environments, including dozens of union organizing efforts and successful results in a score of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) elections. They have also handled numerous union grievances and arbitration cases, negotiated union contracts, and developed positive employee relations/union avoidance strategies and programs, both here and abroad.

Our services in these areas include:

• Assisting organizations in assessing their current employee relations climate and developing strategies and programs to address both existing and potential problem areas;
• Developing comprehensive positive employee relations strategies focusing on employee communication and involvement, recognition and reward programs, and comprehensive management training
• Designing and executing union avoidance strategies, both prior to and during union organizing drives and developing and executing management campaigns in NLRB-sponsored union elections; and
• Strategic preparation for collective bargaining negotiations, including recommending areas of potential contract improvement and tactical advantage, modeling of economic proposals, and representation at collective bargaining sessions

There are extremely high monetary damages for violations of complex federal and/or state wage and hour laws and regulations on salaried exempt status or overtime calculations, including back pay, interest, and even double liquidated damages. We assist our clients in understanding and complying with the minimum wage, overtime, exempt status classification and other wage and hour rules through comprehensive reviews of payroll and Human Resources policies and practices. We also provide comprehensive training in this area to management, supervisory and Human Resources staff.

Our staff includes a labor and employment attorney with extensive wage and hour experience and a former wage and hour manager. Our experience includes representation in and resolution of dozen of wage and hour investigations by both federal and state labor departments and significant wage and hour litigation. We have particular expertise in FLSA exemptions, overtime requirements, and the unique circumstances applicable to retail and service establishments.

Our services in this area include:

• Review of payroll and employment policies and practices for compliance with both federal and state requirements applicable to the payment of minimum wages and overtime to non-exempt, hourly employees, and with recordkeeping requirements.
• Review of the classification of salaried personnel as exempt under the so-called “white collar” exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional and Outside Sales employees;
• Full representation in wage and hour audits by federal or state Departments of Labor, including negotiations of audit results; and
• Comprehensive training for management, supervisory and Human Resources staff in all areas of wage and hour regulations.

Employment litigation arising out of company HR policies, employee manuals and handbooks, improper job descriptions, express or implied contracts of employment, improper disciplinary or discharge practices, or simply outdated personnel forms and other materials has continued to increase for more than two decades. Our services in this area are preventive in nature and focus on comprehensive Human Resources audits designed to detect and correct improper and potentially disastrous practices before they lead to costly litigation.

Our staff has extensive experience with virtually all areas of federal employment discrimination law (including, but not limited to: ADA, ADEA, EPA, E.O. 11246, OWBPA, Rehabiliation Act, Title VII, VEVRAA) as well as labor and employment laws covering such matters are plant closings, use of polygraphs in employment, drug testing, pre-employment medical exams, and a wide variety of other employment-related laws, both state and federal.

Our services in this area focus on litigation prevention and include:

• Investigation, advice and representation in all areas of discrimination law, with particular emphasis on such sensitive areas as sexual harassment;
• Comprehensive Human Resources audits focusing on all aspects of the Human Resources functions and every facet of employment-related transactions;
• A comprehensive review of your existing HR policy manuals and employee handbooks, and/or drafting of new ones to assure compliance; and
• Training of management, supervisory and Human Resources personnel in all areas of labor and employment law compliance, including all forms of unlawful discrimination – with particular expertise in sexual harassment – wrongful discharge and other employment-related torts, performance management, discipline and discharge, wage and hour, affirmative action, and positive employee relations and union avoidance.

Comprehensive management training in all of the above areas, with particular expertise in affirmative action, sexual harassment, wage and hour and union avoidance.