Skip to Main Content
Professional Photo
Professionals

Catherine A. Karczmarczyk

Associate

Catherine "Catie" Karczmarczyk is a labor and employment attorney who serves as a trusted advisor to employers, HR professionals, and business leaders on a broad range of workplace issues. She counsels clients on employee relations, workplace investigations, leave and accommodation matters, workforce restructuring, employment compliance, and litigation strategy, helping organizations navigate complex challenges while advancing their business objectives.

Overview


  • George Washington University Law School, J.D., 2014, with honors
  • University of Tennessee, B.A., 2010, summa cum laude
  • Tennessee, 2014
  • Virginia, 2015
  • North Carolina, 2025
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
  • U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

Catie works with employers across a range of industries, including health care, senior living and long term care, manufacturing, construction and real estate development, hospitality, and staffing. She serves as a trusted advisor to human resources (HR) professionals, compliance teams, and business leaders, partnering with clients to navigate complex workplace issues and develop practical, business-focused solutions. Known for her responsiveness and collaborative approach, Catie regularly counsels employers on employee relations matters, performance management, disciplinary actions, terminations, reasonable accommodations, leave administration, workplace investigations, and employment law compliance.

Catie has substantial experience representing health care employers and senior living providers in a broad range of employment matters. She regularly advises a large health care organization regarding workplace issues and administrative proceedings, including Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charges involving allegations of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, disability accommodation, and leave-related claims. Her experience also includes employee handbook development, multistate employment compliance, affirmative action planning, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) reporting, workplace investigations, separation agreements, and employee communications.

In addition to her counseling practice, Catie represents employers in litigation and administrative proceedings involving Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Fair Housing Act, and related state laws. She has successfully defended employers before federal and state courts and administrative agencies nationwide, including the EEOC, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and state agencies. Her experience spans all stages of dispute resolution, from strategic pre-litigation counseling and investigations through trial and appeal.

Catie advises clients on state and local accessibility requirements. She regularly counsels clients regarding the accessibility of facilities, services, websites, and development projects.

Catie conducts sensitive workplace investigations involving allegations of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, employee misconduct, ethics concerns, and whistleblower complaints. She regularly provides training on harassment prevention, workplace conduct, documentation practices, and other employment law issues designed to minimize risk and avoid litigation. In addition, she drafts and negotiates employment agreements, separation agreements, restrictive covenant agreements, workplace policies, and employee handbooks.

  • Regularly represents a large health care organization in EEOC proceedings involving allegations of discrimination, retaliation, harassment, disability accommodation, and leave-related claims.

  • Led a high-profile workplace investigation involving allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment, identifying and interviewing key witnesses, evaluating sensitive allegations, preparing a comprehensive written report for leadership, and advising decision-makers regarding appropriate legal and operational responses.

  • Advised leadership through a year-long reduction-in-force (RIF) involving employees across four states, developing the overall RIF strategy, preparing related employment documents, assessing legal risk, and guiding implementation to support the employer's business objectives while minimizing exposure.

  • Assumed responsibility for a high-profile business dispute on an expedited basis, preparing for and defending a temporary injunction hearing within two weeks and positioning the matter for a favorable business resolution.

  • Developed and executed settlement strategy in a high-exposure employment matter involving workplace safety and premises liability issues, identifying key litigation risks during discovery and positioning the case for favorable resolution before disclosure of particularly damaging evidence.

  • Served as trial counsel in a three-week jury trial on behalf of a national retailer, managing a complex defense that involved more than 20 expert and health care professional witnesses and ultimately obtaining a complete defense verdict in a case involving more than $40 million in claimed exposure.

  • Advised an employer through an employee leave and termination matter from initial counseling through litigation and appeal, obtaining summary judgment dismissal of an FMLA retaliation claim and affirmance by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

  • Listed in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America for Labor and Employment Law - Management (2026)
  • Member – Society for Human Resource Management
  • Secretary and Board Member – United Way of East Tennessee Highlands
  • Member – Bravissima! Women Sponsoring the Arts
  • Selected to The Business Journal of Tri-Cities Tennessee, 40 Under Forty (2025)
  • "Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Legal Considerations and Business Strategies," 27th Annual Urgent Legal Issues for the Modern Business (April 2025)

Email Disclaimer

NOTICE: The mailing of this email is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. Anything that you send to anyone at our Firm will not be confidential or privileged unless we have agreed to represent you. If you send this email, you confirm that you have read and understand this notice.
Cancel Accept