Labor and Employment Law

Kean Miller attorneys have more than 150 years of combined experience in labor and employment law. We represent some of the world’s largest corporations, regional companies, and local businesses.

We perform three main labor and employment services for clients: (1) preventive counseling and training, and assistance in drafting and revising employment policies, handbooks, and procedures; (2) defense of lawsuits and administrative proceedings; and (3) assistance in labor management (union) relations. Kean Miller’s practice is largely restricted to the representation of employers.

We handle employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation cases (Title VII, age, disability, equal pay, state law) before the EEOC and state agencies, and courts. We try cases before juries and judges in federal and state court. In addition, we prepare drug policies and handle litigation associated with drug testing programs, draft personnel policies and employee manuals, and provide day-to-day advice on a wide range of employment matters. We assist our clients in the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, advise clients on labor contract interpretation and the handling of grievances, and try labor arbitration cases. We handle injunction and NLRB cases arising out of strikes, picket line violence, secondary boycotts and jurisdictional disputes.

We also assist employers with the business aspects of the employer/employee relationship. Kean Miller regularly assists employers with non-compete agreements, employee agreements, and in the drafting of policies and agreements governing non-competes, non-solicitation agreements, confidentiality agreements, email and computer use policies, and trade secret policies. We have experience in the litigation of cases involving breach of non-compete, non-solicitation, and confidentiality agreements, and we have litigated cases involving employee misappropriation of confidential information and trade secrets. Our labor and employment lawyers have also litigated cases involving employee electronic activity under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse and Wiretap Acts.

In addition, we defend employers in state law causes of action brought by employees for allegations of defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy.

Our employment attorneys also offer training for supervisors, managers and human resources professionals. Examples of areas of training include discrimination and harassment, Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, employment decisions affecting hiring, discipline, and firing, documentation of personnel issues, and investigation of employee complaints. We provide training on other types of issues, as needed by the individual employer. The training sessions are interactive and entertaining, with many opportunities to illustrate information by using skits and discussion formats. We also test trainees through trivia games and question and answer sessions.

We represent large and small employers in a wide variety of workers compensation cases. We represent insured and self-insured companies, including some of Louisiana’s largest employers, in addition to third-party administrators. In addition, we advise clients on developing, drafting and implementing personnel and workers’ compensation policies and procedures, ensuring effective employment relations and compliance with Louisiana and Federal Law.

We have experience in advising employers with respect to compliance with state and federal wage payment requirements, including the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as the Davis-Bacon Act, which applies to employers performing work on certain federally funded construction projects. Our attorneys have extensive experience in FLSA and collective wage and hour cases, and with ADA access cases.

Representative Experience
  • Successful representation of a global energy and chemical company in a labor and arbitration related to a Baton Rouge chemical production facility
  • Obtained a motion for summary judgment for a global integrated energy company. In the underlying suit, an employee of the company's industrial facility claimed his employment had been terminated because of his race. After an earlier partial dispositive motion victory, six depositions, and extensive written discovery and document production, the Court granted our team's motion and dismissed the plaintiff's case three weeks before the scheduled jury trial.
  • Represented clients as employer in state and federal court in cases in which plaintiffs alleged unlawful discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
  • Represented clients in employment discrimination suits which were successfully dismissed on motions for summary judgment.
  • Represented clients in jury trials with successful verdicts.
  • Represented international client in an employment discrimination class action lawsuit.
  • Represented clients in hundreds of EEOC and state human rights commission charges which have been dismissed.
  • Representation of business and corporate clients in reviewing employment and labor issues in the context of sales of businesses.
Areas of Expertise
  • ADA
  • ADEA
  • Administrative proceedings
  • Arbitration
  • Class actions
  • Collective bargaining
  • Drug testing
  • EEOC
  • Employee handbooks
  • Employment agreements
  • Employment applications
  • Employment discrimination
  • Employment procedures
  • Employment-at-will
  • ERISA
  • FLSA
  • FMLA
  • Labor negotiations
  • Litigation
  • Managerial training
  • NLRB (unfair labor practices and union elections)
  • Non-compete agreements
  • OSHA
  • Sexual harassment
  • Title VII
  • Unemployment compensation claims
  • Whistleblower/retaliation
  • Workers’ compensation