Overview
Labor and employment disputes can involve state discrimination agencies, the U.S. Supreme Court and everything in between. When clients are subject to litigation, our experienced employment litigators move rapidly to reach favorable, cost-effective solutions. We engage in mediation and arbitration on behalf of our clients, negotiate settlement agreements when appropriate, and represent our clients in defense of these claims in state and federal court, before administrative agencies, and in arbitration proceedings.
Ropes & Gray’s labor and employment practice is consistently recognized for excellence in Chambers USA, U.S. News & World Report Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” survey and Super Lawyers. Clients come to us because we have dealt with the full range of employment-related claims and issues, including:
- Wrongful discharge
- Sexual harassment
- Noncompetition and trade secrets
- Executive compensation
- Employee benefits
- Wage and hour law
- Defamation and privacy
- Whistleblower and retaliation claims
Our clients get a team that has handled contested proceedings arising under virtually every labor and employment law, including:
- Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1991 and other federal and state equal employment opportunity laws
- Fair Labor Standards Act
- Americans with Disabilities Act
- Family and Medical Leave Act
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
- Unemployment compensation and workers’ compensation laws
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
- Older Workers Benefit Protection Act
- Occupational Safety and Health Act
- Work Adjustment Retaining and Notification Act
- Veterans’ rights laws
Experience
Our labor and employment attorneys have an exceptional record of success. Recent representations include:
- Favorable jury verdicts in two consecutive race discrimination trials for a not-for-profit, federally funded research and development center.
- Representing a publicly traded company in defense of a series of non-compete lawsuits arising out of a lift-out.
- Dismissal of a national financial services firm from a sex discrimination and breach of contract lawsuit.
- Defeating class certification in a Fair Labor Standards Act case that had exposed the defendant employer to over $10 million in potential damages.
- Enforcing for a public energy management company a covenant not to compete against a defecting employee.
- Representing a multinational law firm and a number of the firm’s partners in defense of a sex discrimination lawsuit.
- Advising a large hedge fund client about implementing a comprehensive intellectual property protection strategy Winning a five-day handicap discrimination trial before an administrative law judge for a health care facility.
- Defending a leading hospital against a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit.
- Defending a national health and fitness club chain against a wage and hour class action complaint.
- Defending a publicly held biotechnology company against sex discrimination and Sarbanes Oxley claims.
- Successfully representing a publicly held energy company in the prosecution of a noncompetition and misappropriation of trade secrets lawsuit.
- Defending a major defense contractor before two different juries against age discrimination claims of five former employees.
- Advising a committee of the board of directors of a worldwide eye health company in its consideration of a series of multimillion-dollar appeals from benefits claimants under the company’s supplemental executive retirement plan.
- Winning summary judgment, in a first-in-the-nation decision upholding the lawfulness of a cash balance retirement plan, against challenges brought under ERISA and ADEA.
- Winning a federal court directed verdict for a large financial services organization facing race discrimination claims.
- Obtaining a no discrimination ruling in a three-week administrative public hearing for a large corporation facing 13 consolidated age discrimination cases.
