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Practices

Labor & Employment

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Our labor and employment attorneys offer litigation defense services for administrative and court proceedings at the federal and state level, advice on pre-litigation strategies to reduce legal risks, policy analysis and drafting, compliance audits, management training and labor negotiation.

Featured Videos


The Current State of Labor Law: Are Unions Cool Again? September 21, 2023
AI in Employment Law: What In-House Counsel Need to Know August 29, 2023
Beyond the Basics: Sharpening Your FMLA Tool Kit August 22, 2023
A Deeper Dive on Your Most Pressing Wage & Hour Questions July 25, 2023
What is Retaliation and Why It Matters: What Employers Need to Know About Retaliation Risks July 20, 2023
Lessons from a $22M Overtime Verdict: Top 10 FLSA Violations Employers Can Prevent June 27, 2023

Why Baker Donelson?


More than 85 primary and secondary labor and employment attorneys
Ranked Tier 1 nationally as a firm in "Litigation – L&E" and "Employment Law Management" by U.S. News – Best Lawyers® (2023)
More than 40 customizable HR training programs
Extensive experience defending wage and hour class actions and DOL investigations and audits

Featured Experience


Successfully defeated a 45,000-individual collective action in a suit alleging that our client's business model of using independent contractors violated the law. After the court granted certification, we achieved a number of critical victories surrounding the notice process, the discovery process and the proposed class, resulting in less than 1,400 plaintiffs opting in to the case. We then argued for and used the information from the individual discovery process to seek dismissal with prejudice of the opt-in plaintiffs' claims. Plaintiffs approached about voluntary decertification, which was more favorable than an order from the court.

Obtained dismissal of a $10.5 million action against a piano string manufacturer that included purported causes of action under the Tennessee Public Protection Act and common law prohibition against retaliatory discharge and outrageous conduct.

Obtained dismissal of 9 out of 10 unlawful discharge allegations in NLRB trial even though the opposing party's (NLRB's) published win rate in unfair labor practice litigation is 90%.

Practice Overview


We're the Resource in Human Resources. Our labor and employment attorneys offer litigation defense services for administrative and court proceedings at the federal and state level, advice on pre-litigation strategies to reduce legal risks, policy analysis and drafting, compliance audits, management training and labor negotiation.

We Know People. We know our clients as people, not just clients. We form business partnerships so we can help clients strategize on the best approach for each situation, and are always looking at the big picture to ensure long-term success.

We Know Business and Industry. We work with clients across all types of businesses and industries, and we take pride in understanding exactly how they work and how our clients are positioned in the marketplace. These include local, regional and global companies in the health care, energy, food processing, entertainment, insurance, chemical manufacturing, construction, transportation and distribution industries.

We Know Our Alphabet. Our attorneys stay on top of the latest changes in laws and regulations from A to Z. We provide counseling and strategic advice on all employment-related laws and regulations, and when necessary, we defend our clients in district and federal courts across the country. Attorneys regularly appear before the EEOC, DOL and Occupational Health and Safety boards.

We Get Around. Our more than 85 labor and employment attorneys are spread across the Firm's 11 states and Washington, D.C. Attorneys are licensed in 17 states and the District of Columbia, and have handled matters in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Over the last three years, the team has tried more than 600 federal court cases, has appeared in the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, Eleventh and District of Columbia Courts of Appeal, and has appeared in 31 District Courts as well as the District of Columbia.

We Know Labor, Health and Safety. We help management deal with labor unions during the election phases of union campaigns, and we help with labor agreement negotiation. For clients who have unions already representing their workforce, we pursue management's interests in all phases of the grievance and arbitration process. Our health and safety lawyers offer regulatory monitoring, compliance oversight, training programs and internal auditing protocols, and represent clients before federal and state Occupational Safety and Health regulators.

We Like to Help. Baker Donelson customizes all in-house management training programs so that clients' management teams will feel comfortable interacting with us and getting answers to their questions. We offer mock trials, case studies, role-playing, quizzes and video vignettes for human resources managers, mid-level managers and front line supervisors. We also help clients with their Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) efforts.

We Open Doors for Immigration. We offer a comprehensive and efficient approach to immigration, guiding clients through the entire range of immigration processes for foreign investors, executives, managers, professionals and other workers and their family members. Our experience and relationships help us cut through to practical solutions, using state-of-the-art systems to drive our best thinking through each step of every case.

We Play Well With Others. We want to be your go-to lawyers for every aspect of your company. No matter the legal issue, Baker Donelson's labor and employment attorneys can count on an integrated and experienced team of professionals to assist you in every other aspect of your legal business needs.

We're Good People. We are part of a Firm culture that promotes diversity, inclusion and a sincere appreciation for creative approaches to problem-solving. We are proud to have received numerous recognitions as an exceptional workplace. Many of our offices consistently rank as a Best Place to Work in their cities and states, as well. Our labor and employment attorneys are listed in Chambers USA, Best Lawyers in America and Super Lawyers, alongside other state-specific accolades. The group also holds a national Tier One ranking in U.S. News – Best Lawyers in Labor & Employment Litigation and in Employment Law Management, along with 16 metropolitan labor and employment Tier One rankings across our states.

The firm is very dependable and a great source of information for our company. It is particularly helpful with training platforms.


They have helped on a breadth of matters and always bring the right expertise/skills to the table to resolve our issues in a timely manner.


The firm has very high commercial awareness; they took the time to learn about the business.


The team did a comprehensive job of handling our case from start to finish.


The firm is very responsive and understands the needs and goals of our organization.


The group there is just fantastic.


We found the team to be efficient, knowledgeable and conscientious of our needs.


The team's strengths include knowledge of the legal system and strong communication skills. They are professional at all times.


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