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Employment Consulting

The lawyers in our Employment Consulting Practice Group assist companies of all sizes with all aspects of employment law compliance and workforce liability risk management. By fully integrating with our clients yet remaining as outside counsel, we are uniquely positioned to provide representation for sensitive employment law situations. We assist our clients with all aspects of the employment relationship, from developing company-wide policies and procedures to providing counsel to management, and our lawyers make themselves available to our clients’ in-house attorneys, senior managers and human resources personnel on an as-needed basis.

Regardless of the size of a company’s workforce, ensuring compliance with all pertinent employment laws and regulations needs to be a priority. At Hand Arendall Harrison Sale, we assist our clients with all aspects of state and federal employment law compliance, and we provide our clients with the information, documentation and other resources they need to effectively mitigate their risk of employment practices liability. We provide strategic counseling for matters related to insurance coverage, benefit offerings, and other employment-related matters as well, working closely with our clients to offer practical solutions that are custom-tailored to their specific needs.

We Serve as Employment Counsel for Companies of All Sizes in a Broad Spectrum of Industries

We serve as employment counsel to companies ranging from startup enterprises to large corporations that have employees in multiple facilities located throughout the United States. Our clients operate in a broad spectrum of industries from construction to health care, and from ground transportation to aviation and high technology. The scope of our employment consulting practice is similarly broad, with our attorneys routinely advising companies on matters such as:

  • Anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy drafting and implementation
  • Employee discipline and discharge
  • Employment contract negotiations (as well as severance negotiations)
  • Employee training
  • Hiring and onboarding practices
  • Union and other organized labor issues
  • Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) compliance
  • Protection of employees’ personally identifiable information (PII) and health information
  • Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) compliance
  • Workers’ compensation insurance coverage and claim management
  • Workplace investigations

Employment Litigation

The lawyers in our Employment Litigation Practice Group represent both employers and employees in contract disputes and in litigation involving allegations of discrimination, harassment and other employment law claims. Our lawyers also have significant experience in administrative proceedings and civil service hearings involving claims for unemployment compensation, workers’ compensation and civil rights violations.

Our employment litigation lawyers also represent management personnel in affirmative action compliance reviews, wage and hour investigations, Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) complaints, veterans’ rights claims, and other investigations and proceedings conducted by the U. S. Department of Labor. Regardless of the scope of the issue and the circumstances involved, if you or your company is facing an employment-related legal dispute, our lawyers can use their extensive experience to protect you.

Employment Litigation Counsel for All Types of Employment-Related Claims

Our firm’s employment litigation practice encompasses all types of employment-related claims under state and federal law. This includes state-level claims as well as claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Sections 1981 and 1983, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act).

Our lawyers routinely represent employers, management personnel and employees in mediation, arbitration, litigation, and administrative and civil service hearings involving:

  • Data security breach claims
  • Employment-related tort actions
  • Fiduciary duty claims
  • Harassment and discrimination claims
  • Non-competition and non-solicitation covenant breach claims
  • Retaliation claims
  • Trade secret misappropriation
  • Wage, hour and labor disputes
  • Workers’ compensation claims
  • Wrongful discharge actions

Employment litigation often presents unique dynamics; and, for employers, the risks of facing employment-related allegations can extend beyond the potential liability arising out of the dispute itself. We help our clients make informed and strategic decisions that take into account both their immediate and long-term interests, and we aggressively target favorable results that protect our clients to the fullest extent possible.

 

Biographical Information

Windy Cockrell Bitzer is a member of the Firm’s Litigation Section and has substantial pre-trial, trial, and appellate experience in courts throughout the State of Alabama, the Eleventh Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. Windy regularly represents and counsels businesses and educational institutions in commercial disputes and employment matters. She is experienced in matters ranging from fraud, False Claims Act, breach of contract, tortious interference, non-compete agreements, and other business torts to Title VII, Title IX, FMLA, FLSA, ADA, ADEA, and other employment-related issues. Windy also conducts internal investigations and provides training on EEO best practices.

Windy has a particular interest in appellate work and serves as leader of the Firm’s Appellate Litigation Team. She often counsels and assists other attorneys with ensuring issues are properly preserved for appellate review and assists throughout the appellate process, including preparation of appellate briefs and for oral argument.

