Overview
Calfee’s Labor and Employment attorneys support clients by providing day-to-day employment counseling, defending administrative complaints and representing clients in litigation concerning state and federal discrimination laws, the National Labor Relations Act, the Family & Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and workers’ compensation claims.
Additionally, our team provides aggressive, cost-effective defense of claims of wrongful discharge and violations of individual employment rights, and we litigate cases involving noncompete agreements and other restrictive covenants.
Calfee’s Labor and Employment attorneys represent publicly and privately held corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships, including unionized and non-union employers as well as public-sector entities.
Noteworthy
Chambers USA 2022 Band 3 Ranking in Labor & Employment (Ohio)
For a number of years, Calfee’s skilled Labor and Employment group has been recognized for its work by Chambers USA. Chambers USA researchers note that the practice is known to be "Proficient in the handling of a wide range of labor and employment matters. Areas of strength for the firm include the representation of management in collective bargaining negotiations with unions, defending clients against claims of wrongful discharge and discrimination, and day-to-day employment counseling. Expertise also stretches to the enforcement of post-employment agreements."
Clients interviewed by Chambers USA said, "Calfee is consistently responsive, thorough, and knowledgeable. The attorneys we work with at Calfee are able to quickly distill and interpret the relevant information pertaining to a matter, cut past the emotional and subjective factors, and focus on the law. The firm is very thorough and concentrates on the details; they are experts in the law and how it applies to the issues while understanding the business needs. The group is accessible and calls you back very quickly. They are a pleasure to work with and every one of them knows their stuff. They are spot-on technically, on top of everything and always provide good solid counsel. We are extremely satisfied with the work Calfee has done for us. The group is thorough, creative and responsive."
U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” Rankings
Calfee was selected for inclusion in the 2023 "Best Law Firms" rankings by U.S. News – Best Lawyers in the following areas:
- Employment Law – Management (Regional Tier 1 Cleveland)
- Labor Law - Management (Regional Tier 2 Cleveland)
- Litigation – Labor & Employment (Regional Tier 2 Cleveland)
Benchmark Litigation Rankings
Benchmark Litigation 2023 ranked Calfee as a Recommended Law Firm in Labor and Employment in Ohio. Several of Calfee's Labor & Employment attorneys have been ranked as "Labor & Employment Stars" in the U.S. (National), Midwest, and Ohio by Benchmark Litigation 2023.
Experience
Experience
Labor and Employment Relations
- Represented employers in lengthy strikes that resulted in union returning to work with contract terms less favorable than employer’s final pre-strike offers; in each case, employer successfully maintained operations during the strike.
- Prepared comprehensive employee handbooks and developed workplace policies incorporating recent changes in the law.
- Prepared employment agreements for highly compensated executives involving complex compensation schemes and change in control provisions.
- Prepared separation agreements by which employees were separated from employment with release of all claims against the employer, while assuring compliance with the requirements of the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act.
- Represented employer in unfair labor practice investigation, including hearings regarding subcontracting of work, resulting in total victory when court of appeals denied enforcement of National Labor Relations Board order.
- Counseled clients acquiring the assets of unionized corporations concerning their rights to negotiate terms and conditions of employment consistent with company-wide compensation and benefit schemes.
- Conducted numerous in-house training seminars for management concerning compliance with all state and federal labor statutes and regulations, union avoidance, sexual harassment, the Family & Medical Leave Act, and other laws governing the workplace.
- Prepared employment agreements including nondisclosure, noncompete and nonsolicitation covenants, as well as assignment of inventions complying with federal and state law.
Discrimination and Workplace-Related Litigation
- Prepared comprehensive position statements to the EEOC, Ohio Civil Rights Commission and many other state civil rights agencies defending against claims of workplace discrimination, harassment and/or retaliation.
- Obtained summary judgment in both federal and state court cases involving claims of discrimination, harassment and/or retaliation, thereby avoiding the time and expense of trial.
- Successfully mediated many claims of workplace discrimination using various Alternative Dispute Resolution procedures.
- Obtained reimbursement of legal fees for a client forced to defend against a frivolous claim of national origin discrimination.
- Compelled voluntary dismissal of claims of sexual harassment filed against Company and supervisor.
Arbitrations
- Successfully defended union’s challenges to terminations and other disciplinary actions with Arbitrators denying grievances after full hearings.
- Won arbitrations challenging work assignments, policy implementation, subcontracting of work, and new classification rates.
- Have obtained TRO, preliminary and permanent injunctions barring former employees from disregarding noncompete and other restrictive covenants, causing employee to resign from or be terminated by competitor.
- Filed Declaratory Judgment actions to challenge overbroad or otherwise defective restrictive covenant agreements to allow clients to hire competitors’ employees.
- Successfully negotiated noncompete disputes to achieve client’s goals while avoiding protracted, expensive litigation.