Labor and Employment Law

Positive employment relations are essential to the overall health of any business. Our firm helps employers develop and maintain constructive relationships with their employees. Federal and state laws governing employee relations have increased both in numbers and complexity in recent years, especially in the areas of sex and age discrimination, wrongful termination, workplace safety, job security, immigration, business acquisitions, and management/union relations.

Client Services
Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt provides comprehensive employment relations representation to all types of financial, manufacturing, retail, and service businesses. Our services include:
• Assistance with the development and evaluation of personnel policies and procedures, including compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII, Oregon Civil Rights laws, OFCC compliance audits and affirmative action programs
• Defense of employers against all other claims filed by former, current, and prospective employees for discrimination, harassment, constructive discharge, wrongful discharge, unemployment compensation, breach of contract and defense of unfair labor practice charges
• Representation of employers on issues relating to organized labor including union organizing activities, representation elections, collective bargaining, and arbitration
• Immigration compliance assistance
• Assistance with arrangements for expatriate employees, in the U.S. and overseas
• Representation of employers against workers' compensation claims
• Structuring business acquisitions and the preparation of employment agreements to conform with labor laws, including ERISA and COBRA
• Advising employers on OSHA/worker safety compliance issues and enforcement matters

Recent Successes
Continuing on with a tradition that Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt successfully takes to court cases that other law firms routinely choose to settle, the firm recently achieved a complete, unanimous defense verdict in a King County Superior Court jury trial on behalf of our client Morgan Stanley. The plaintiff alleged sex discrimination, retaliation, constructive discharge, intentional interference with business relations, Consumer Protection Act violations, unpaid wages, unjust enrichment, and breach of contract. The plaintiff's pretrial settlement demand never came below $3.7 million. Morgan Stanley was convinced that it had done nothing wrong and after four weeks of trial in the courtroom of the Honorable Laura Gene Middaugh, the unanimous twelve-person jury agreed, rejecting all of the plaintiff's claims, defying conventional wisdom that corporations cannot get a fair trial with a jury.

Representative Client List
Our firm has provided employee relations assistance to both public and private businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest. A representative list includes: