Employment Law Compliance Lawyers

Allegations of discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination can do real damage to a company’s culture, public perception, and bottom line. Our seasoned federal attorneys help businesses and professional practices across the United States in all aspects of federal employment law compliance.

When you have employees, you have federal compliance requirements to fulfill. Although the applicability of specific federal employment statutes is directly related to a minimum threshold number of employees, every employer in the United States is obligated to obey various statutory and regulatory mandates.

Non-compliance with these statutory and regulatory requirements can carry dire consequences. Aggrieved employees can pursue administrative claims with the EEOC (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).  There are other state and federal administrative agencies they can file with as well.  In numerous cases, they can also seek recourse in federal district court. Any allegations of employer misconduct can lead to federal investigations with the possibility of huge fines and other sanctions. As a result, employment law compliance should be a high priority for companies and professional practices of all sizes.  Just one individual allegation can end up inflicting significant financial and reputational harm.

Federal Compliance Lawyers with Experienced for All Employment Law Matters

The attorneys at our firm represent corporations and professional practices all across America in every aspect of federal employment law compliance. From companies as small as 10 employees or as large as 10,000, we can facilitate the establishment and documentation of compliance practices.  We can also be fully prepared to defend against any allegations of harassment, wrongful termination, discrimination, or other improper employment activities. We work to make certain your executives, managers, and supervisors are fully aware of their roles in nurturing and maintaining a compliant workplace.  Our team can help you put a comprehensive compliance program in place that is custom-tailored to the unique requirements of your business or practice.

Our firm’s employment law compliance practice encompasses all relevant federal laws and regulations. While the needs of every company and professional practice are unique, examples of statutes that will frequently need to be addressed in creating a federal employment law compliance program include:

The ADEA (Age Discrimination in Employment Act)

The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)

The CCPA (Consumer Credit Protection Act)

The ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act)

The EPA (Equal Pay Act)

The FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act)

The FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act)

The GINA (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act)

The INA (Immigration and Nationality Act)

The IRCA (Immigration Reform and Control Act)

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act)

The PDA (Pregnancy Discrimination Act)

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

The USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act)

The WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act)

On top of this long list of laws, companies in agriculture, maritime, mining, and other specific  industries are subject to a variety of industry-specific acts of congress. Quite often, these laws establish federal workers’ compensation rights for workers who may not be covered under state workers’ compensation laws. Some examples of the kinds of laws that heap additional compliance burdens onto certain employers include:

The Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA)

Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA)

The Landrum-Griffin Act, also known as the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act

The LHWCA (Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act)

Merchant Marine Act, also known as the Jones Act

The Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSAWPA)

For construction, defense, and other federal government contractors, compliance with the the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act, the Davis-Bacon Act, and the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act is essential. Amid other potential repercussions, non-compliance with these (and indeed, still other) employment-related statutes can end in the termination of the contract and loss of eligibility to submit future bids.

Complying with Federal Employment Law: Documenting and Implementing an Effective In-House Compliance Program

As evidenced by these non-exhaustive lists of federal employment statutes, employers face a wide array of obligations when it comes to upholding the federal rights of their employees. At Spodek Law Group, we liaise closely with our clients to establish comprehensive and custom-tailored employment law compliance programs that account for the unique collection of requirements that are pertinent to their workforces.

While certain compliance obligations are universal for all employers (i.e. the obligation not to engage in discriminatory hiring or promotion activities), numerous businesses and professional practices face less-common compliance obligations also. Our federal compliance attorneys can help ensure that your business is not exposed to civil litigation and federal enforcement risks related to such issues as:

• Any form of discrimination based on a person’s race, color, national origin, sex, gender, age, religion, disability, or another protected characteristic
• Any type of sexual harassment,  hostile work environment and quid pro quo harassment
• Negligence to properly protect employees’ personally identifying information (PII), including credit and health data
• Violations linked to your employees’ wages and work hours, including organized labor and union disputes, failure to pay overtime, and improper classification of “exempt” employees
• Negligence in workplace safety, including failure to furnish employees with adequate safety equipment
• Improper handling of employee retirement and pension funds and other ERISA violations
• Violations that are immigration-related involving the screening, hiring, documentation, payment, and termination of non-US workers

Violation of employees’ rights covered under FMLA, USERRA, or WARN Act

5 Steps of Well Designed Federal Employment Law Compliance

To effectively address these and numerous other issues, businesses and professional practices should take these five steps to establish an well designed federal employment law compliance program:

1. Identification of Risk

Not every federal employment law applies to every business. So as to figure out your business’s or professional practice’s unique compliance needs, we will carry out a comprehensive and attorney-client privileged risk assessment with thegoal of identifying the specific issues that you need addressed.

2. Documentation of A Program 

After we have identified all relevant issues, then we can draft a comprehensive and custom-tailored selection of compliance policies and procedures. We can also write your employee handbook, notices, training materials, and other documentation to be disseminated  organization-wide at your business or professional practice to announce your compliance program.

