70 years of practice in the field

The Labor and Employment Group provides legal advice and representation on all aspects of the employment relationship. With a combined 70 years of practice in the field, the Group is chaired by Board Certified attorney Ronald J. Cohen, and includes experienced attorneys Brent Chudachek and Richelle Levy. While we regularly advise clients on how to avoid employment disputes, sometimes litigation cannot be bypassed. That is why commitment and dedication to our clients is prioritized in all situations including, but not limited to, arbitrations, administrative cases, and litigation, including jury trials, class actions and appeals, in both federal and state court.

The expertise we provide to our clients extends to all matters of employee benefits. Among others, we advise our clients on health issues, retirement issues, fiduciary matters, contested disability claims, and pension forfeiture matters. Furthermore, our practice especially excels at public pension law and employee benefit plans, which is displayed by the numerous public pension funds and VEBAs we represent throughout Florida. An unfortunate, but all too common issue arises when a public pension plan is denying or withholding benefits to someone who is entitled to those benefits. Our attorneys will vigorously litigate cases as general and special counsel, always seeking the most beneficial outcome for our clients.

Our attorneys regularly provide fiduciary counseling, ethics training and compliance, and lectures on public pension law. As advocates, it is our passion and profession to devote a significant amount of its time and focus on employees and their benefit plans. With this in mind, we have extensive experience in handling day-to-day advice as well as navigating complex benefits-related and fiduciary litigation for all types of public retirement systems.

Whatever your needs are, we are equipped with the knowledge, resources, passion, readiness and expertise to assist you. As important it is to know the laws, it is even more important to know our clients. The Group represents clients in matters including:

• Advice and counseling on issues ranging from hiring, discipline, leave issues, termination, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) compliance, and other employment law issues
• Internal audits of employment practices, including policies, exempt/non-exempt classifications, leave programs and work eligibility (I-9) issues
• Periodic review of employee handbooks and manuals, substance abuse testing programs (including DOT), electronic communications issues, document retention, and other areas
• Drafting, reviewing and enforcing non-solicitation and non-compete agreements
• Drafting and reviewing employment and severance agreements
• Wage and hour issues, including compliance with the overtime and minimum wage requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage payment and collection laws
• Claims arising under whistleblower and retaliation statutes
• Contract drafting and litigation of contract disputes