Human Resources - employment and labor

Any organization with employees – regardless of the type, size or location of the business - has the potential for employment or labor problems. At Lashly & Baer, we understand that these difficulties may have serious ramifications that affect both employer and employee personally and financially. By working with our clients to create clear and concise employee handbooks, providing advice on and drafting policies, and offering training seminars on new and updated laws affecting our clients' businesses, our attorneys help to minimize the probability of employment issues.

Of course, even with the best of defenses, no employer is completely immune from employment claims. In the event of a claim, we offer our clients a strong ally. We are skilled at conducting thorough investigations into claims in the defense of our clients. Whenever possible, our attorneys will negotiate a solution beneficial to both sides through mediation or other alternative means; however, we are fully prepared to aggressively represent our clients in court.

Lashly & Baer's employment and labor attorneys are experienced in representing private and public employers in race, age, sex, disability and religion discrimination claims before the EEOC and state human rights commissions, and in federal and state trial and appellate courts.

We have designed, implemented and provided legal counsel for the administration of employee benefit and executive compensation plans in connection with compliance with the Internal Revenue Code and Department of Labor regulations, and the regulations of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Pension Welfare Benefits Administration, and retirement plans.

For our traditional labor clients, Lashly & Baer has comprehensive experience in representing and advising employers in all aspects of labor relations, including collective bargaining negotiations, union avoidance, unfair labor practice charges, unlawful union activities, and labor arbitrations. We also regularly assist employers in union organizing campaigns, elections, and union decertification proceedings. We counsel employers in connection with strikes, picketing, hand billing, work stoppages, and other disputes arising during the collective bargaining process.

Our attorneys are active members of the American College of Trial Lawyers, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers, the Lawyers Association of St. Louis, the Defense Research Institute, Inc., and the Labor and Employment Law Section of the American Bar Association.

Our attorneys regularly address the following legal issues for the firm's employer clients:


Employee Benefits
Cafeteria plans Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) Defined benefit plans Dependent care programs Employee welfare benefit plans Executive compensation plans Governmental retirement plans Health benefit plans Managed care Medical reimbursement Medical savings account	Non-discrimination testing of cafeteria plans Non-qualified deferred compensation plans Pension plan documents and employee communications Plan termination Profit sharing plans Qualified retirement plans Self-insured and commercially insured plans Simplified employee pension plans Term life insurance issues

Employment Discrimination
Age Discrimination in Employment Act Americans with Disabilities Act Family and Medical Leave Act Missouri Human Rights Act Office of Civil Rights	Race discrimination Religious activities by employees Sex discrimination Sexual harassment Title VII

Employment/Human Resources
Americans with Disabilities Act Claims and taxation issues Contracts for related services Compliance with federal and state employment laws Corporate governance issues Criminal background checks Development of policies and procedures for reductions-in-force, drug testing and polygraph testing, and development of affirmative action plans Discipline and termination Drug testing Employee conflicts of interest Employee discipline hearings Employee manual Employee participation in political activities Employees with AIDS and other illnesses Employment, Independent Contractor and Consulting agreements	Employment-related training & counseling Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Fair Labor Standards Act Family and Medical Leave Act Fiduciary Responsibility Harassment of students by employees and by other students Hiring, discipline and dismissal of tenured or contractual employees Internal company investigations Managed care Medical reimbursement Missouri Safe Schools Act Reporting acts of violence Review and preparation of employee handbooks Separation and Release agreements Sexual harassment Tenured or contractual employees Wage and hour investigations

Labor
Arbitrations Collective bargaining and contact administration DOT compliance Labor and employment issues related to the sale of a business, work relocations, mergers and acquisitions OSHA violations and investigations Representation before the National Labor Relations Board	State wage and employment related issues, including unemployment compensation Strikes, picketing, and labor contract violation (counseling and litigation) Unfair labor practice and election representative proceedings Union organizing campaigns Union avoidance strategies Wage and hour audits