Labor & Employment RelationsOverviewGood employer-employee relations are essential to the success of any business. Our nationally recognized Labor and Employment Relations group, one of the largest in the Midwest, helps clients throughout the country make employment-related decisions and plan for the future. Michael Best offers a comprehensive range of services in labor, employment, and employee benefits law. Chambers USA notes that our “market-leading” group has “a deep bench of experienced practitioners,” who clients say are “at the top of the game.”
We take pride in understanding your organization and its needs – whether it is publicly held or nonprofit, private or public sector; and whether your workforces are large or small, white- or blue-collar, unionized or union-free.
Our Approach
We counsel clients at the earliest stages of employment-related decision-making, and we help clients develop and maintain workable employment policies, practices, and procedures that comply with always evolving legal requirements. Our customized training programs can help you foster compliance, management skills, and positive employee relations.
Clients turn to us for timely solutions, proactive advice, and goal-oriented advocacy with respect to all of their employee relations needs, whether in the courtroom, during strategic planning, or at the bargaining table. We are dedicated to helping employers anticipate and plan for change, manage risk, resolve conflict, and protect their interests.
For clients with international operations, our exclusive affiliation as Wisconsin’s only member of the Employment Law Alliance can help provide seamless, cost-effective services in more than 120 countries including the U.S. and Canada. And for those interested in policymaking, our participation in employment law–focused committees established by the U.S Chamber of Commerce can give you a stronger voice with the federal government.
Service Areas
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
Counsel on all types of health and welfare benefit plans, qualified retirement plans, employee stock ownership plans, and executive compensation arrangements; and defense of related litigation and government agency audits and investigations.
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Employee Benefits Litigation
Developing strategies and programs to address benefits disputes; advising on best practices, proper compliance, benefits claims and appeals procedures; litigation avoidance approaches; and defense in state and federal courts.
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Employment Litigation
Representing employers in single-plaintiff and class action litigation, administrative agency proceedings, and alternative dispute resolution involving employment-related issues such as discrimination or harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, workplace safety, family leave, disability accommodation, unfair competition and trade secrets, employee benefits, and executive compensation.
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Employment Policies, Practices, and Audits
Ongoing advice on employee handbooks, procedures and documentation for hiring and employee management, and other employment policies and practices; compliance audits and training; and the unique needs of government contractors, including affirmative action plans.
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Immigration
Assistance with employee mobility, hiring, and immigration matters such as visa processing, permanent residence applications, Form I-9 and E-Verify, visas and employment authorizations for U.S.-based employees working abroad, international and U.S. tax advice, and harmonizing employment practices across international borders.
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Labor-Management Relations
Serving as counsel to employers in union campaigns, elections, collective bargaining, strikes, NLRB and state agency proceedings, and grievances and arbitrations, as well as advising on employee relations and maintaining a union-free workplace.
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Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets
Helping clients protect trade secrets and intellectual property, develop and enforce restrictive covenants, guard against solicitation of employees, and implement proactive policies and procedures that can prevent the loss of assets; and representing clients in unfair competition and trade secret litigation.
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Wage and Hour Compliance and Defense
Advice on compliance with state and federal wage and hour laws, including audits of exempt/non-exempt positions, independent contractor classifications, and pay policies and practices; and defense of wage and hour litigation and DOL investigations.
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Workplace Safety and Health
Counsel on establishing occupational safety and health policies and procedures, reporting and recordkeeping obligations, maintaining compliance, and handling employee violations of safety/health policies; and representing clients in inspections by OSHA and MSHA, citation and post-citation proceedings, and related court challenges.
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Experience
- Assisted five Wisconsin technical colleges in establishing a consortium for purposes of offering health benefits to their employees, with joint administration and joint self-funding of the cost of claims administration and re-insurance premiums. Because the colleges are state governmental entities and it was unclear whether state law allowed them to jointly self-fund employee health coverage, we helped draft changes that were enacted into Wisconsin law. We created governing documents and protocols for the member colleges and oversaw creation of the consortium and its “going live.”
- Represented a Wisconsin chain of dental clinics in collective bargaining, and negotiated innovative agreements with two unions to facilitate comprehensive restructuring of our client’s clinic workforces.
- For a large international manufacturer that had grown through acquisition over the prior decade, we completed the process of consolidating multiple qualified retirement plans into a single plan. In addition to advising on the design of the combined plan, we obtained an IRS ruling, assisted with recordkeeping conversion, and provided guidance on operational changes resulting from the company-wide consolidation. This project impacted over 5,000 plan participants and allowed our client to decrease its overall cost of plan administration.
- Defended a national taxicab company in a wage and hour case in which Chicago cab drivers challenged the industry business model. The plaintiffs asserted that cab drivers were employees under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act (IWPCA) and, therefore, the defendant cab companies had violated the law by failing to pay minimum wage and overtime and by deducting fees from the drivers’ wages. The Seventh Circuit rejected these claims and found that the IWPCA did not apply to the drivers, because the cab companies did not promise or contract to pay wages to the drivers.
Related People Preview Attorney's BiographyLuis represents employers in a range of labor and employment matters and has developed a significant practice focusing on employee defection and recruitment, including litigating injunction and damage actions relating to: covenants not to compete, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements, unfair competition, trade secrets, duty of loyalty, the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act, and state trade secrets and unfair competition statutes.  Preview Attorney's BiographyScott counsels clients on their “people” issues. Businesses, owners, and boards of directors look to Scott as their outside general counsel to ensure legal compliance of their operations and initiatives. Scott represents businesses before federal and state courts and administrative agencies throughout the country in all areas of employment law.  Preview Attorney's BiographyAmy’s outstanding track record is built on successful outcomes in the full spectrum of labor, employment and business-related issues, in both litigation and non-litigation settings. As a problem solver, Amy applies common sense and creativity to develop targeted employment-related solutions for her clients.  Preview Attorney's BiographyCarrie crafts practical solutions to complex problems without overlooking technical details –guiding employers through the development and implementation of talent, compensation, and benefits strategies designed to enhance top line growth while managing bottom line expenditures and compliance.  Preview Attorney's BiographyAnne provides counseling and representation to employers with respect to a full spectrum of legal issues that arise out of the employment relationship. Anne focuses her practice on defense of employment claims, including discrimination, harassment, failure to accommodate, wrongful termination, retaliation, employee leave, and breach of contract claims.  Preview Attorney's BiographyHolly concentrates her practice on labor and employment disputes and counsel. As a litigator, she mounts forceful and persuasive defenses before federal and state courts and administrative agencies on behalf of employers. As an advisor, she helps management develop and maintain compliant employee policies.  Preview Attorney's BiographyDavid is a zealous and unrelenting advocate in employment and labor relations matters. He also serves as general counsel for selected clients. David’s practice is defined by his singular commitment to helping clients achieve their business objectives. A seasoned practitioner, David maintains a keen focus on helping clients manage employment law and corporate law risk by point-of-decision counsel and through the general counsel relationship.  Preview Attorney's BiographyClients rely on Jason for strategic counsel regarding a broad range of employee benefits and executive compensation matters, including: Qualified defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans, including pension and 401(k) plans; Health and welfare plans, including Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act compliance; Nonqualified deferred compensation plans; Multiemployer pension and health and welfare plans; and compliance with ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code.  Preview Attorney's BiographySarah serves as a trusted advisor offering proactive, strategic employment counsel. Representing companies and management exclusively, she works with a diverse range of manufacturing, logistics, government, financial, and higher education clients of all sizes. Sarah’s strategic, client-focused practice includes litigation involving discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, non-compete enforcement and defense, employee leave disputes, wage-and-hour claims, and more.
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