Employment & Labor

Protect your business with customized agreements - Parsons Behle & Latimer’s employment and labor attorneys design executive employment agreements to fit the client’s particular industry, business and circumstances. A well-drafted executive employment agreement often serves to protect the employer’s interests and place the employer in the best possible position should a terminated executive later bring a claim for breach of contract.

Limit liability with thorough handbook development and review - Parsons Behle & Latimer’s employment and labor attorneys tailor their work to meet the needs of the employer’s business by reviewing and updating handbooks for companies both large and small. An outdated or deficient handbook creates a potential sword for disgruntled employees to use against employers. Our experienced attorneys guide employers in creating handbooks that contain the essential policies to protect employers from potential liability. The attorneys at Parsons conduct a thorough review of the employer’s current policies, then assess the handbook’s effectiveness in communicating updated policies to reflect the current status of the law.

Minimize risk from exiting employees through severance agreements - The employment and labor attorneys at Parsons Behle & Latimer prepare severance agreements to assist employers when laying off or terminating employees. Severance agreements detail the compensation package an employee receives at the termination of his or her employment and engender goodwill with terminated employees while significantly decreasing the employer's exposure to future litigation.

Always be prepared for an audit - Parsons Behle & Latimer's employment and labor team guides employers through all aspects of compliance audits under federal and state laws, including interviews with upper management, review of employee handbooks, and examination of discipline and termination documents. A compliance audit examines the employer’s policies and procedures regarding personnel, with significant financial liability for non-compliance. Our experienced attorneys assist employers not only with compliance audits initiated by federal or state agencies but also proactively counsel employers on policies to ensure those policies follow state and federal laws and help avoid potential liability.

Confidently educate your company's team - Companies of all sizes rely on Parsons Behle & Latimer’s employment and labor attorneys for counsel with legal and compliance issues regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. We offer training to your board, managers and employees that can be conducted in-person or remotely though videoconferencing. Our presentations are interactive, engaging and provide the practical knowledge to educate the audience on the relevant law to avoid violations.

Training based in the real world - Parsons Behle & Latimer’s employment and labor attorneys have extensive experience training businesses, their management and employees to ensure compliance with unlawful harassment and discrimination laws. We customize training programs to meet the employer’s specific needs, providing training to effectively mitigate legal risks. We offer engaging, interactive presentations that explain the necessary concepts with situational examples to human resource professionals, corporate leaders, in-house legal departments, managers and employees. 

All-encompassing negotiating strategies - The employment and labor attorneys at Parsons Behle & Latimer assist clients with all aspects of collective bargaining negotiations. We counsel employers on existing contracts and actively negotiate on the behalf of employers to avoid disputes related to labor relations while protecting the employer’s interests. We also represent clients in CBA grievance procedures. 

Deep experience across local and national regulatory areas - Parsons Behle & Latimer’s employment and labor attorneys provide the information and guidance that employers need to comply with safety and health regulations. Our attorneys handle matters before state and federal agencies, including the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) as well as state and federal courts. Our experience includes litigation involving industrial accidents and industrial health and hygiene disputes with various federal, state and local agencies. We also focus on preventive counseling that helps avoid lawsuits. By working with engineering, industrial hygiene and safety experts along with our clients’ staff, we can help maximize workplace safety to protect employees from risk and to protect employers from liability.

Tailored agreements to fit your projects - Parsons Behle & Latimer’s employment and labor attorneys tailor independent contractor agreements to fit the needs of our client’s projects. We assess the work performed to determine if independent contractor agreements are appropriate and prepare the terms to properly define the relationship between the company and the independent contractor to avoid costly disputes down the line.

Avoid unnecessary risk with our expert guidance – Employer clients trust Parsons Behle & Latimer’s employment and labor attorneys to guide them through the exemptions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Our attorneys ensure employers fully comply with the law in compensating their employees to avoid significant financial exposure that can result from misclassification of an employee under the FLSA. 

Ensure your business complies with FLSA rules - Parsons Behle & Labor aids companies to ensure their businesses comply with all Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rules. We guide employers through all aspects of FLSA audits, including interviews with upper management and a review of policies, procedures and documentation to ensure compliance with the FLSA and its regulations, including: 

• Review of overtime pay
• Record keeping
• Youth employment standards
• Minimum wage standards

Our experienced lawyers assist employers not only through the compliance audit process, but we also provide counseling to companies on policies and practices to ensure that policies follow state and federal laws to avoid potential liability should an audit arise.