Windy has been recognized by Best Lawyers in employment litigation and appellate practice and by Alabama Super Lawyers in business litigation and employment law. She is a graduate of the IADC Trial Academy. Windy is a member and former subcommittee chair of the ABA Section of Litigation Corporate Counsel and Woman Advocate Committees and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

Windy received her J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law where she was a member of the Managing Board of the Alabama Law Review, the John A. Campbell Moot Court Board, and the Bench & Bar Legal Honor Society.

Windy has volunteered as a “Big Sister” in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program and is a sustaining member of the Junior League of Mobile. She is an active member of the Mobile Bar Association, having chaired the Federal Civil Practice, Bench & Bar, and Law Day Committees, and served on the Board of Directors and as President of the Mobile Bar Foundation. She is also a Leadership Mobile graduate, and served on the planning committee for the 2016 Eleventh Circuit Judicial Conference.

Admissions

  • Alabama State Bar, 1998
  • United States Supreme Court
  • Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Alabama Federal District Courts

Education

  • J.D., University of Alabama School of Law, cum laude, 1998 
  • Southern College, magna cum laude, 1995

Additional Information

Civic and Professional Affiliations

  • Alabama State Bar
  • Mobile Bar Association (Woman Lawyers Section/Bench & Bar Committee/Law Day Committee)
  • Mobile Bar Foundation (former President and Board Member)
  • American Bar Association (Litigation Section/Corporate Counsel Committee/Woman Advocate Committee)
  • Junior League of Mobile

Publications and Presentations

  • “Legal Writing: Planning for Success,” Mobile Bar Association CLE (August 2022)
  • “#Me Too: One Year Later and Its Impact in the Workplace,” Propeller Club of the United States, Mobile Port (October 2018)
  • “Employment Law: Social Media and Workplace Harassment,” Alabama Primary Health Care Association Annual Meeting (October 2018)
  • “ADA and FMLA Legal Update,” Alabama Council of Community Mental Health Boards – HR Council Annual Conference (June 10, 2015)
  • “Wage and Hour and Americans with Disabilities Act Issues,” Mobile Chapter of the Alabama Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance (March 24, 2015)
  • “Preservation of Errors for Appeal,” Baldwin County Bar Association (October 2014)
  • “ADA and FMLA Updates and Interplay,” Sterling Education Services, Mobile, Alabama (March 2013)
  • “Update on PPACA: What’s Happening Now,” Sterling Education Services, Mobile, Alabama (March 2013)
  • “Employment Best Practices: Tips on Avoiding Legal Claims But What to Expect if You Get One,” Client Seminar (January 2013)
  • “Waiver and Preservation of Errors for Appeal,” Mobile Bar Association (November 2011)
  • “Preparing Your Corporate Witness for Deposition,” Henry T. Morrissette and Windy C. Bitzer, ABA IN-HOUSE LITIGATOR (Summer 2010)
  • “HIPAA Implications of Social Networking,” Alabama Primary Health Care Association Annual Meeting (Fall 2009)

