Employment Litigation

Avoiding or minimizing the risk of litigation is a top priority. However, when the inevitability of litigation occurs, the attorneys of Polsinelli Shughart PC’s Labor and Employment practice group are ready to defend management vigorously to achieve our client’s goals.

Polsinelli Shughart attorneys defend our clients before administrative agencies and in trials, mediations, arbitrations and appeals of lawsuits arising over virtually every conceivable employment-related action including, age, religion, gender, pregnancy, race, national origin, disability, harassment, wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, FMLA and OSHA violations, to name just a few.

The Labor and Employment group has extensive experience in representing management’s interest in areas including:

  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • Class actions
  • Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
  • Equal Pay Act (EPA)
  • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)/Wage and hour
  • Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
  • Prevailing wage
  • Retaliation
  • Restrictive covenants
  • Sexual and other harassment claims arising under state law
  • Title VII litigation
  • Whistleblower claims
  • Work-related torts
  • Wrongful termination
  • Administrative charges

No matter what employment-related disputes our clients may confront, our experienced team of trial attorneys is there to provide practical guidance to help them achieve the best possible results.

Newsletters & E-Alerts

June 7, 2010
Prompted by a recent CBS News report on inadvertent disclosures of personal information stored on copy machine hard drives, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has begun contacting copier manufacturers and resellers to determine whether they are warning customers of potential data security vulnerabilities and providing options for secure copying.  While the FTC may be investigating copier manufacturers and resellers, companies that own, lease or use copiers or similar multifunction printers need to be aware of the relevant data security issues in order to take proper steps to avoid an inadvertent security breach.
May, 2010
The recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 ("PPACA") earlier this year, it amended the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") to place certain health insurance obligations on employers. These changes, labeled the Nursing Mothers Amendment and found in section 4207 of the PPACA, require employers to provide reasonable breaks for nursing mothers. Federal law did not previously require employers to provide any breaks to employees. These new requirements are effective immediately and thus employers must take prompt action to bring their policies and practices into compliance.
May, 2010
On July 1, 2010 a new law takes effect in Kansas that bans smoking in all public buildings and indoor places of employment. The law includes some very specific requirements for employers.
April, 2010
On March 24, 2010, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) withdrew two prior opinion letters regarding the exempt status of mortgage loan officers under the administrative exemption, and announced that the DOL no longer considers mortgage loan officers as bona fide administrative employees under 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), thus making them non-exempt employees entitled to overtime.
October 1, 2009
On September 23, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) proposed new regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (“the Act”).  Both the Act, which overturned two prior Supreme Court decisions, and the proposed regulations, if finalized, shift the focus from whether an individual has a disability to whether an employer has complied with its ADA obligations. The EEOC anticipates employers will incur some, but – by its analysis – not “significant” costs to implement changes that may be brought about by its proposed regulations. Certainly, employers should audit their policies, practices and procedures to maximize compliance with the Act. To the extent an employer has not begun auditing its policies, practices and procedures following the Act’s January 1 effective date, it should begin that process as soon as practicable and monitor the finalization process of these proposed regulations.
July 16, 2009
This e-alert details the changes in the federal minimum wage, effective July 24, 2009. The minimum wage for non-exempt employees, under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA") will increase from $6.55 to $7.25 per hour.
July 14, 2009
The future of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) is uncertain, leading to discussions of a compromise version (also known as "EFCA Lite"). This e-blast contains the latest information on the status of this bill.

Awards & Recognition

October 27, 2009
Another award? We’ll take it. Polsinelli Shughart PC is excited to announce that 69 of our attorneys are included in the Super Lawyers® 2009 list for Missouri and Kansas. Attorneys from all the major offices of Polsinelli Shughart in Missouri and Kansas are represented among the honorees. Only five percent of attorneys in Missouri and Kansas receive this honor. In addition, Chairman Emeritus R. Lawrence Ward is featured in a Q & A editorial article “Brilliant Careers,” interviewed about his most interesting cases and advice for young lawyers.

Podcasts & Multimedia

May 20, 2009
View a brief snapshot of a recent Employment Seminar the firm hosted in St. Louis.