Employment Litigation

We have extensive experience with the full array of federal employment discrimination statutes, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Older Workers Benefits Protection Act (OWBPA), the Equal Pay Act and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). We are also well-versed in defending clients under similar state fair employment laws, including the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act and the Illinois Human Rights Act. We represent the interests of our clients from the very inception of the investigation, starting with the receipt of the initial complaint, through the ultimate determination by the applicable agency or court.

Claims alleging violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act and state law counterparts (such as the Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act) are a major concern for employers. These suits typically allege that a request for family or medical leave was improperly denied or resulted in retaliation. Reinhart’s labor and employment attorneys use their extensive experience with the FMLA to evaluate the allegations, devise a litigation strategy, and vigorously defend the employer against the claims.

Reinhart attorneys assist employers in every aspect of investigations conducted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division, the Illinois Department of Human Rights and other state administrative agencies. We represent the interests of our clients from the very inception of the investigation, starting with the receipt of the initial complaint, through the ultimate determination by the applicable agency.

Reinhart’s labor and employment attorneys have defended employers in dozens of cases involving wage and hour claims, both individual and class actions. Those cases cover a broad spectrum of issues that employers face every day, including misclassification of "exempt" and "non-exempt" employees, proper tracking of compensable working time, unpaid or miscalculated wages (e.g., allegations of unpaid overtime, vacation pay, commissions and bonuses), and misclassification of employees as independent contractors.

We defend employers against wrongful discharge lawsuits, and against emerging "employment tort" theories of liability such as defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, intentional interference with employment contract, invasion of privacy, fraud, misrepresentation and negligent hiring.

Our attorneys defend employers against sexual and other workplace harassment claims pending before state and federal trial and appellate courts, and against claims pending before administrative agencies.

Federal and state laws provide a variety of protections for "whistleblowers" – employees who report certain violations or activities, or who refuse to follow unlawful instructions. Similarly, employees who engage in conduct protected by state and federal fair employments laws are protected from retaliation. Reinhart attorneys are skilled at navigating these difficult cases to help employers defend their legitimate business decisions from these claims.

We counsel employers with respect to the eligibility of former employees for unemployment insurance benefits and represent employers at unemployment compensation hearings.

We represent employers in hearings and appeals concerning safety claims and unreasonable refusal to rehire claims.