Melanie Hartmann is a partner in the labor and employment law group. Melanie joined the firm in 1989. She represents clients in employment litigation and works with management on a wide variety of issues including compliance with state and federal employment laws.

Melanie actively represents employers in court and administrative proceedings and has experience with federal agencies including the EEOC and the Department of Labor. She has more than 16 years of experience in employment law litigation including employment discrimination, EEOC issues, ADA, sexual harassment, and wrongful termination. Melanie has represented clients in bench and jury trials in state and federal court.

She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White, Inc. 2003-2004,  2005-2006, and 2007-2008 Editions). She is listed in Chambers USA—America's Leading Business Lawyers (Employment Law, 2004-2008), and in Louisiana Super Lawyers (2008). 

Representative Experience

• Represented major industrial client as employer in jury trial in state court in which plaintiff alleged unlawful sex discrimination and sexual harassment. Judgment for employer.
• Represented major industrial client as employer in jury trial in federal court in which plaintiff alleged unlawful retaliation in denied promotion. Judgment for employer.
• Represented major industrial client as employer in jury trial in federal court in which plaintiff alleged disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Judgment for employer.
• Represented major industrial client as employer in jury trial in federal court in which plaintiff alleged race discrimination in denied promotion. Judgment for employer.

Education

Melanie earned her B.S. from Louisiana State University in 1980. She earned her J.D. from the LSU Law Center in 1984. She was a member of the Moot Court Board from 1983 to 1984.

Admissions

• Admitted to bar, 1984, Louisiana
• Admitted, U.S. District Court, Middle, Western and Eastern Districts of Louisiana
• Admitted, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
• Admitted, United States Supreme Court

Memberships

• Baton Rouge, Louisiana State (Employment Law Section) and American Bar Associations.

Community Service

• Past Counselor, Junior Achievement of Greater Baton Rouge.
• Past Participant, Baton Rouge Association of Women Attorneys Law Week, Lawyer in the Classroom Program.
• Past Fundraiser, Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce Corporate Challenge.
• Past Member, Baton Rouge Bar Association Law Day Committee, Bench Bar Conference Committee.
• Past Secretary-Treasurer, Baton Rouge Association of Women Attorneys.
• Past Ambassadors Committee for Episcopal High School – 2004, 2005
  
• Past Ambassadors Committee for St. James Episcopal Day School – 2003
• Member, First Presbyterian Church

Articles, Publications and Presentations

Labor & Employment Notes, December 2004
Labor & Employment Notes, April 2004
Labor & Employment Notes, May 2005
Labor and Employment Notes, September 2005
Labor and Employment Notes, April 2006
Labor and Employment Notes, February 2007

Lecturer

• An Imperfect Storm: A Review of the ADA Amendments Act and Some Practical Guidance for Employers, Kean Miller Labor and Employment Seminar, April 15, 2009.
  
• The Tangled Web of the FMLA and the ADA, Kean Miller Labor and Employment Seminar, April 2008.
  
• I Want to File a Complaint!, an interactive presentation providing guidance through the complaint investigative process, Kean Miller Labor and Employment Seminar, April 2007.
• Post 9/11: Military Reservists' and National Guardsmen's Employment Rights, American Petroleum Labor Lawyers Association (APLLA) Conference, New Orleans, October 5-6, 2006.
• Organization and Documentation-A Winning Combination, Kean Miller Labor Law Update, April, 2006.
• Sexual Harassment in the Modern Workplace, Kean Miller Labor Law Update, May 18, 2005.
• Seminar to Human Resources managers, 2003.
  
• Hot Topics in Labor & Employment Law, Greater Baton Rouge Society for Human Resource Management, 2002.
• Hot Topics in Labor & Employment Law, West Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, 2001.
• Labor Laws: From Hiring to Firing, McNeese State University, Burton Business Center, 2000, 2001.
• Administering the FMLA for Proper Regulatory Compliance, Council on Education in Management, 1999.
• Knowing Your Employer Rights When Employees are Ready to Return to Work, Council on Education in Management, FMLA Update 1999.
• How to Conduct an Internal Investigation, Council on Education in Management, 1999.
• Louisiana's Statute Governing Statutory Employer Status, Kean Miller Labor and Employment Seminar (Lake Charles), 1998.
• Hot Button Issues in Employment and EEO, Lorman Business Center, Inc. EEOC Seminar, 1997.
• A Brief Discussion in Regard to Some of the Legal Issues and Practical Considerations Presented by Certain Federal Laws in Connection with the Hiring and the Termination of Employees, LHO Conference, 1993.
• Family and Medical Leave Act, an Overview, Kean Miller CPA Breakfast, 1993.
• Sexual Harassment, Baton Rouge Chapter of the American Society of Women Accountants, 1993.
• Employment Discrimination, Kean Miller CPA Breakfast, 1991.
• Overview of Labor and Employment Laws, Kean Miller Labor and Employment Seminar, 1991.
• Issues Upon Termination, Kean Miller Client Seminar, 1990.
• Protected Classes Under EEO Laws, Kean Miller CPA Breakfast, 1990.
• Seminar to Human Resources managers, 2003.
• Labor Law Update-2005, Kean Miller Conference Center, May 18, 2005.