Chrys A. Martin

Chrys Martin focuses her practice on daily advice and counseling to employers on employment law and employee benefits issues including Oregon’s new pay equity law. She provides her clients over 35 years of experience in complex employment and ERISA litigation, including class actions. Chrys applies her depth of knowledge learned from litigation to counseling employers and training supervisors in HR best practices, including respectful workplaces and #MeToo issues. Her practical approach to difficult employment issues is also grounded in prior hands-on management and human resources experience. She works with startups to multi-national corporations in all industries.

Chrys' employment and labor experience spans the full range of employer concerns, from discrimination and harassment to wage and hour issues to union negotiations and arbitrations. She regularly assists clients with sexual harassment issues, employee handbooks, NLRB rulings, new minimum wage laws, compliance with state leave laws, ban the box, drug testing given legalization of marijuana, OFCCP, EEOC & BOLI complaints, and DOL audits. She regularly performs personnel investigations and has developed an employment practices audit to help clients identify problem areas and implement HR best practices . Her benefits work includes an array of ERISA and fiduciary issues, including claims litigation, self-funded plan design, and early retirement programs. She also serves as an AAA arbitrator and a frequent local and national speaker.

Practice Highlights

• Consults with employers on strategic implementation of mandatory sick-leave, marijuana laws, and #MeToo issues
• Obtained defense jury verdicts in harassment and discrimination cases including sex and age claims
• Obtained multiple jury and court trial verdicts, directed verdicts, and summary judgments in ERISA and non-ERISA benefits cases
• Prevented wage and hour class-action pre-litigation, no payments
• Co-lead litigation team in then-largest investment manager fraud case in U.S. history – ERISA and fiduciary liability
• Prevailed at summary judgment in wage and hour class action 
• Obtained scores of no cause findings for employers in administrative actions