Godfrey & Kahn’s Labor, Employment & Immigration Practice Group is organized around a core group of attorneys who provide legal services to clients regarding the complex web of statutory, judicial and regulatory authority concerning workplace matters. During 2014, our practice group worked on a wide spectrum of labor and employment matters—only a few of which are recounted below. In these situations, and many others, we helped clients achieve positive outcomes, thereby reducing risk and increasing profitability. We look forward to an exciting 2015 and will continue to work hard to provide our current clients and new clients with outstanding results. If you or your company could benefit from our services, please contact Christine Liu McLaughlin, Labor, Employment & Immigration Practice Group chair, at 414.287.9232 or cmclaughlin@gklaw.com.

• Assisted a nationally recognized equity investment group with employee transition and due diligence matters related to the sale of a multi-state business operation.
• Assisted a large international company with the creation and implementation of multi-state and country restrictive covenant agreements.
• Successfully defended a consumer products manufacturer on a claim by one of its former in-house counsel alleging violation of the anti-retaliation provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
• Negotiated a complex personnel leasing contract on behalf of a large multi-state employer.
• Assisted multiple employers with the successful negotiation of exit packages for executives.
• Defended a client corporation in an employment discrimination lawsuit before the Northern District of Illinois.
• Advised and assisted a client with a national reduction-in-force termination program.
• Successfully represented a health care system in collective bargaining and federal mediation of a new labor contract for 2015-2017.
• Represented a grocery cooperative in a union organizing drive that included related NLRB unit determination and unfair labor practice proceedings.
• Advised an international retail client on day-to-day labor and employment matters.
• Trained supervisory employees on how to identify and respond to union organizing activity.
• Advised a client on employment issues related to, and assisted in development of, state-wide manufacturing employee training initiative.
• Performed a comprehensive Form I-9 audit for a manufacturer.
• Successfully defended an employee wage and hour complaint.
• Successfully investigated, defended and resolved employee discrimination claims and complaints for various clients.
• Provided advice related to interpretation and implementation of 2011 Wisconsin Acts 10 and 32 which made major changes to the state’s collective bargaining laws for municipal employers.
• Assisted one of the largest national publicly traded companies in its industry with ongoing restructuring needs, review and advice concerning national restrictive covenant issues, and defense of multi-jurisdictional state and federal discrimination claims.
• Represented a governmental employer in interest arbitration proceedings.
• Provided training to employees and supervisory employees on how to effectively deal with harassment in the workplace.
• Reviewed and revised company employment policies and an employee handbook for an employer with employees in multiple states.