Christopher Calsyn is a counsel in Crowell & Moring's Labor and Employment Group.
Chris regularly provides clients with litigation and counseling services in all facets of labor and employment law including:
· Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage/hour statutes;
· Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and state anti-discrimination statutes;
· Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA);
· Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA);
· Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA);
· Labor arbitration;
· Non-compete/non-solicitation agreements;
· Wrongful termination;
· Sexual harassment;
· Reductions-in-force; and
· Employee drug testing, discipline, and other workplace policies.
Clients Chris has recently worked with include: AT&T, Western Union, Valeo S.A., MedStar Health, Inc. and its subsidiary hospitals, Honeywell, and numerous other private and public companies.
Representative Experience
· Currently representing a Fortune 100 company in a nationwide wage and hour class action involving over 4,000 plaintiffs;
· Currently defending an international consulting firm in a putative class action in which plaintiffs are claiming they were misclassified as exempt employees under the FLSA;
· Obtained summary judgment dismissing plaintiff's claims of age and disability discrimination against multinational automobile parts manufacturer;
· Negotiated favorable settlement of union grievance filed against large manufacturer on behalf of a dismissed employee;
· Obtained summary judgment dismissing plaintiff's allegations of race discrimination against an international aircraft parts manufacturer;
· Avoided litigation through successful counseling of multiple clients in handling FMLA leave requests and ADA reasonable accommodation requests brought by their employees; and
· Revised numerous employer policy manuals regarding issues as varied as employee leave to social networking/blogging policies.
In The News
In the October/November edition of My Business, Chris was quoted regarding inappropriate employee online conduct in an article entitled, "Managing Workplace Privacy in a Digital Age" by Beth Milito.
Publications
· "Courts Apply the Doctrine of Equitable Estoppel to Prevent Employers from Skirting Liability for their Actions Toward Otherwise Ineligible Employees," Bloomberg Law Reports, Labor & Employment, Vol. 3, No. 33 (2009). Co-Authors: Kris D. Meade and Christopher P. Calsyn.
· "Ledbetter Legislation Enacted - Now What?," Employment Law360 (January 30, 2009). Co-Authors: Kris D. Meade, Ursula Kubal Guzman and Christopher Calsyn.
· "Comparing U.K. and U.S. Wage and Hour Laws," Legal Report, Society for Human Resource Management (October-November 2008). Co-Authors: Michelle Haste and Christopher Calsyn.
· "Country Q&A: United States Information Technology," Practical Law Company, Information Technology Handbook, 2nd Edition (2007-08). Co-Authors: Gaela Bailey, Benjamin T. Butler, Christopher Calsyn, Robin B. Campbell, Charles C. Hwang, Kris D. Meade and John I. Stewart, Jr.
· "Country Q&A: United States Data Protection," Practical Law Company, Vol. 2: Data Protection (2006-07). Co-Authors: Gaela Bailey, David Z. Bodenheimer, Benjamin T. Butler, Christopher Calsyn, Robin B. Campbell, Charles C. Hwang, Kris D. Meade, Jeremy Rhyne and John Stewart.
Alerts & Newsletters
· "Federal Court Imposes Broad Preservation Obligation Regarding Potential Class Members in FLSA Action," Labor & Employment Law Alert - US (February 23, 2012). Contacts: Jeane A. Thomas, David E. Bell, Christopher Calsyn, Jeffrey W. Pagano, Thomas P. Gies, Mark A. Romeo.
· "NLRB Clarifies Its Position Regarding Employees' Social Media Usage," Labor & Employment Law Alert - US (February 2, 2012). Contacts: Jeffrey W. Pagano, Herbert I. Meyer, Kris D. Meade, Thomas P. Gies, Glenn D. Grant, Christopher Calsyn, Mark A. Romeo.
· "FMLA Protections from Interference and Retaliation Extended to Pre-Eligible Employees," Labor & Employment Law Alert - US (January 25, 2012). Contacts: Kris D. Meade, Christopher Calsyn, Jeffrey W. Pagano, James E. Kellett, Ira M. Saxe, Mark A. Romeo.
· "OSHA Revises Its Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblower Rules Impacting Public Companies and Their Affiliates and Subsidiaries," Labor & Employment Law Alert - US (November 9, 2011). Contacts: Mark A. Romeo, Samuel P. Nielson, Kris D. Meade, Thomas P. Gies, Christopher Calsyn, Jeffrey W. Pagano, Ira M. Saxe.
· "Court Rules Cancer in Remission Is Disability under the ADAAA," Labor & Employment Law Alert - US (September 10, 2010). Contacts: Trina Fairley-Barlow, Christopher Calsyn, James E. Kellett.
· "New FTC Guidelines Require Employers To Strengthen Social Networking Policies," Labor & Employment Law Alert - US (January 8, 2010). Contacts: Jeffrey W. Pagano, Kris D. Meade, Christopher Calsyn.
· "Reaux Decision Provides Wake Up Call for Employers Regarding FMLA Policies," Labor & Employment Law Alert - US (April 2, 2009). Contacts: Kris D. Meade, Christopher Calsyn, James E. Kellett.
· "Ledbetter Legislation Enacted - Now What?," Labor & Employment Law Alert - US (January 29, 2009). Contacts: Kris D. Meade, James E. Kellett, Christopher Calsyn.
Speaking Engagements
· "Curing What Ails You: Practical Solutions for Your Toughest Leave Issues," Crowell & Moring Webinar (September 30, 2009). Presenters: Christopher Calsyn, Keith J. Harrison, Kendra D. Miller and Ursula Kubal Guzman.
· "MySpace, Facebook and the Workplace," District of Columbia Bar (July 2008). Co-Panelists: Christopher Calsyn, Anne Donahue, and Lily Garcia.