Employment Law

Many plans and programs can offer tax advantages as well as long-term incentives for employees. We help to provide our clients with plan design and employee communication materials that are understandable to the employee and that comply with the applicable tax, labor, and securities law requirements.  

• Incentive compensation 
• Deferred compensation 
• Incentive stock options 
• Non-qualified stock options 
• Severance pay 
• Golden parachutes and golden handoffs 
• Phantom stock 
• Stock bonus plans 
• Stock appreciation rights 
• Profit-sharing plans 
• Business recapitalizations 

Read more about how our Tax Law attorneys can help you keep your taxes low.

You can’t avoid paying premiums or contributions to state agencies, but not every claim should be taken lying down. The assessment of an experienced lawyer may help you decide when to challenge an unfounded workers’ compensation or unemployment claim.

When your dealings with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation don’t involve a claim, but rather an audit for employer premiums that seem inconsistent with the makeup of your workforce, we will assist you in the preparation process and any hearing that may be needed to challenge the audit results.

Other aspects of workers’ compensation law include Violations of Specific Safety Requirements (VSSRs) and intentional tort claims. When faced with a VSSR or an intentional tort suit, an employer’s best defense is preparedness and being able to demonstrate how safety is an integral part of the business. With the help of your Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP attorney, employers are better equipped to foresee legal risk and defend such claims.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) was created at a time when employees were provided with very little in the way of safety in the workplace. Today, employers must be continually vigilant of changes in OSHA practices and requirements, and the increasing number of retaliation claims brought by employees or witnesses. It is important to develop and consistently implement policies and practices to ensure workplace safety. If you find yourself dealing with a scheduled OSHA inspection or a surprise OSHA visit, we will help you weigh the pros and cons of defending or negotiating these charges.

Our broad range of experience in other employment litigation matters includes defending management on the following issues:

• Workplace discrimination and retaliation
• Sexual harassment
• Discipline, discharge and wrongful termination claims
• Americans with Disabilities Act and Family and Medical Leave Act claims
• Workers’ compensation court cases and appeals
• Wage and hour matters
• Unemployment appeals

A company’s most valuable resource is often its intellectual property or other protectable trade secrets and ‘know-how.’ What happens when an employee leaves and threatens to take or secretly takes customer information or other information that gives your business its competitive advantage? 

Our experience in litigation includes successful prosecution and defense of confidentiality agreements, non-competition or non-solicitation cases, either representing the former employer, the former employee(s) or the new employer.

Beyond policy drafting, if you have questions about what documents you’re required to maintain, who you can hire, when you can discipline or fire a problem employee, when you can run a background check without consent, or anything else that impacts the day-to-day aspects of the employment relationship, our attorneys can guide you through the maze of employment laws.

Involving our lawyers in the management process early will result in a more deliberate approach to hiring, firing and promotion. You will gain confidence dealing with unique personnel problems and anticipating possible outcomes, navigating the labyrinth of leave laws, properly documenting performance or other problems, and generally getting ahead of a personnel issue before it escalates.

Avoiding claims of discrimination and harassment at work is not only smart business, but it is also legally mandated. When workplace dynamics cross boundaries of propriety, we help management handle delicate workplace situations, investigate complaints and avoid potential problems. We guide employers on the appropriate next steps to avoid future litigation. Whether the problems are resolved through customized employee or management training, discipline, or ultimately, termination, our experienced lawyers will assist you in proactively limiting inappropriate workplace behavior before it becomes a costly and distracting legal problem.

We will help you navigate the various obligations that employers face when a medical or other type of leave is needed or to assess the employer’s requirement to participate in the interactive process and possibly provide a reasonable accommodation for an eligible employee. Whether your challenges arise under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Ohio laws, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), military leave laws, the state’s workers’ compensation laws, or policies voluntarily created by your company to provide for time off, our attorneys will consider how these programs intersect and how you can comply with them.

When can I test an applicant or employee that I suspect of being impaired? Can I terminate an employee who failed a drug test? Handling these sensitive matters in a compliant way requires a solid knowledge of the applicable laws and the ability to help employers develop policies that can be practically implemented. Whether your company elects to have a drug-free workplace policy or is required to do so in order to obtain public contracts, your ability to ensure a safe working environment is critical to your business and the well-being of your employees. Our team will assist you with developing drug-free workplace policies, dealing with possible violations of it, and thinking about how that may impact workers’ compensation claims.

Crafting agreements that address key terms and conditions of employment, stock options, golden parachutes or other negotiated terms comes down to knowledge of the laws and a careful eye for details. Our experienced lawyers will assist you in documenting your objectives and expectations by helping you prepare or review:

• Non-competition, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements
• Independent contractor agreements
• Employment agreements
• Executive compensation agreements
• Consulting agreements
• Severance agreements

You’ve invested heavily in technology, sales training and customer development. How do you protect your intangible assets from misuse or misappropriation? Using well-crafted agreements and knowing when to enforce them requires more than just an understanding of the applicable laws. Your legal advisor will help you focus on what is important to your business and what the courts will enforce. Armed with this added protection, you will be able to better entrust your company’s trade secrets or other valuable assets to employees or third parties. Consider the need to protect your intangible resources when:

• Hiring employees or executives
• Promoting employees or offering stock options
• Accepting resignations or terminating employees
• Retaining contractors
• Providing sensitive company information to a third party
• Entering vendor relationships where sensitive data may be shared
• Developing software or other technology with employees
• Entering a joint venture
• Selling your business

Read more about how to protect your intellectual property.

I pay my employees a salary – must I pay overtime? How do I record my employees’ hours worked? How long must I keep payroll records? What do I do if I’m audited? Knowing how states and the federal government handle these questions is crucial to staying in compliance. Carlile Patchen & Murphy LLP attorneys will help you properly classify your workforce and determine how compensation should be calculated. In the event that you are audited, we will vigorously defend you or help you to negotiate a resolution with the governmental agency.

Severance agreements are used to protect employers from future liability after voluntary or involuntary termination of an employee. Our Employment law attorneys can assist clients with reviewing, negotiating and drafting severance agreements that will protect their interests.