Overview
For employers grappling with a dynamic legal landscape, workplace compliance can seem like a moving target. Epstein Becker Green acts as a strategic business partner for your human capital needs, helping you anticipate change and shape solutions in real time.
Employers of all sizes—from start-ups to international Fortune 100 corporations—rely on us for advice in all 50 states and around the world. Whether we’re providing day-to-day counsel, investigating bad actors, or planning for a reorganization, we engage fully with your unique business issues as we help you navigate evolving federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
Counsel for Day-to-Day (and Year-to-Year) Needs
Our approach to counseling goes beyond answering one-off questions. Our lawyers commit to your business, learn your operations, and often act as embedded or outside "in-house" counsel. Working closely with human resources and in-house legal teams, we draft policies, procedures, and agreements that inspire engagement and incentivize productivity. We often advise on issues at the leading edge of the law, setting precedent in employment, discipline, termination, leave of absence, and reasonable accommodation policy and practice decisions. We draft and negotiate state-of-the-art employment, consulting, intellectual property, confidentiality, restrictive covenant, separation, and other agreements for employees at all levels. No matter how novel or complex the question, our knowledge of both your business and the relevant laws helps us resolve problems efficiently.
Responding to Emerging Technologies, Social Movements, and World Events
From artificial intelligence (AI), equal pay, and remote/hybrid work to social justice and economic uncertainty, emerging technologies, social movements, and world events profoundly affect the workplace. We help companies anticipate important trends and make the changes employees and regulators want to see in recruiting and hiring policies, agile working structures, and more. Employers also seek our guidance on using AI tools in the workplace, conducting pay equity analyses, handling remote and hybrid work arrangements, planning for pandemics and future emergencies, and creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. In addition, we deliver valuable benchmarking information that shows you options and what’s “market” for employers in your industry.
Handling Business Upheaval
Major business change comes with major people—and legal—issues. We've worked with companies through every stage of the business cycle—and we know how to handle the critical employment concerns in management changes, going public, restructurings, reductions in force, and corporate relocations. We help employers with wage and hour issues (including conducting audits and assessing whether workers are classified properly), employee relations improvements, employee benefit plans, and executive compensation. And when a company wants to stop departing employees from competing against or otherwise interfering with the business, we advise on the use of restrictive covenants, pointing out jurisdictional differences as to their enforceability, duration, geographical scope, and notice requirements. We also prepare you to respond to public and media interest when major business changes occur.
Coordinated Strategies
How do you set employment policy for a company doing business in 50 states—and various cities within those states? Talk to lawyers who've been on the ground in all 50. We provide best practices, from hiring and onboarding processes, to required notices, postings, and policies, through employment restrictions and entitlements upon termination of employment. We draw on the knowledge of lawyers across our offices to address the nuances of local and state legal developments and provide consistent, comprehensive solutions.
Internal Investigations
When an employee makes a claim of misconduct, harassment, or discrimination, employers need to act fast. Whether we lead an investigation or advise a company on how to conduct its own, employers rely on us to help them marshal the facts and make critical decisions. We collect and review documents, conduct interviews, and, if appropriate, draft a written report of our findings. We understand the importance of completing the investigation in an expeditious manner. Companies also hire us to review previous investigations or provide a second opinion. Should litigation or arbitration arise, we use our findings to develop compelling legal arguments and present sound fact witnesses.
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Focus Areas
Industries
Experience
- Successfully counseled a highly trusted advisor and counselor to many of the world’s most influential businesses and institutions in its potential onboarding and hiring of more than 200 global partners and members of the executive leadership team in over 20 countries across six continents. We continue to provide due diligence and strategic advice to this client on a global basis.
- Assisted a publicly traded global insurance company in investigating allegations of misconduct by two executives. We also prepared and negotiated severance agreements, termination scripts, internal and external announcements, and notice to applicable regulatory agencies, thus avoiding a costly and disruptive dispute that would have attracted unwanted media attention.
- Provided human resource advice and counsel to a medical sector specialty company in Connecticut on such topics as the acquisition of new businesses, restructurings, confidentiality agreements, severance agreements, and multistate employee handbooks. We continue to counsel this client nationally on employee disciplinary and accommodation matters.
- Advised a water services company on conducting a reduction in force in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and other state and federal laws. We acted as the lead labor and employment adviser in this reduction in force, which resulted in substantial cost savings to the company.
- Evaluated, on behalf of multiple clients, artificial intelligence (“AI”) vendors for the clients’ employee recruitment, selection, and onboarding functions. We assisted our clients in assessing the product offerings, reviewing vendor contracts, identifying the appropriate questions to ask the vendors about their AI products, monitoring and testing those products, and evaluating whether those products would raise any legal issues.
- Provide day-to-day employment law services to a growing pharmaceutical company in the Northeast. We have supplied workplace compliance counseling on matters such as employee discipline, leave requests, and hirings and terminations.
