McDermott Will & Schulte, a global law firm

Every employment decision shapes how your workforce performs – impacting your culture, reputation, and revenue. Our employment lawyers help your business move forward by managing risk across the employee life cycle – from hiring and onboarding to performance management, retention, and separation.

We go beyond reactive advice by partnering with you to anticipate risk. By taking the time to understand your business and your industry, we stay attuned to emerging workplace trends. Our employment lawyers help you address issues early, reducing the likelihood of disputes or regulatory scrutiny that can be costly and disruptive to your operations.

We partner with you to develop workplace policies that limit legal exposure and strengthen culture, help you comply with ever-evolving laws and regulations around the world, and negotiate contracts designed to protect your interests and align incentives across your organization.

To support global workforces, our employment lawyers work together seamlessly from offices worldwide, providing coordinated, cross-border guidance. We advise on issues across the full spectrum of employment law – from day-to-day advice and policy development to C-suite and board advisory, as well as bet-the-company litigation.

When high-stakes disputes arise, we assemble teams with the specific experience required to litigate the claims at issue – including highly specialized and complex matters. This approach has contributed to our strong track record in labor and employment litigation.

Our employment practice supports your organization at every stage of growth. We provide guidance that is grounded in how your business operates, partnering with you to mitigate workforce risk so you can drive your business forward.

They grasp the subtleties of a case quickly and are incredibly strategic with their advice and strategy.
– Client Testimonial in Chambers USA

Employers face high-stakes risks and exposure as class action litigation escalates. To avoid and mitigate financial and business consequences, you need counsel who can ensure compliance with federal and state laws, swiftly defend your interests, and protect your future.

McDermott Will & Schulte's employment lawyers help leading public and private companies worldwide comply with US employee classification laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and relevant state laws. When potential misclassification triggers government investigations or lawsuits, our employment lawyers – many of whom are former high-ranking US federal prosecutors and government officials – leverage decades of experience to help you limit your legal liability and minimize reputational damage.

In addition to defending against misclassification lawsuits, our seasoned trial and appellate lawyers can defend you in a wide range of complex employment class action lawsuits filed by government agencies, employees, and labor unions, involving claims under various US federal and state laws.

Employee Classification

Our employment team helps you ensure that your employees are classified appropriately under the FLSA and relevant state laws. With experience advising clients across all industries, we apply sector-specific knowledge to proactively guide you on policy development, compliance, and defense strategies.

Our lawyers have extensive knowledge of the classification of exempt and nonexempt employees, employees versus independent contractors, and business-to-business (B2B) contracts that may raise joint employer issues. We will work with you to properly characterize these business relationships in the context of agreements, policies, and practices.

On behalf of clients in employee classification matters, our team:

• Develops policies to comply with federal and state laws concerning classification, overtime, non-discretionary bonus regular rate recalculations, meal and rest periods, off-the-clock work, recordkeeping, and payroll deductions, among other issues
• Conducts regular policy reviews to ensure compliance and assess potential violations
• Rolls out new policies and delivers customized trainings to improve manager and employee compliance
• Advises on complex issues relating to the classification of gig workers and other independent contractors, including applying the ABC test, established by the California Supreme Court (our lawyer was directly involved in the case that led to the ABC test)
• Advises companies in the entertainment and sports industry contracting with loan-outs, leveraging the right labor, tax, and corporate laws to build the strongest agreements
• Defends against government investigations and compliance audits to minimize liability
• Defends against high-stakes wage-and-hour litigation, leveraging our experience handling hundreds of such cases successfully for our clients

Employment Class Action

Our employment class action lawyers have successfully defended clients against large-scale, multijurisdictional class action lawsuits involving thousands of employees. We represent clients across state and federal courts, appellate courts, and before the US Supreme Court in actions involving claims under several US federal and state laws, including:

• Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Civil Rights Act – Title VII and Section 1981
• Equal Pay Act (EPA)
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA)
• Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)

To protect your reputation, our employment class action litigation team takes a proactive approach to crisis management and media relations, including directly addressing plaintiffs’ lawyers who leverage the media in attempts to extract unreasonable damages. Additionally, to minimize liability from potential disputes, we help you implement arbitration programs that prevent individuals from bringing class or collective claims.

