Employment & Labor Law
Riess LeMieux’s employment and labor practice covers the full spectrum of issues affecting the employment relationship, employer training, handbook drafting, and litigation federal and state discrimination claims, wage/hour issues, and disputes arising from the ADA, ADEA, FMLA, FLSA, and Title VII. We help navigate complex workforce issues on a regular basis to instill a proactive approach for our clients and avoid potential claims.
Some of the employment and labor law areas we handle include:
- Title VII—race, gender, national origin, and religion discrimination
- ADA compliance (disability discrimination)
- ADEA compliance (age discrimination)
- ERISA (pension, health insurance, life insurance, and ADD insurance benefits)
- Union collective bargaining agreement issues
- State wage & hour laws, blacklisting statutes, and wrongful discharge issues
- Workers’ compensation disputes (employer-side only)
- Employment contract issues, including hiring, non-compete agreements, termination, severance, collective bargaining, intellectual property rights, protection of confidential/proprietary information, distribution rights, independent contractor vs. employee, agency principles, entitlement to commissions or performance bonuses, and other terms and conditions of employment
Recent News
COVID-19 Vaccinations and Your Workplace Webinar
Thomas Henican, partner at Riess LeMieux, will cover legal issues implicated by the recent approval and use of COVID-19 vaccines, including: Equal Employment Opportunity guidance, the ADA, the Civil Rights Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The discussion will include best practices for employers considering distribution of the vaccine directly (or through a third party) and/or requiring proof of vaccination to return to work, and will conclude with a discussion of Louisiana’s liability limiting COVID-19 statute as to employer vaccination programs and the proposed federal legislation.
Legal Update: Berkel & Co. Contractors, Inc. v. Lee (Nov. 2020)
In a recent decision concerning the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act (TWCA), the Texas Supreme Court emphasized the high bar plaintiffs must meet to satisfy the narrow “intentional tort” exception in the statute. As in many other states, a Texas worker’s injuries sustained during the course of employment are exclusively governed by the TWCA. The only exception that would allow a worker to sue an employer for damages outside the purview of the TWCA is if the employer intentionally caused the worker’s injuries. The Texas Supreme Court ruled that an employer who commits gross negligence or deliberately ignores a risk of injury to an employee does not meet the definition of “intentional” under the TWCA.
