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Services Available
Human Resources Counseling We regularly advise employers with respect to all aspects of the employment relationship, including:
- drafting and reviewing employee handbooks and personnel policies and procedures
- consulting with employers regarding matters of discipline and discharge
- preparing employment, confidentiality, non-competition and, where necessary, separation agreements and releases
- advising before, during and after reorganizations, sales, mergers and acquisitions
- working with employers to design and implement alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms, such as peer review systems, mediation, and arbitration, as an alternative to litigation
In all of these matters, it is our goal to help employers comply with the myriad of laws and regulations governing the employment relationship and to avoid costly and expensive litigation. We are also prepared to represent our clients in investigations and hearings before government agencies or to defend their interests in state and federal courts.
Employment Discrimination We have extensive experience in handling all types of employment discrimination claims, including race, color, religion, sex, sexual harrassment, national origin, pregnancy, disability/handicap, marital status, and sexual orientation. Our work in these matters includes:
- giving advice regarding preventive programs to eliminate or minimize risks to employers
- drafting or reviewing affirmative action plans
- participating in investigations or representing employers in litigation before governmental agencies (such as the EEOC, state agencies such as the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs)
- litigating in federal and state courts
Our federal and state trial practice is extensive. We have tried employment discrimination cases in federal and state courts throughout the Rocky Mountain region. We regularly speak at seminars and institutes and have written extensively on fair employment topics.
Wrongful Discharge We have substantial experience litigating wrongful discharge cases on behalf of management. Our lawyers have handled many of the precedent-setting decisions in our region on issues of implied contract, promissory estoppel, and employment torts, and have been instrumental in helping to limit such claims.
We have litigated such cases in Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and Utah, in both the state and federal trial and appellate courts, as well as in other jurisdictions. These cases have often involved breach of contract, promissory estoppel, covenant of good faith and fair dealing, public policy discharge, defamation, outrageous conduct, intentional infliction of emotional distress, intentional interference with contract, and related state tort theories.
We also regularly advise employers on how to avoid wrongful discharge claims by their employees, including reviewing employee handbooks, preparing appropriate disclaimers, using employment agreements, and the like.
Individual Employee Rights We have extensive experience in the full range of issues arising out of the rapidly-growing area of individual employee rights, which includes:
- employee privacy
- e-mail, voice mail, and telephone monitoring
- drug and alcohol testing
- AIDS
- threats of violence in the workplace
- lawful off-duty conduct
We help employers develop policies and procedures to meet their company's particular needs and have litigated such issues in a variety of industries.
Wage-Hour Matters We have experience in all aspects of the minimum wage and overtime pay obligations imposed under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act and other federal and state laws. We regularly advise employers with respect to compliance with the FLSA, including determining whether a particular position is exempt or non-exempt. We also defend employers during Department of Labor audits and litigate government and private wage suits on behalf of employers.
Employment Litigation and Dispute Resolution As a firm we are committed to evaluating every case to assess the best method of resolution -- whether mediation, mini-trial, arbitration, or litigation -- so that our clients are better served. We have extensive experience in federal and state courts, before administrative judges, in regulatory hearings and in alternative dispute resolution settings. Whatever method is used, be it litigation or an alternative, we work aggressively and use our best practices to resolve the dispute successfully and efficiently.
From the time we are retained to resolve a dispute, our main purpose is to tell our client's story as persuasively as possible. In our complex world, we have found that a variety of tools and innovative use of technology help us present our clients' cases in a dramatic, effective and compelling way. We concentrate on developing case themes and the appropriate presentation techniques to support those themes. The type and level of the technology we apply to each case largely depends on what is at stake. We do not always save the persuasion tools solely for the judge and jury, since an early and beneficial resolution of a case may occur if a strong presentation is made to opposing counsel or a settlement mediator.
We understand that clients want a degree of certainty about the ultimate cost of dispute resolution. We address costs up front as part of an assessment of risk, the decision to litigate, and the development of a litigation plan. Cost considerations play a vital role in staffing and other case management decisions as a lawsuit progresses.
Union Organizational Campaigns We work with our clients to resist union attempts to organize their employees and assist them with:
- setting up sound personnel policies and practices to avoid unionization
- conducting or reviewing supervisor training to maintain union-free status
- advising employers regarding no-solicitation and no-distribution policies
We also have extensive experience in adivising employers with respect to representation matters under the National Labor Relations Act, including:
- responding to the filing of a petition or a demand for bargaining from a union
- representing employers at the representation hearing
- assisting employers in designing and implementing election campaign strategy
- representing employers in filing objections to NLRB elections
Collective Bargaining We handle collective bargaining for a number of employers, in a variety of industries. In addition to actually conducting the bargaining, we often advise the company's representatives before and after bargaining sessions with respect to legal questions, strategy, and tactics, drafting and analyzing proposals, and responding to union information requests.
