Labor and Employment

Vorys represents employers of all sizes on the full range of labor and employment, employee benefits and executive compensation matters, from assisting in the highly complex and evolving area of immigration law to crafting anti-harassment and discrimination policies designed to minimize potential employer liability.  

What We Do

Vorys represents employers of all sizes in the full spectrum of labor and employment matters, from serving as national counsel in high-stakes class action litigation to advising on day-to-day employment and traditional labor issues impacting businesses’ local, regional and national operations.  We have built decades-long relationships with our clients by ensuring responsiveness and providing pragmatic, customized service at the highest levels. 

Notably, Vorys has advised clients on traditional labor and management relations matters since the early 1930s, when New Deal statutes created federal collective bargaining rights for employees.  Today, our labor lawyers represent union and nonunion employers in addressing the full breadth of issues related to collective bargaining.

Our nationally recognized employee benefits group advises a range of clients, including retailers, manufacturers and logistics companies.  Our benefits attorneys have:

• Handled more than 250 welfare benefit plans
• Drafted over 130 qualified retirement plans
• Reviewed documents for more than 100 pre-approved qualified retirement plans to ensure that amendments were drafted correctly
• Drafted 25 employee stock ownership plans (ESPOs)
• Advised clients across industries, with deep experience in the retail, manufacturing and logistics sectors

We also have led dozens of internal investigations throughout the U.S. and internationally, and have been called upon to handle civil and criminal government investigations for employers.  We regularly conduct pre-litigation investigations, both as neutral investigators and to mount employers’ defenses to anticipated claims.

We regularly advice clients on important immigration-related employment issues, such as employment eligibility, verification and recordkeeping requirements.  We help clients establish new compliance programs, assess the effectiveness of existing compliance programs and advise on critical improvements.  In addition, our lawyers focus on strategic planning with clients to avoid immigration-related problems.  We regularly monitor changes in laws and regulations to inform clients of new developments and assist them in complying with new requirements.

When disputes arise, we mobilize our coast-to-coast team of labor and employment litigators with vast experience in single-plaintiff cases and complex, high-stakes class and collective actions.  We have defended clients against all kinds of labor and employment claims, ranging from individual lawsuits under statutes such as the American Disabilities Act to high-risk class actions asserting wage and hour or discrimination claims.  We also represent clients in labor arbitrations and administrative proceedings in jurisdictions across the country.

Our labor and employment litigators have:

• Appeared as national/lead counsel for clients in all kinds of labor and employment-related matters in state and federal trial and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court
• Handled labor and employment litigation in 49 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. island territories
• Represented employers before state and federal administrative agencies across the country
• Defended hundreds of wage and hour class actions on behalf of employers, including in California, where companies are particularly vulnerable
• Advised on litigation strategy in cases that have garnered considerable public attention and national media coverage

Who We Represent

Our clients include all types of employers – from the nation’s largest public corporations to private startups across a variety of industries – in both their most important and routine labor and employment matters from coast to coast.

Among our clients are:

• Nearly one-third of the National Retail Federation’s Top 100 list, including over half of the top 25 retailers
• Middle-market and global consumer brands
• Major automotive manufacturers and suppliers
• Higher education institutions
• Restaurant chains and franchises

360-Degree Employment Counsel

Vorys’ nationally recognized labor and employment practice comprises approximately 50 lawyers who are adept at anticipating and preventing employee relations conflicts through education, training and counseling. 

Roughly 15% of our labor and employment attorneys have worked inside corporate legal departments and intimately understand how procedures, policies and management personnel impact business operations.

We keep abreast of changes in the law and developing trends so that our clients can have confidence that their policies and day-to-day decisions comply with new requirements.  In a recent edition of the prestigious Chambers USA guide, a client described Vorys’ labor and employment practice as having “a great understanding of our business and provide us with advice that is practical and designed to help us meet our business needs and mitigate legal risk."

National Recognition

Vorys’ labor and employment practice is consistently recognized as a top firm in the areas of labor and employment, employee benefits and executive compensation.

We have consistently earned both national and state recognition in the areas of employment and labor law management and labor and employment litigation including in the Best Lawyers^® 2024 “Best Law Firms” report.

In the 2024 edition of the prestigious Chambers USA guide, a client described Vorys’ labor and employment practice as having “an ability to put themselves in their clients’ shoes and tailor their advice accordingly, avoiding a 'one size fits all' mentality."

For nearly two decades, Vorys has been ranked in Chambers in Ohio for Labor & Employment and Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation.  In its 2024 edition, Chambers lauded Vorys’ experience “across the full range of labor and employment matters” and also highlighted:

• Our “fine reputation in wage and hour class actions and in litigation pertaining to discrimination and harassment”
• Our “expertise in wrongful termination and retaliation allegations”
• Our experience in counseling clients on “ERISA, federal and state securities laws”
• Our work in handling “multiemployer plans for private and public companies”
• Our representation “before the IRS, DOL and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation”
• Our experience regularly advising clients on “the implementation of health and welfare plans, including advising clients on health care reform”