Employment Law

• Workers Compensation
  Before joining Allen Norton & Blue, Maria served as a Human Resources Manager, overseeing a broad spectrum of employment matters. Her responsibilities encompassed recruitment, performance management, compensation and benefits, compliance, disciplinary procedures, EEOC matters, Workers' Compensation, and FMLA issues.
• Employment Discrimination
  Wayne is experienced in handling all types of labor-related litigation for medium to large-size companies, cities, counties, community colleges, Sheriffs, and other governmental entities. Wayne has negotiated numerous collective bargaining agreements on behalf of public entities with police, fire, and general employee unions. He also has extensive experience in handling investigations and arbitrations and defending employers in employment discrimination litigation.
• Employment Contract
  As part of his overall defense strategy for Employers, York also prepares tailored employment agreements, handbooks, and various policies and procedures to support human resources and minimize risk.
• Employment Litigation
  Susan Potter Norton represents public and private sector employers in a broad range of employment litigation matters including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, and restrictive covenants before federal and state courts. She is an experienced trial and appellate attorney who has tried numerous bench and jury trials. She is also experienced in all phases of labor law, including union avoidance, collective bargaining, arbitration, secondary boycotts, and strike management. Additionally, she has extensive experience relating to the Davis Bacon Act, the Service Contract Act, and the OFCCP. She regularly advises clients regarding employment policies, workplace issues, and training programs.
• Non-compete Agreement
  On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved a final rule which will render all non-compete agreements unenforceable, subject to limited exceptions. Absent impact from ongoing legal challenges, the FTC’s Rule will take effect 120 days after it is published in the federal register (“Effective Date”) which is expected to occur within a matter of days.
• Severance Agreement
  The Rule broadly defines “non-compete clause” to mean “a term or condition of employment” that prohibits, penalizes or “functions to prevent” a worker from accepting work, or operating a business after the conclusion of the employment. As such, the rule addresses stand-alone non-compete agreements and clauses within employment contracts as well as severance agreements. Affected employees are also broadly defined to encompass paid and unpaid employees, independent contractors, interns/externs, apprentices, volunteers, and sole proprietors who provide a service.
• Sexual Harassment
  Susan is the Co-Chief Editor (Management) for the ABA’s Model Jury Instructions Employment Litigation Section of Litigation (Second Edition 2005), and a frequent lecturer for the ABA’s Section of Litigation Professional Development webinars as well as others including the Florida Bar. Recent presentations include: Evaluating Sexual Harassment Claims: Strategies and Best Practices (ABA’s Section of Litigation) (2018); Nuts and Bolts of Union Formation and Elections (Florida Bar Labor & Employment Law Section) (2018); Strategies and Pitfalls in Litigating FLSA Cases (ABA’s Section of Litigation) (2017).