Mary Drobka helps employers resolve complex employee relations issues and minimize employment-related claims. She works directly with human resources professionals and executive management to ensure that companies, nonprofit organizations or public entities comply with equal employment opportunity, wage and hour, FMLA and other employment laws. Mary also defends employers before the NLRB and state labor boards and serves as management’s chief spokesperson in union negotiations. She develops and reviews employee handbooks and personnel policies, as well as executive employment and intellectual property agreements. Mary regularly trains managers how to supervise within the law, prevent discrimination or harassment claims, and reasonably accommodate workers. She has extensive industry-specific experience in the health care, nonprofit, manufacturing, technology, retail, hospitality, and financial/professional services sectors.
Practice Highlights
- Successfully defended manufacturer in a complex EEOC race and retaliation claim.
- Successfully renegotiated union contracts after health care system merger.
- Revised customer service representatives’ employment agreements, updating their incentive compensation, confidentiality, nonsolicitation and noncompetition provisions.
- Advised multi-state retailer through significant reorganization and reductions in force; prepared state-specific severance and release agreements, OWBPA notices and WARN Act notices.
- Assisted nonprofit organization with executive transition; severance agreement included complex, post-employment consulting provisions.
- Conducted privileged wage and hour audits related to exempt/nonexempt classifications and regular rate calculations; developed and successfully implemented post-audit compliance strategies.