Representative Cases

  • Doe v. University of South Alabama, et al., 2021 WL 1792524 (S.D. Ala. May 4, 2021)(granting summary judgment for defendants on remaining due process claim following dismissal of gender discrimination, other due process, and state law claims in connection with Title IX proceedings).
  • Sadeghian v. University of South Alabama, et al., 2020 WL 869217 (S.D. Ala. Feb. 21, 2020)(granting summary judgment for defendants on claims of sex discrimination and harassment)
  • El-Saba v. University of South Alabama, 738 Fed. Appx. 640 (11th Cir. 2018) (affirming summary judgment for employer on national origin discrimination and retaliation claims), cert. denied, 2019 WL 271973 (Jan. 22, 2019).
  • Ex parte Talbott, 215 So. 3d 541 (Ala. 2015)(granting petition for writ of mandamus directing trial court to dismiss defendants on statute of limitations and immunity grounds).
  • Ex parte University of South Alabama, 183 So. 3d 915 (Ala. 2015)(granting petition for writ of mandamus directing trial court to dismiss university on sovereign immunity grounds and to quash subpoena for individual defendant’s privileged mental health records).
  • Ex parte Moulton, 116 So. 3d 1119 (Ala. 2013)(granting petition for writ of mandamus directing trial court to enter summary judgment for all defendants on due process and fraud claims and clarifying prior precedent and enunciating restated State immunity exception in actions against State officials).
  • Hossain v. Steadman, et al., 855. F.Supp. 2d 1307 (S.D. Ala. 2012)(granting summary judgment for state university dean and trustees on claims of race, ancestry, ethnicity, and national origin discrimination and equal protection violation).
  • Alkhatib v. Steadman, et al., 2011 WL 5553775 (S.D. Ala. Nov. 15, 2011)(granting summary judgment for state university trustees and individual defendant on claims of race, ancestry, and ethnicity discrimination and equal protection violation)
  • Leslie v. Cumulus Media, Inc., 814 F. Supp. 2d 1326 (S.D. Ala. 2011)(granting summary judgment for defendant employer on all claims of discrimination and harassment on basis of sex and disability and retaliation in violation of Title VII, ADA, FMLA, and various state laws)
  • Burch v. Moulton, 980 So. 2d 392 (Ala. 2007) (affirming summary judgment for state university officials on state immunity grounds)
  • Ex parte Barton, 976 So. 2d 438 (Ala. 2007) (denying petition for writ of mandamus on personal jurisdiction issue in fraud case)
  • Waddell & Reed, Inc. v. United Investors Life Ins. Co., 875 So. 2d 1143 (Ala. 2003)(reversing jury verdict/judgment in tortious interference with business relations case)
  • Palmore v. First Unum, 841 So. 2d 233 (Ala. 2003)(declining to answer certified question posed by federal district court regarding tort of bad faith in ERISA context after initially accepting question for review)
  • Folmar & Associates LLP v. Holberg, 776 So. 2d 112 (Ala. 2001)(reversing trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment in intentional interference with business relations lawsuit)
  • Utilities Board of the City of Daphne v. City of Fairhope, 778 So. 2d 839 (Ala. Civ. App. 2000)(affirming trial court’s preliminary injunction order in favor of defendant)
  • Willingham v. QMS, Inc., 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20423 (S.D. Ala. Dec. 13, 1999)(granting summary judgment for defendant in sexual harassment lawsuit)

Awards

  • Martindale-Hubbell® AV Rated
  • Best Lawyers In America©, Appellate Practice, 2020 – 2024; Litigation-Labor and Employment, 2019 – 2024
  • Alabama Super Lawyers Rising Star® Employment & Labor, 2010 and 2012

Biographical Information

Christine Hart is a member of the Firm’s litigation section in Mobile. She has litigated cases from the initial pleading stage through trial and appeal and focuses on federal court litigation. She is admitted to practice in Alabama and California (inactive), all federal district courts in Alabama, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Christine has substantive knowledge and experience in anti-discrimination matters involving Title VII, Title IX, ADA/Rehabilitation Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. She also has experience litigating constitutional matters involving First Amendment free speech and Fourteenth Amendment equal protection and due process. She monitors developments in the Eleventh Circuit and the Supreme Court related to federal practice, discrimination, and constitutional rights. She also provides counseling and training to local businesses and institutions on a variety of issues including discrimination and harassment.

Christine serves as an Officer-at-large for the South Alabama Volunteer Lawyers Program (SAVLP) Board, and provides pro bono legal services as a SAVLP Volunteer Lawyer. She also serves on the Board of Flight Works Alabama, and volunteers as Alabama Chapter Chair for Stanford University’s Alumni Interview Program. Christine is a member of Class 15 of the Alabama State Bar Leadership Forum, and serves on the Alabama State Bar’s Lawyers Hall of Fame Committee.

Christine grew up in Orange County, California, and attended Stanford University and the USC Gould School of Law. She clerked in Philadelphia for the Honorable Theodore A. McKee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, shortly after she began her legal practice.

Christine lives “across the Bay” in Spanish Fort with her husband Curtis and their two young sons.

