Dan Aiken is an associate in the Labor & Employment Practice Group. Dan represents employers in a broad array of employment-related matters, with a primary focus on litigating claims brought by employees and former employees. Dan also provides employers with preventative advice and counseling.
Litigation. Dan has litigated a diverse range of employment-related lawsuits. He regularly defends companies against lawsuits and administrative complaints alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act and various state laws governing employee rights. Dan has also represented employers in several matters involving allegations of breach of contract, including former executives' claims against the company, as well as pursuit of injunctive relief against former employees for breach of non-competition, non-solicitation, and other restrictive covenants.
Counseling. Dan counsels employers on a variety of issues, including layoffs, plant closings and furloughs, individual employment terminations, handbooks, internal policies, and wage and hour issues. He also regularly drafts and reviews employment contracts and severance agreements, and provides anti-harassment training.
Representative Litigation Matters. Dan, working with other members of the Labor & Employment Practice Group, has:
· Second-chaired a jury trial in which Drinker Biddle obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a national association of colleges in a claim of disability discrimination brought by a former aspiring student-athlete;
· Served as lead counsel in a jury trial in which Drinker Biddle obtained a jury verdict in favor of a pro bono client whose First Amendment Rights were violated by prison officials;
· Second-chaired two injunction hearings during which Drinker Biddle gained favorable settlements on behalf of employers that included entering ongoing restrictions on the defendant former-employees' ability to compete or solicit customers;
· Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a national retailer in two related cases filed by former employees in New Jersey State Court alleging discrimination and retaliation;
· Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a national wholesale food distributor on a claim by a former sales representative that the employer had violated the FLSA by misclassifying him as exempt and not paying overtime;
· Represented an adult-education proprietary school in a nationwide collective action under the FLSA in which the class members alleged that they were misclassified as exempt and owed payment for overtime hours worked. The case settled after extensive motion practice.
In General. Before joining the firm, Dan served as a law clerk to the Hon. Robert B. Kugler, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey. Dan received his J.D., with high honors, from Rutgers University School of Law-Camden, where he was an articles editor on the Rutgers Law Journal.
Dan is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.