Klein, Paull, Holleb and Jacobs, Ltd. offers full-service, prevention-focused labor and employment law counseling for management clients. We seek first to understand the client’s employment culture to help identify and solve potential and actual issues before they become costly disputes. Our experience in virtually every area of labor and employment law enables our lawyers to emphasize early case evaluation and the delivery of cost-effective representation. We have been awarded an "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, the highest rating awarded by that service. Further, Martindale-Hubbell has included this Firm in its Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers.

 

Our attorneys have served employers in a wide range of industries, including:

 

• Communications

• Securities

• Financial Services

• Manufacturing

• Health Care

• Law

• Publishing

• Credit Unions

• Public Sector

• Construction

• Janitorial Contracting

• Biotechnology

• Steel

• Warehousing

• News Media

• Automobile Dealerships

• Trucking

• Retail

• Human Resource Services

• Insurance

• Technology

• Education

• Distribution

• Consulting

• Landscaping

• Restaurant and Related Food Services

• Mining

• Transportation

• High Technology

 

Klein, Paull, Holleb and Jacobs, Ltd. successfully counsels clients and, when necessary, defends their actions in workplace matters involving a wide range of issues. Our attorneys offer expertise in the following areas:

 

GENERAL EMPLOYMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCE MATTERS:

 

• General labor counseling on all personnel and human resources matters for unionized and non-unionized employers

• Conducting on-site supervisory training and development workshops on fostering human relation skills; legal and practical issues in hiring, promoting bias-free job performance evaluations, positively motivating workers, rehabilitating performance through effective discipline, lawfully terminating employees, documentation and e-mail issues, avoiding grievances in unionized facilities, alcohol and drug abuse; anti-harassment training, and avoidance of wrongful termination claims

• Developing enhanced employee communications

• Labor and employment law audits to evaluate compliance with state and federal labor and employment laws and to determine employee morale

• Facilitating an employee overview committee to monitor, document and create action plans to increase employee performance

• Personnel services including drafting employee manuals, developing performance appraisal systems, and analyzing wage and benefit structures

• Guiding executives through compliance inquiries and issues

 

LABOR RELATIONS MATTERS:

 

• Maintaining a union-free environment

• Identification of and advice on elimination of employee discontent

• Double-breasted businesses

• Compliance under the National Labor Relations Act

• Strategic planning and implementation of election campaigns where necessary

• Strikes and picketing

• Unfair labor practice proceedings and labor injunctions

• Guiding companies through purchase and acquisition issues such as successorship, alter ego, plant relocations, and closings

• Decertification of unions

• Serving as advisor and/or spokesperson in collective bargaining negotiations

• Strike contingency planning

• Grievance handling and arbitration of labor disputes

• Contract interpretation and administration

• Counseling multi-employer Taft-Hartley Pension and Welfare Funds

 

EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION MATTERS:

 

• Employment discrimination representation in litigation before both administrative agencies and the courts

• Preventive counseling to avoid allegations of discrimination based on sex, race, age, national origin, pregnancy, marital status, disability, religion and other prohibited forms of discrimination

• Avoidance of sexual harassment claims including serving as an outside investigator for sexual harassment allegations

• Issues arising under the Family and Medical Leave Act

• Defending systemic litigation brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

 

WAGE AND HOUR MATTERS:

 

• Assisting clients in the development of wage and hour compliance programs

• Providing advice on compliance issues and legal developments

• Representation in state and federal wage and hour audits or investigations

• Compliance with child labor laws

• Providing counsel regarding independent contractor and joint employer status

 

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/GOVERNMENT CONTRACTOR MATTERS:

 

• Affirmative action compliance for clients who are government contractors and/or recipients of government financial assistance

• Drafting affirmative action plans and programs of compliance

• Providing counsel and representation in compliance reviews, audits, and in the negotiation and resolution phases when deficiencies are alleged by the administrative agency

 

WRONGFUL TERMINATION AND BUSINESS TORTS:

 

• Providing ongoing counsel to avoid claims of breach of express or implied contract under employee handbooks or company policies, wrongful discharge, claims of retaliatory discharge and issues of assault, battery, defamation (libel and slander), negligent hiring and retention, violence in the workplace, infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and other individual-employee causes of action

• Defense of employers in court litigation

 

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENTS, INCLUDING:

 

• Confidentiality agreements, non-disclosure and non-competition agreements

• Counseling and litigation support when injunctions are required to protect the client’s business interests

 

DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE COMPLIANCE:

 

• Drug and alcohol testing policies, including compliance with United States Department of Transportation regulations, Drug-Free Workplace Act, and other state and local regulation

 

ANTI-HARASSMENT SERVICES

 

• Drafting anti-harassment policies including sexual harassment

• Training managers and rank and file employees

• Conducting investigations into alleged violations of policy

• Advising and counseling decision makers

 

LITIGATION SERVICES

 

Total client service requires the recognition of the realities of today’s litigious society. We will, therefore, continue to cultivate our reputation for creative client representation in adversarial proceedings before local, state, and federal administrative agencies and in state and federal court. Sound, aggressive defense of client interests and the containment of frivolous claims go hand-in-hand with our progressive philosophy of human resource management. Consistent with that philosophy, we are committed to both understanding and acting on the practical and legal implications of litigation tactics and costs. Once again, our ultimate mission is to satisfy our clients.