Admissions

  • Alabama State Bar
  • California State Bar (Inactive)

Education

  • J.D., University of Southern California Gould School of Law, 2011
  • B.A., Stanford University, 2006

Additional Information

Civic and Professional Affiliations

  • South Alabama Volunteer Lawyers Program Board
  • Flight Works Alabama Board
  • Alabama State Bar Leadership Forum, Class 15
  • Alabama State Bar Lawyers Hall of Fame Committee

Publications and Presentations

  • “Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) Leave Requirement Will Expire December 31,” Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC Employment Alert (December 22, 2020)
  • “Alabama Employers Now Required to Notify Separated Employees of the Availability of Unemployment Compensation,” Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC Employment Alert (July 28, 2020)
  • “Managing a Safe Return to the Workplace,” Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC Employment Alert (April 28, 2020)
  • “DOL and IRS Release Guidance on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), Effective April 1,” Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC Employment Alert (March 25, 2020)
  • “Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) is Passed by the House and Senate, Will Require Employers with Fewer than 500 Employees to Provide Paid Leave,” Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC Employment Alert (March 18, 2020)
  • “DOL Issues Final Overtime Rule,” Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC Employment Alert (October 3, 2019)
  • “Alabama Equal Pay Act, signed by Governor Ivey on June 11,” Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC Employment Alert (June 24, 2019)
  • “Lying about Leave: Recent Cases on How to Handle Intermittent FMLA Misuse,” DRI Employment Law Committee Newsletter (May 20, 2017)
  • “Court Issues Permanent Injunction Enjoining New Department of Labor Interpretation of ‘Persuader Rule,’” Hand Arendall Harrison Sale LLC Employment Alert (December 5, 2016)
  • NLRB Legal Update, Alabama Council of Community Mental Health Boards, HR Annual Conference (June 10, 2015)
  • “DOL issues Final Rule revising the definition of ‘spouse’ under the FMLA” (March 2015)
  • “Equal Protection Challenge to the ADA: The Gender Identity Exclusion,” DRI Employment Law Committee Newsletter (April 27, 2015)

Awards

  • Mobile Bay Magazine’s 40 Under 40, Class of 2020
  • Best Lawyers: Ones To Watch, Labor and Employment Law – Management; Litigation – Labor and Employment, 2021 – 2023, Civil Rights Law, 2022 -2024

Biographical Information

Laurel Thorpe serves as of counsel in the Firm’s litigation section. She maintains a diverse practice with an emphasis on employment law, worker’s compensation, and health care regulatory compliance. Laurel brings her comprehensive human resources experience to provide practical solutions for employers in their compensation, leave, wellness, and benefits programs. She works thoughtfully and strategically to assist clients in the development and administration of workplace safety, privacy, discrimination, discipline, and termination policies.

With a background in health care administration, public health services, and medical ethics, Laurel has assisted health care organizations, providers, and employers in complex regulatory compliance issues. This includes the identification and remediation of issues related to federal and state fraud and abuse, research ethics, health care privacy, and the negotiation of compensation and operational agreements.

Laurel received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Houston Law Center. While at UHLC, she served as the Managing Editor of the inaugural board of the Houston Journal of Health Law and Policy, and she served on the editorial board of the Houston Journal of International Law. Laurel refined her research and writing skills as an assistant to employment and health care law professors in the Health Law and Policy Institute. There she worked extensively on issues related to ethical decision making, health care and employment regulations, and disability related claims. 

After law school, Laurel began her practice in the Houston office of a national firm. She returned home to the Gulf Coast where, in addition to her law practice, she devotes her time to family, community, and church. She enjoys teaching and speaking at women’s ministry events and professional development programs.

Admissions

  • Alabama State Bar, 2008
  • Texas State Bar, 2002

Education

  • J.D., University of Houston Law Center, cum laude
  • B.A., University of Alabama at Birmingham

Additional Information

Civic and Professional Affiliations

  • Mobile County Bar Association
  • Baldwin County Bar Association
  • Heart for Athletes, Board of Directors

Publications and Presentations

  • Physician Employment Agreements: Key Considerations (April 2023)
  • FERPA & HIPAA: A Primer on Student Privacy (Aug. 2023)
  • Harassment & Professional Behavior (Jan. 2023)
  • Hot Topics in Human Resources (Sept. 2022)
  • Recent Developments in Privacy, Security, and Employment Regulations (Feb. 2023)
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