Employment

Details

HunterMaclean’s employment practice group is best known for its expertise in working with and for employers, that is, businesses, nonprofits, governmental entities, and their management teams. HunterMaclean’s employment practice group forges long-term relationships with clients of all sizes, working collaboratively to achieve clients’ business goals, improve employee relations, and avoid legal claims and liability.

We provide employer-centered advice and counsel on sensitive discipline and termination questions to senior management and human resource professionals, conduct employment audits and training to help clients stay current on ever-evolving legal requirements, and draft and review employment policies and handbooks. We also help clients respond to governmental inquiries, including I-9 audits, wage/hour investigations, and EEOC and DOL investigations. Additionally, we prepare employment contracts and confidentiality and restrictive covenant agreements to meet the unique and challenging requirements of Georgia law. When an employment problem becomes an administrative investigation, arbitration, or lawsuit, our attorneys vigorously represent the client before the appropriate administrative agency or arbitral forum or in the state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout Georgia, South Carolina, or elsewhere in the Southeast.

Our Georgia employment attorneys are very involved in the community and stay current with evolving human resources trends. In addition to serving in leadership positions in local and state-wide SHRM (Society of Human Resource Manager) chapters and local, nonprofit personnel committees, and state-wide Employer Committees sponsored by the Georgia Department of Labor, HunterMaclean’s employment attorneys are also frequent speakers at employment law and human resources seminars and continuing legal education programs. Our employment group has worked with other Georgia counsel and the Georgia legislature to change long-standing Georgia law governing the interpretation of restrictive covenant agreements in Georgia, bringing the state in line with the majority of other states and making Georgia’s business climate more attractive for companies located here and those looking to relocate to Georgia.

Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business recently noted that “This Savannah-based firm continues to excel in the local market. The three-partner employment team is experienced in providing advice and solutions on a range of matters, from EEOC charges and wage and hour investigations to compliance with affirmative action obligations and employment contracts.”

HunterMaclean’s employment practice has been described as a model firm with respect to quality and value representation. Our attorneys are widely-recognized experts in the employment field and are passionate about helping clients achieve their business goals and create good places to work.

HunterMaclean employment attorneys practice in all divisions of the United States District Court, Southern District of Georgia, including Augusta, Dublin, Waycross, Brunswick, Statesboro, and Savannah. The Firm has clients throughout the region, including the cities of Hinesville, Jesup, Valdosta, Darien, and St. Mary’s.

Industries

• Health care
• Hospitality
• Manufacturing
• Retail
• Restaurants
• Physician practice groups
• Dental practices
• Professional service companies such as construction companies, engineering firms, law firms, staffing firms, and accounting firms
• Nonprofits
• Independent schools
• Faith-based institutions

Audits and investigations

• EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) investigations
• EEOC charges
• Department of Labor (DOL) investigations
• DOL audits
• Wage-hour audits
• Investigations by DOL under Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Immigration audits
• Affirmative Action audits by the OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs)
• I-9 audits

Covenants and agreements

• Restrictive covenant agreements that include non-compete, non-solicit, non-disparagement, and non-disclosure provisions
• Confidentiality agreements

Counseling and training

• Policy review
• Employee handbook review
• Sexual harassment training
• Manager and supervisor training

Employment litigation and employment defense in state and federal court

• Represent employers in discrimination (age, sex, gender, religion, disability, genetics, race, color, or national origin), harassment, and retaliation claims
• Represent companies with respect to USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, or military leave law)
• Represent companies and employers in WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act) and RIF (Reduction in Force) claims

Experience

• HunterMaclean attorneys litigated the seminal mandatory arbitration case in the Eleventh Circuit establishing that companies may create binding arbitration agreements with their employees through internal dispute resolution policies. Caley v. Gulfstream Aero. Corp., 333 F. Supp. 2d 1367 (N.D. Ga. 2004), aff’d, 428 F.3d 1359 (11th Cir. 2005), cert. denied, 547 U.S. 1128 (2006).
• HunterMaclean attorneys represented the prevailing parties in the then seminal cases in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals concerning Georgia’s stringent requirements for enforceable non-compete agreements. Keener v. Convergys Corp., 205 F. Supp. 2d 1374 (S.D. Ga. 2002), question certified to Georgia Supreme Court, 312 F.3d 1236 (11th Cir. 2002), certified question answered, 276 Ga. 808 (2003), aff’d in part and rev’d in part, 342 F.3d 1264 (11th Cir. 2003); Palmer & Cay, Inc. v. Marsh & McLennan Cos., 404 F.3d 1297 (11th Cir. 2005).
• HunterMaclean attorneys assisted a major hospital system in obtaining reduced penalties assessed by the U.S. Department of Labor for late deposits of employee contributions to 401(k) plan.
• Huene v. The Landings Club, Inc. Obtained a dismissal of member’s lawsuit against a private club because the club is not subject to constitutional due process restrictions, nor does Title III of the ADA apply.
• Bacon v. Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation. Obtained a favorable order dismissing plaintiff’s claims of age discrimination in a contentious arbitration proceeding.
• Hart v. Camden Urgent Care. Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed federal FLSA lawsuit after HunterMaclean filed a detailed motion for summary judgment.
• Washington v. Waffle House, Inc. Very favorable settlement of claims arising out of assault by security guard after protracted litigation where client had significant exposure to liability.
• Hobby v. Momentum Resources II, Inc. Superior Court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim of disability discrimination based on Georgia law.
• Cooksey v. South Atlantic Forest Products, Inc. Superior Court granted defendant’s temporary restraining order to enforce employment covenants.
• Wagner v. Murphy Oil USA. Jury verdict for the defendant in FLSA case affirming that that former store manager was properly classified for wage/hour purposes and therefore exempt from overtime.
• Matos v. Fulcrum Properties, Inc. Summary judgment for defendant on state tort claims. Jury verdict for defendant on Title VII and § 1981 claims of racial/national origin harassment, disparate treatment, and retaliation.

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