Members of the Employment & Labor Law Group at Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler & Hagen, P.C. have extensive experience and expertise in representing and counseling clients in matters of traditional labor law and general employment law. We represent private and public sector employers as well as a number of trade associations with specific interests in labor and employment issues, including Associated Builders and Contractors of Iowa and the Iowa Association of Business and Industry. Our goal is to help our clients minimize the risk of legal liability while accomplishing their important business objectives.
COUNSELING
Our labor and employment practice includes preventive counseling for scores of businesses. Our clients include employers which are large, small and in-between; for-profit and not-for-profit; Iowa-based as well as regional and national. Our clients are in such diverse industries as health care, communications, information technology, construction, financial services, manufacturing, retail and agriculture. We help organizations reduce liability risks and increase legal compliance through a wide variety of activities, including, but not limited to, the following areas which take advantage of our counseling experience and expertise:
- Prepare or review employment applications, performance review standards, employee handbooks, releases, agreements, policy and procedure manuals and other practices and documents to ensure compliance with federal and state laws and to assist employers in minimizing employment-related claims;
- Counsel employers on enforcing and implementing policies;
- Advise clients regarding the requirements of Affirmative Action Plans under both federal and state laws, and assist in the preparation or review and revision of such plans;
- Assist with or conduct investigations of internal discrimination and harassment claims founded on a variety of protected bases like gender (sex), race, and age by either counseling clients’ management in their investigations or by conducting the investigation on behalf of the employer;
- Advise, counsel and provide training for matters regarding hiring, employee performance, discipline, termination, and reductions-in-force;
- Advise, counsel, and provide training for union avoidance;
- Assist with compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (e.g. pre-hiring matters, medical examinations, reasonable accommodation evaluations);
- Advise, counsel and train in Family and Medical Leave Act compliance, including policy development and situation management;
- Advise, counsel and train in compliance with wage and hour laws including the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Iowa Wage Payment Collection Act, and the Iowa minimum wage statute;
- Draft and review employment agreements, both for general use and for specific employees, regarding non-compete agreements and other restrictive covenants;
- Draft, review, counsel and train on drug and alcohol testing issues, including policy development and implementation, enforcement practices, “disability discrimination” issues associated with past or present drug or alcohol addiction, and situation management under both state and federal laws;
- Develop programs for and conduct the training of employees, including but certainly not limited to managerial and supervisory employees, on a variety of workplace employment issues such as harassment or hostile work environment, and other nondiscrimination or affirmative action issues; case-specific basis regarding compliance with applicable employment laws while maximizing the employer’s ability to accomplish its business objectives;
- Provide practical benefit-cost analysis and candid risk assessments for specific scenarios or business plans.
- Advise and counsel clients and conduct due diligence on employment issues arising in mergers and acquisitions.
REPRESENTATION
Labor Law
In the area of traditional labor law, we represent clients before the National Labor Relations Board, the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board, and the courts in matters ranging from union organizing efforts to unfair labor practice charges to union decertification. We provide a full range of services to unionized employers including at-the-table contract negotiations, advising on issues that may arise during negotiations, and assisting with grievance processing handling, including handling arbitrations. We also represent employers in court actions arising under traditional labor laws, including actions challenging or seeking to enforce collective bargaining agreements, and actions arising under ERISA.
Employment Law
In addition to traditional labor work, we represent clients in all aspects of employment litigation, including trial work before federal and state courts, and administrative agency proceedings. Our work in this area includes matters arising under the following employment laws:
- Various civil rights statutes (for example, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and related state and local laws and ordinances) whether the claims involve unlawful discrimination, harassment / hostile work environment, or retaliation;
- Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) and similar state laws regulating leaves of absence and returns to work;
- Fair Labor Standards Act (minimum wage and overtime payments);
- Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) (Iowa and federal statutes);
- Uniformed Services Employment & Reemployment Rights Act and related laws governing military service and employment;
- Wrongful discharge litigation under various state and federal theories;
- Federal and Iowa Occupational Safety & Health Act statutes and regulations;
- Workers’ compensation statutes, including insured and self-insured proceedings and alleged co-employee liability matters;
- Covenants not to compete as well as “confidentiality” and “trade secret” agreements, and other litigation arising from employment agreements or severance-of-employment agreements;
- Unemployment compensation matters, including cases involving entitlement to benefits, as well as rate of tax and successorship issues;
- Various statutes and regulations that include whistleblower protections (e.g. Sarbanes-Oxley Act);
- State and common law and tort claims (e.g. breach of contract, defamation, intentional interference, negligent hiring/retention/supervision, emotional distress);
- State and federal drug and alcohol testing statutes and regulations;
- Other federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the workplace.
In addition to employment and labor law, Dickinson has active pratices in commercial litigation, banking law, business and corporate law, real estate, communications law, green business and sustainability law, trusts and estates, and family law. For more information about the services offered by Dickinson attorneys, please visit the firm’s website here.
