Employment & Labor

Employment law is among the highest-volume areas in corporate legal practice. Unlike securities or governance, employment matters arrive constantly — severances, accommodation requests, leave issues, harassment complaints, WARN Act questions, classification disputes, and visa renewals. Whether advising in-house or as outside employment counsel, the work requires a framework for triage: identifying which matters require direct legal involvement and which can be managed through well-designed policies and manager training.

The non-compete landscape is in turmoil. The FTC's broad non-compete ban has been challenged in federal courts, creating a complex patchwork of enforceability by state. California, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Oklahoma have broad bans; Texas enforces them with reasonable limitations; New York has tightened restrictions significantly. Employment agreements must be jurisdictionally calibrated, and the full agreement population should be audited regularly as the law evolves.

Wage-hour compliance under FLSA and state equivalents is a constant audit function — particularly employee vs. contractor classification, exempt vs. non-exempt determinations, and off-the-clock time tracking. Class and collective action risk in this area is significant and frequently underestimated until a matter is already in litigation.

DEI legal risk has become a major boardroom topic following the Supreme Court's Harvard/UNC affirmative action decisions and subsequent challenges to corporate DEI programs. Employment practitioners must provide clear guidance on what programs are legally defensible and assist clients in restructuring those that may not be.