Employment Law

Overview

Tannenbaum Helpern’s team of employment lawyers possesses the legal acumen and business insight necessary to provide comprehensive and practical advice to employers to ensure the smooth operation of their businesses and to minimize their financial exposure in the face of day-to-day employment related decisions.

We pride ourselves on maintaining a personalized relationship with all of our clients. Our understanding of each of our clients’ unique business cultures, goals and objectives provides a foundation for the counsel we provide. This allows us to provide effect legal counsel by integrating the ever changing world of employment law with our clients’ existing human resources protocols and practices.

Our attorneys strategize with clients to formulate plans of action to deal with all issues affecting their workforces. We understand the importance of quick responses when dealing with fluid employee situations. Our clients span all industries and include all types of businesses, from restaurants to real estate companies, from staffing firms to technology companies, and from retailers to hedge funds.

Human Resource Compliance

Human resource and business professionals struggling with the legal aspects of their employee policies and practices count on our support and expertise. We advise clients on strategic compliance with the vast array of employment laws and regulations and provide daily counsel on issues such as pre-employment inquiries, unlawful interview questions, disability accommodations, drug testing, background checks, harassment investigations, social media and the Family and Medical Leave Act.

We offer clients the opportunity to participate in our HR monthly retainer program through which our employment lawyers provide comprehensive legal support and advice as needed with respect to human resources issues and policies for a fixed monthly fee.

Dispute Resolution & Investigations

We handle all forms of employment dispute resolution, including matters before federal and state courts and agencies, and we regularly assist clients subject to audits by agencies such as the U.S. and New York State Departments of Labor. We also regularly conduct workplace investigations, including the investigation of harassment and workplace misconduct, without undue disruption to the workplace.

Our attorneys have litigated the enforceability of hundreds of restrictive covenants in different jurisdictions, which provides our team with a unique proficiency in this area. It is this expertise, coupled with an intimate knowledge of our clients and their businesses, which enables us to quickly analyze and act in a variety of situations, and effectively assist them in determining whether an aggressive defense, quick settlement or course of action somewhere in between is the best option.

In addition, our attorneys defend and counsel businesses on claims brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits barriers in public accommodations that block full access for persons with disabilities.

Employment Manuals & Policies

Businesses are well-served by our knowledge in crafting and implementing policies and procedures designed to further their strategic goals while not interfering with the business necessities of their workplace. Our attorneys are experienced at drafting employee handbooks, manuals, policies and procedures, as well as counseling our clients on how to implement these policies.

Equal Employment Opportunity Training

Discrimination in the workplace disrupts business operations and leads to lost resources, revenue and valuable talent as well as damage to a firm’s reputation. The rise of the “Me Too” movement has had a profound impact on sexual harassment in the workplace and highlights that there is much more employers need to do to come into compliance. Today, companies are faced with an ever vigilant Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and local governmental agencies. Harassment prevention training is no longer just a “best practice” for employers: in New York State and New York City, annual harassment training is mandatory and other states are likely to follow suit. Tannenbaum Helpern’s employment law attorneys regularly conduct EEO training for HR professionals, managers, and staff that covers sensitivity training, protected classes, reasonable accommodations, updates on EEO laws and regulations, hiring and disciplinary actions, terminations and layoffs, harassment and discrimination, and alternative dispute resolution.

Employment Agreements

Clients rely on our attorneys to structure executive compensation packages and advise on special circumstances companies face when attracting and retaining executives. We are experienced in the negotiation and preparation of executive employment agreements, incentive plans and severance agreements. We negotiate, draft and provide counsel on employment agreements, commission agreements, non-competition, non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements, and sale bonus agreements.

Corporate Due Diligence

Our employment law group also regularly provides advice in connection with corporate transactions. We participate in the due diligence process by analyzing the personnel policies, human resource practices and outstanding and potential employment related liabilities of target companies. In the event of a merger or an acquisition we are also able to assist our clients in combining and/or reducing their workforce.

Workforce Restructurings

Our team assists businesses in the strategic addition to and reduction of workforces, including the preparation of employment and severance agreements. We guide clients through reductions in force, including the requirements of COBRA, the WARN Act and the ADEA.

Representative Services

• Advice on all aspects of employment law, including pre-employment inquiries, wage and hour planning, overtime issues, social media, federal and state labor law compliance and employment discrimination.
• Negotiating, drafting and enforcing employment agreements and related contract matters, including non-competition agreements, confidentiality agreements and restrictive covenants.
• Representation and advice concerning employee manuals, complaint procedures, policy implementation and benefits programs.
• Drafting, amending and implementing employee handbooks, manuals, policies and procedures.
• Assisting in the strategic reduction of workforces and preparing effective separation agreements.
• Structuring executive compensation packages.
• Conducting informational and training seminars on topics such as sexual harassment, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, state human rights laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act, wage and hour compliance and Social Media in the Workplace.
• Guiding clients through the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act, equal employment opportunity legislation, Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act and sexual harassment matters, including litigation and dispute resolution.
• Advising businesses on ADA lawsuits and Department of Justice proceedings.