The U.S. labor force, defined as the number of people over 16 and working or seeking work, reached a high of 165 million people in 2020. Given these vast numbers, opportunities for disputes and lawsuits by employees against employers and vice-versa are myriad. In addition, the nature of work has changed significantly in the recent past, providing more workplace compliance and employee relations issues for employers to manage.

COVID-19’s impact was felt in every sector, and fundamentally changed the way organizations do business. Remote work and leave conflicts were frequently litigated, along with issues related to staffing and retaining talent and, conversely, furloughing employees. Many employers faced retaliation claims by employees who refused to come to work for fear of infection, or by workers who refused to get vaccinated in accordance with workplace directives. Wage and hour mistakes and misclassification of employees caused significant risks to employers, in large part because many nonexempt employees are now working from home. In 2020, the courts certified the vast majority of wage and hour class and collective actions that were filed, the highest level in the last two decades.

Government enforcement actions brought by the Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs focused on aggressive enforcement of workplace laws including discrimination and affirmative action.

The year 2020 was a record-setting year for ERISA litigation, with more than 200 class-action lawsuits filed, covering such issues as COBRA notices, financial performance issues in small retirement funds, and fiduciary breaches.

In the litigious labor, employment and ERISA realm, skilled expert witnesses are necessary to give your client a distinct advantage in commercial litigation, class action lawsuits, multi-district litigation and arbitration.

Expertise for Every Situation

We have elite experts in every area of the labor, employment and ERISA industry segments including specialists in the areas of hiring, wages, discrimination, harassment, employee benefits, paid time off, job applicant and employee drug testing, privacy, and other important workplace and employee rights issues. Many are specialists in the massive corpus of federal and state laws governing labor, employment, and ERISA, as well as voluntary industry standards established by employment-related trade groups.

We have identified labor economists to evaluate historical data regarding an employment discrimination challenge, and OSHA experts to opine on COVID-19 workplace standards in the case of wrongful death action. Our experts can support your clients in class action lawsuits arising from violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and for fraudulently classifying employees as independent contractors. We have identified experts who can opine on disparate treatment claims and disparate impact theories involving complex statistical or econometric evidence. Our experts can represent your client before the National Labor Relations Board in disputes involving union bargaining agreements and provide vocational and economic damages assessments in cases of wrongful termination.

Among other areas of expertise, our experts can testify on the following issues:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Fair Labor Standards Act
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• The Family Medical and Family Leave Act
• National Labor Relations Act
• Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)
• The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
• The Occupational Safety and Health Act
• Immigration and Nationality Act
• State labor and employment laws