Contacts
- Member of the Firm
- Board of Directors / Member of the Firm
Media
Events
Upcoming Events
- July 25 - 27, 2024
Past Events
- June 17 and 21, 2024
- May 8, 2024
Insights
Insights
- BlogsVideo: Chevron Deference Overturned - Employment Law This Week4 minute read
- BlogsCalifornia District Court Rules That Software Vendor Is Subject to Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA12 minute read
- Media CoverageAdam S. Forman Quoted in “Employers Find Openings to Share AI Bias Liability with Vendors”2 minute read
- BlogsPumping the Brakes: New York Seeks to Curb AI Acceleration in Labor Market10 minute read
- Media CoverageAdam S. Forman Quoted in “4 State AI Bills to Watch in 2nd Half of 2024”2 minute read
- PublicationsSocial Media and the Law (2024 Edition)2 minute read
- Media CoverageDean Singewald Quoted in “State Pay Equity Laws May Ease Path for EEOC Salary Survey”3 minute read
- Blogs
California Governor’s PAGA Deal: What Employers Need to Know - Employment Law This Week
2 minute read - BlogsAct Now: New York Employers Must Provide Paid Lactation Breaks to Employees4 minute read
- Blogs
Supreme Court Overturns Chevron—but for Stakeholders, the Impact Is No Cause for Alarm
5 minute read - BlogsFifth Circuit Narrows Application of the Crime-Fraud Exception to the Attorney-Client Privilege in Investigations ...3 minute read
- Media CoverageFrank Morris Quoted in “New D.C. Pay Transparency Law Could Apply to Virginia, Maryland Employers”2 minute read
- BlogsCaution - Employers Merge Ahead: Massachusetts Holding Endorses Potential Liability for “Joint Employers”3 minute read
- BlogsFreelance Isn’t Free Act Soon Takes Effect Throughout New York State6 minute read
- BlogsClearing Up Confusion: New Jersey Division on Civil Rights Proposes Detailed Guidelines Concerning What Constitutes ...5 minute read
- Media CoverageJennifer Barna Quoted in “Workers Feeling PWFA's Impact After 1st Year in Effect”2 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: Protecting Trade Secrets with E-Discovery2 minute read
- BlogsThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission Cracks Down on Employer Non-Disclosure Provisions3 minute read
- BlogsCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Rules That “Unreasonable Opposition” Dooms Retaliation Claim5 minute read
- PublicationsChicago’s Paid Leave and Paid Sick Leave Ordinance Takes Effect Soon – Are You Ready?12 minute read
- BlogsDon’t Miss the Deadline: New York City Employers Must Display “Know Your Rights” by July 1, 20243 minute read
- Media CoverageJeff Ruzal Quoted in “Overcome Communication Challenges When Reclassifying Employees”2 minute read
- Firm Announcements
Epstein Becker Green Receives National Recognition and Top Rankings in the 2024 Edition of Legal 500
3 minute read - Media CoverageJennifer Barna Quoted in “Robust EEOC Amicus Program Tackles AI, High Court Rulings”4 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Key SCOTUS Decisions This Term for Employers - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- Blogs
An Oxymoron or a Road Map? US Department of Labor’s Artificial Intelligence and Worker Well-Being
5 minute read - BlogsVideo: EEO-1 Filing After June 4: What to Do Now, and How to Prepare for Next Year - Employment Law This Week2 minute read
- Media CoverageAdam S. Forman Quoted in “Advocates Say Workplace AI Vendors 'Ignore' Disability Bias”2 minute read
- Media CoveragePaul DeCamp Quoted in “As State Minimum Wages Rise, Fewer Workers at Fed. Floor”3 minute read
- BlogsUnderstanding the DOL’s Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2024-1: AI and Automated Systems in the Workplace7 minute read
- BlogsOFCCP Issues Workplace AI Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors7 minute read
- Media CoverageDean Singewald Quoted in “EEOC Crackdown May Hint at Pay Data Requirement Reboot”3 minute read
- PublicationsConnecticut Greatly Expands Paid Sick Leave Law6 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Non-Disparagement Settlements in New Jersey, DOL's AI Guidelines, OSHA Regions Shift - Employment Law This Week2 minute read
- BlogsNew Jersey Attorney General and Division on Civil Rights Issue Guidance Regarding the NJLAD’s Applicability to Remote ...3 minute read
- BlogsEEOC Final Rule Implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Ignites Lawsuits from 19 States8 minute read
- BlogsColorado’s Historic SB 24-205 Concerning Consumer Protections in Interactions with AI Signed Into Law, After Passing ...10 minute read
- BlogsN.J. Supreme Court Bans Broad “Non-Disparagement” Provisions in Agreements Settling Employment Discrimination ...5 minute read
- Media CoverageJennifer Barna Quoted in “Stryker Worker Appeal Puts Focus on Early Leave for Child Birth”3 minute read
- BlogsVideo: DOL’s Expanded Overtime Salary Limits, EEOC’s Sexual Harassment Guidance, NY’s Mandatory Paid Prenatal ...2 minute read
- PublicationsIs the Digital Accessibility Storm Almost Over?2 minute read
- BlogsSpilling Secrets Podcast: FTC Nixes Non-Competes Nationwide—Now What?3 minute read
- Media CoverageMickey Neuhauser Quoted in “5 Takeaways from the EEOC's New Harassment Guidance”2 minute read
- BlogsVideo: Avoiding Legal Illusions - Crafting Effective Arbitration Agreements - Employment Law This Week2 minute read
- PublicationsViral Layoff Videos Are Trending: Employers Should Proceed with Caution2 minute read
- BlogsAI Resume Screening Tool Developer Is Subject to Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws, Says EEOC5 minute read
- Media CoverageGenevieve Murphy-Bradacs Quoted in “EEOC Criminal History Suit Brings Fresh Focus to Old Policy”3 minute read
- Media CoverageJeff Ruzal Quoted in “New Overtime Rule Raises Salary Level in Two Phases”2 minute read
- BlogsVideo: SCOTUS Expands Title VII, EEOC’s Final PWFA Rule, AI Screening Tools - Employment Law This Week3 minute read
- BlogsEEOC Final Rule Implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act9 minute read