Our employment team also has significant experience defending against pattern and practice lawsuits brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), state and federal department of labor actions, and attorney general enforcement actions. Whether in arbitration, early-stage meditation, or litigation, we know how and where to apply pressure to obtain the best result for you.

We offer distinct advantages in employment class actions including:

• First-chair trial lawyers who have won favorable verdicts in cases involving sophisticated employment issues
• An impressive track record of success in employment disputes, including the complete elimination of class action claims
• Deep familiarity with leading plaintiffs’ lawyers and their pressure points, allowing us to develop effective defense and resolution strategies
• A top-tier appellate practice that we leverage to craft legal arguments likely to withstand the test of an appeal
• Lawyers with extensive networks within the class action community, enabling us to spot emerging trends that can lead to the next big wave of class action litigation

The team at McDermott Will & Schulte is highly skilled at advising on employment law topics and complex personnel issues.
– Client Testimonial in Chambers USA

Proactively addressing diversity, gender, and pay equity is a top priority for employers. You look to counsel to be on the pulse of these issues and to help develop plans that are ahead of the curve and protect your organization’s people, culture, and reputation.

Our global employment lawyers counsel industry-leading public and private companies, boards of directors, and senior executives on employment discrimination, internal investigations, and aligning advice with your business objectives. Our approach goes beyond rote legal recitation to provide comprehensive and business-oriented solutions for protecting the organization’s market position and minimizing legal liability, financial loss, and reputational damage.

Bringing decades of management-side experience in pay equity, discrimination, and harassment lawsuits, our employment lawyers combine diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) best practices with deep knowledge of anti-discrimination laws to proactively identify concerns within the organization and deliver customized solutions.

If faced with an employment discrimination lawsuit, our litigators have a proven track record of success, from negotiating early settlements that minimize impact to winning favorable verdicts in arbitration and in state and federal courts.

Pay Equity

We help global employers comply with the evolving legal frameworks that govern pay equity. Through confidential pay studies in partnership with trusted experts, our lawyers identify and address pay discrepancies based on gender, race, ethnicity, or other factors before challenges arise.

Our employment and executive compensation teams work together to analyze sector-specific pay data, compensation structures, pay equity laws, and board fiduciary responsibilities to help you protect your business. We partner with organizations to:

• Administer a pay study under attorney-client privilege
• Assess pay disparities
• Review policies and pipeline initiatives to identify root causes
• Develop an action plan based on findings – either by implementing policy, pipeline, culture, and other changes compliant with state and federal requirements, or redesigning compensation structures for compliance, impact, and competitive edge
• Conduct assessments on a global basis considering relevant foreign pay equity laws and reporting requirements

Harassment & Employment Discrimination

We take a proactive approach to help our clients navigate sensitive allegations of workplace harassment and discrimination. Such allegations are becoming increasingly complex to manage, with the rise of such claims being posted directly to social media.

To prevent allegations from arising, our lawyers partner with your in-house legal and human resources teams to evaluate conduct, update policies, provide interactive trainings, and foster a culture of compliance. We work closely with your organization to:

• Conduct harassment prevention training programs for employees across all levels of your organization, as well as offer one-on-one executive leadership training for members of your C-suite and board
• Ensure compliance with state and federal regulations, including the deployment of confidential reporting systems
• Identify potential risks and make informed decisions about allocating compliance resources

If you are faced with a high-stakes harassment or discrimination claim, we work with your in-house teams to respond swiftly and take decisive action, including measures to:

• Conduct an extensive internal investigation and deliver recommendations for corrective action
• Form a special committee of the board to provide necessary independence to the process
• Counsel the board on disclosure obligations to shareholders, regulators, and other stakeholders to mitigate risk for shareholder derivative litigation
• Deploy a crisis management plan, including an appropriate public statement