Labor and Employment Litigation

Counseling

Freeborn has a national employment practice with both an efficient and rapid counseling component and the ability to manage the most complicated employment litigation. We provide advice and counseling on every aspect of employment law, including FMLA, FLSA, sexual harassment issues, security guard procedures, background security checks, the use of polygraph tests, on-the-job injuries, scope of insurance coverage and, as a general matter, the interplay between legal obligations and the difficult mechanics of managing a workplace.

Our counseling also includes drafting sophisticated employment contracts, including incentive contracts and executive contracts, as well as the negotiation of the severance of departing employees, ERISA issues, professional contracts and contracts adjunct to sophisticated corporate transactions. We maintain useful policy templates, as well as specialty policies, on the prevention of discrimination and sexual harassment, DNA testing, polygraphs and lie detectors, grievances, criminal background checks, hiring of persons with criminal records, non-compete and non-solicit obligations, dispute resolution policies, vesting of bonuses, vacation time and employee access to records.

Litigation

We regularly litigate traditional employment and labor matters such as discrimination as well as breach of contract, non-compete, non-solicit and trade secrets agreements, sophisticated defamation, wrongful discharge and employment torts. In fact, we have a team dedicated solely to the defense and prosecution of non-compete cases. Our firm efficiently handles administrative procedures. We have repeatedly litigated issues relating to high level executive contracts, as well as single plaintiff discrimination actions. We also have developed a specialized representation of employers in occupational safety and health citation enforcement actions, and serve as OSHA counsel to one of the largest employers in Illinois.

Our attorneys have a record of success in disposing of employment litigation at the administrative and summary judgment stages, as well as prevailing at bench and jury trials and winning favorable decisions at the appellate level in whistleblower, discrimination and breach of contract matters. We are also skilled in the use of cost-saving alternative dispute resolution processes, such as mediation and arbitration.