Labor and Employment Law

Skilled Counsel.
Strategic Advisors.

We see the big picture on behalf of our clients

Our labor and employment law services provide real solutions to our clients’ most pressing problems. Because we know the lay of the land so intimately, we help clients stay out in front of issues and use best practices to advance productive environments where people can do their best work.

Our firm provides clients with proactive strategies and guidance to achieve their goals and mitigate risk. We look for ways to support our clients’ objectives, and we provide finely tuned strategic alternatives when they’re worth considering. Our approach is deeply individualized, leading to practical, cost-efficient solutions that fit each client’s business scale, workplace culture, and financial objectives. And we are relentlessly pragmatic on our clients’ behalf, because we know that the only successful solution is one that a client can afford, adopt, and successfully execute.

Comprehensive advice and practical solutions

Our clients know they can call with a question anytime—even if it seems like a minor issue. Getting direction on a small or emerging concern now can be critical to avoiding more serious problems later on. We provide timely, clear answers and guidance in navigating day-to-day workplace decisions that can make the difference between a highly productive, low-risk workplace and a number of expensive, disruptive lawsuits. We support and protect clients through a wide range of practice areas, including:

  • Developing personnel policies and employee handbooks tailored to our client’s needs and providing protection against various employment law claims
  • Advising clients on lawful hiring and separation, including departing employee disputes
  • Providing guidance on state and federal wage and hour compliance
  • Helping clients navigate the nuances and evolving requirements of disability accommodation and protected leave
  • Counseling clients on their obligations, defenses, and preventive strategies under the laws prohibiting discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
  • Keeping clients up to date on the rapidly developing law on employee rights in the nonunion workplace

Responding to administrative charges

We’re experienced in defending claims before government agencies charged with enforcing employment law. We help clients face such claims by responding to agency investigations, providing representation in administrative hearings and mediation, and, where appropriate, negotiating early resolution.

Labor relations

Northwest Workplace Law provides comprehensive legal services tailored to the labor relations needs of organizations throughout Washington and Oregon. Our clients look to us for strategic thinking, legal and practical advice, and effective representation in labor-management relations and employment rights and obligations.

We develop clear, cohesive labor relations strategies that align with our clients’ goals, philosophies, and workplace cultures. We serve as a vigorous advocate for the clients’ best interests while fostering respectful relations, leading to resolutions that work long-term. And we are adept at ‘taking the temperature’ of a situation and the stakeholders involved, calibrating when it’s important to be firm and when a more conciliatory approach is in our client’s best interests.

Every organization has its own priorities and challenges in labor relations. We offer a broad complement of legal services to meet our clients’ diverse and evolving needs, and we build forward-looking strategy into all aspects of our work. Our services include:

  • Development of strategic labor relations policies and practices
  • Representation in all aspects of collective bargaining—serving as chief spokesperson in negotiations, formulating bargaining strategy, preparing and evaluating proposals, and training bargaining teams
  • Labor arbitration hearings and grievance processing
  • Unfair labor practice hearings and appeals
  • Representation proceedings
  • Labor contract implementation and administration

In situations where it is not feasible to have a legal advisor on-site, we can serve as a behind-the-scenes advisor on any labor matter. We can help develop specific objectives, create a strategy to achieve them, and provide analysis and advice throughout the process.