Service Areas

Employment

Members of the Employment Law Group use a proactive approach to guide our clients through the complex maze of employment and labor law issues. Our emphasis is on litigation avoidance and creative problem solving in an efficient, common sense manner, which allows our clients to focus on running their businesses. When it becomes necessary to litigate, we bring many years of experience to successfully try cases. Our aggressive approach permits us to negotiate favorable settlements for our clients.

What we do.

Posternak’s employment attorneys counsel employers in the day-to-day management of their workforce. This includes the full range of issues such as wage and hour, telecommuting , privacy rights, social media problems, navigating leave and other employee protection laws, developing and implementing personnel policies, discrimination and harassment matters, breach of contract, disputes concerning non-competition and disclosure of confidential information, labor relations matters, and defamation and product disparagement by employees. We also provide the full range of immigration services to businesses. Our emphasis is on counseling clients to avoid disputes and litigation. To that end, we provide comprehensive training programs for managerial and supervisory personnel. We also keep our clients informed of changes in the constantly evolving employment laws.

The Employment Group comprises experienced litigators who have represented clients in the state and federal courts, as well as administrative proceedings before agencies in many states, including the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO), the City of New York Commission on Human Rights (NYC) and the New York State Division of Human Rights (NYSDHR),the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. Department of Labor, and the National Labor Relations Board. Our attorneys are also licensed in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Maine and frequently appear before administrative agencies in those states. In addition to litigation, our attorneys are experienced in alternative dispute resolution, including mediation and arbitration.

We routinely advise clients in connection with the drafting and formulation of employee handbooks, severance agreements, employment contracts, offer letters, and personnel policies, such as those concerning discrimination, harassment, social media, drug testing, social media issues, and internet defamation. Our attorneys conduct comprehensive audits of personnel practices and make recommendations to implement best practices in human resources. We also represent clients in labor relations issues such as grievance arbitration, in proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board and in negotiating collective bargaining agreements.

The Employment Group works closely with attorneys in the firm’s Business Department to meet our clients’ broad range of legal needs. Our attorneys also counsel clients on employee benefits issues, including ERISA, retirement plans, stock option plans, and COBRA.

Representative matters we have handled for employers and insurers.

EEOC religious discrimination class action lawsuit in federal court in Chicago.
Unfair labor practice charges before the National Labor Relations Board in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.
Wage and hour claims, including class actions, in federal and state courts in Massachusetts.
Family and Medical Leave Act claims in Massachusetts federal court.
Discrimination claims nationwide.
Race, sex, disability and age discrimination claims in Massachusetts federal and state courts, including a federal class action age discrimination case.
Diversity discrimination investigation by the New York City Human Rights Commission.
Breach of fiduciary duty claims in closely-held companies.
Injunctive relief in non-compete and non-solicit cases or where disclosure of confidential information was at risk.
Labor arbitrations.
Collective bargaining agreements on behalf of unionized employers including handling strikes and other forms of labor strife.
Defamation via social media and the internet.