Union Contract Administration We do work in all aspects of the administration of collective bargaining agreements, such as advising the company regarding the handling of grievances and representing the company at arbitrations.
Strikes We have substantial experience in handling the legal and practice problems confronting employers during strikes or picketing. Our services include:
- planning and implementing strategies for operating during a strike
- preparing strike contingency plans and strike manuals
- advising on the use of temporary and permanent replacements
- obtaining temporary restraining orders, preliminary and permanent injunctions, and contempt orders
- filing and defending unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB, including filing Section 8(b)(1)(A) union violence charges and pursuing Section 10(j) injunctive relief
- bringing and defending strike-related federal court injunction actions
National Labor Relations Board Practice We represent employers in all phases of NLRB practice, including representation proceedings (including hearings and elections), decertification matters, and the defense of unfair labor practice charges.
Colorado Labor Peace Act We have handled numerous elections under the Colorado Labor Peace Act, involving union security clauses.
Trade Secrets and Covenants not to Compete Together with lawyers in our intellectual property litigation practice, we have substantial experience in advising employers and prosecuting and defending trade secret and covenant not to compete actions. This has become a rapidly expanding area of our practice, especially given the growth of high tech companies in the Rocky Mountain region.
Transactional Matters We regularly advise our corporate attorneys and their clients with respect to labor and employment aspects of transactions, including issues ranging from successorship to the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to vacation pay matters.
Employee Benefits We have litigated a wide variety of Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) issues based on our own expertise and that of our employee benefits group. We collaborate with our employee benefits lawyers to advise employers regarding pension plans, profit-sharing plans, deferred compensation, and other types of qualified and non-qualified plans.
Employee Safety and Health We represent numerous types of employers with respect to compliance with and litigation under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act. Our clients have ranged from heavy industry (smelters, oil drilling, pulp processing, high rise construction) to retail and service and light manufacturers.
We also have substantial experience with the statutes that govern safety and health in the mining industry, including the Mine Safety and Health Act. Finally, we also have expertise in the defense of "black lung" and other occupational disease claims.
Government Contractors We have substantial experience in the peculiar labor problems of government contractors. These employers are subject to a number of federal statutes and regulations governing many of their labor and personnel practices, including:
- overtime
- minimum wages
- prevailing wages
- hiring of handicapped workers and Vietnam veterans
- affirmative action
- drug testing
- striker replacement
Immigration We assist employers in obtaining work authorization and related visas for their employees under non-immigrant categories such as L-1 (intra-company transferee), H-1B (specialty occupations), E-1/E-2 (treaty trader/treaty investor), and TN (Trade NAFTA), and assist in the resolution of I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification Form) issues. We also provide services relating to labor certification, permanent residence and U.S. citizenship, and advice regarding immigration issues in the context of mergers and acquistions.
Emergency Response We have developed significant expertise in the area of emergency response and the legal implications for companies faced with undesirable events such as gas plant explosions, rail car accidents, refinery fires and a multitude of other incidents involving serious personal injury, OSHA/MSHA/DOT investigations, vast property damage, environmental contamination, and criminal investigations.
We conduct training sessions on the most critical considerations when faced with an emergency. Proactive response to emergencies, i.e., being prepared for the implications before an emergency arises, can be invaluable. Our training also covers areas of concern that are often not addressed by insurance carriers or their adjusters, including response to agency investigations and attendance to preservation of attorney-client privileges and self-critical analysis.
We keep you up to date on developments in the labor and employment law field in a variety of ways.
Internet. On our web site, we post notice of upcoming seminars, recent developments in the labor and employment law field, and articles from Employment Law Letter.
Every attorney has an internet e-mail address and many use internet e-mail to communicate with clients and to keep them apprised of recent developments in the law and other items of interest. We have a direct link to many clients. This allows immediate access and is very beneficial when drafting pleadings or other such matters.
Extranets We are on the leading edge of using extranet sites to exchange information pertinent to our clients' matters in a secured electronic environment. We have set up extranet sites for several clients to exchange large volumes of documents and e-mails. We welcome the opportunity to communicate with our clients in this format, including using it for electronic invoicing and/or payment.
Newsletters
Articles In addition to being regular authors for the Employment Law Letter, we write articles for professional, trade and general publications. These articles are reprinted and made available to clients.
Seminars Periodically throughout the year, we invite our labor and employment law clients to seminars and briefings on the latest developments in employment law. In addition, we are regularly invited to speak at a variety of professional seminars which are organized and offered by entities outside of Holland & Hart. As program sponsors, we are allowed a certain number of free registrations that we make available to our clients.
Training We offer training sessions on a variety of topics, including sexual harassment, avoiding wrongful discharge, emergency response preparation, etc. Depending on the depth of the training, these sessions have been either complimentary to our clients or priced competitively with training sessions offered by other service professionals. Training sessions have typically been conducted at our clients' places of business.
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