3. Implementation of the Program

Once the necessary documentation is prepared, your business’ or professional practice’s compliance program can now be implemented. This entails providing an education at the executive, managerial, and individual stakeholder levels, and making certain that all employees understand what part they play in maintaining a culture of compliance.

4. Monitoring and Enforcement

Even with effective planning and implementation, problems can still arise. If a particular employee is being accused of harassment or discrimination, or if your business is being accused of systemic violations of employment law, you need to be aware of it as soon as possible. This is possible through systematic monitoring and enforcement.

5. Event Response Preparedness

If your business or professional practice comes up against accusations of impropriety, you must be prepared to respond rapidly. This may mean instituting employee discipline, preparing a public relations (PR) response, or dealing with federal authorities, depending on the specific circumstance involved.

Why Employers Across America Choose Spodek Law Group for Federal Employment Law Compliance

We are a full-service federal compliance and defense firm that represents corporations and other business clients nationwide. Spodek Law Group offers its clients a full catalog of corporate compliance services, including comprehensive federal employment law compliance representation. The team at our law firm is composed entirely of senior attorneys who all have a wealth of experience in federal practice.  Our firm’s unique team approach ensures that every single client receives the full benefit of the collective knowledge and insights of our attorneys.  At Spodek Law Group, we also provide:

Accessibility 24/7 – When you work with our firm, you will benefit from 24/7 access to our federal compliance lawyers. For questions about a potential problem or your need for immediate legal representation to respond to allegations of non-compliance, our team will be at your service on an as-needed basis.

National Practice and Insights –  The scope of our federal compliance practice is nationwide.  This allows us to keep our finger on the pulse of trends and developments in federal law enforcement on a national scale. For example, is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launching an enforcement initiative targeting employers in certain industries or geographic locations? Or could the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) imposing impromptu compliance verification requirements upon employers? As an employer, you need to know this kind of information.

Federal Experience that is Comprehensive  – We are a full-service federal compliance and defense law firm.  Our team will assist you with more than simply employment law compliance. We can help with all other aspects of federal regulatory and statutory compliance also.  In the event that you receive an inquiry from OSHA, the DOL, or any other federal agency, we have the insight and experience you need to respond effectively on your behalf.

In the realm of federal employment law compliance, missteps and oversights can be extraordinarily expensive. Thankfully, these missteps and oversights can be avoided. With a well planned and executed compliance program in place, even if your workers make mistakes, having the ability to demonstrate good-faith compliance efforts can substantially lower your business’ or professional practice’s potential exposure. At Spodek Law Group, we can take you there, and you will feel confident that you are doing all that is required to minimize your risk of liability due to federal employment law violations.

A source of unique challenges for companies in many different industries is environmental compliance. Should your company be subject to oversight by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), our federal compliance team can assist you in meeting your legal obligations and avoiding  the substantial expense of non-compliance.

Environmental compliance signifies different things for different types of business structures. Nonetheless, whether you have the need to comply with federal wetlands protections, meet federal emissions standards, or know how to safely and legally dispose of wastewater or hazardous waste, one thing is certain: For you to avoid huge fines and other sanctions, you need to consider compliance as a high priority.

This law firm’s corporate compliance practice covers all aspects of federal environmental compliance. Our team is able to successfully represent clients ranging from pharmaceutical companies and health care providers to contractors and energy companies.  We provide efficient, cost-conscious, and results-focused legal representation on a national scale. Whether you are in the beginning stages of launching a company or embarking on a new project, or you have come into an unexpected environmental compliance situation on a project that is well underway, our federal compliance lawyers can lay out all your options and help you with informed, legally-compliant decisions that keep your corporate finances in tact.

Federal Environmental Compliance: The 4 Critical Areas

Generally speaking, federal environmental compliance can be segmented into four critical areas.  All of these are subject to the oversight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Critically, these and other issues are frequently dealt with at the state and local levels as well.  Lawyers on our team can assist you with state and local regulatory and compliance matters as well as matters coming under the jurisdiction of the EPA. The four important areas of federal environmental compliance are: (i) air quality, (ii) water quality, (iii) hazardous waste and wastewater disposal, and (iv) wetlands protection.

1. Federal Air Quality Compliance

Federal air quality regulations including the Clean Air Act and various other sources of authority levy strict limitations on pollutants and other hazardous emissions.  They also impose substantial compliance burdens on business owners in a wide array of industries. From processing facilities and chemical plants to ports, mines, and mills, all types of companies are subject to permitting and approval requirements, routine and ad hoc inspections, and vigorous EPA enforcement. Our federal compliance team is at the ready to assist our clients with federal air quality compliance matters as follows:

• Applications for permits under Title V of the Clean Air Act
• Permits under Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT)
• Challenges and appeals against permit application denial
• Emission standards compliance with Clean Air Act Section 112(r)
• New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) emissions standards compliance
• Compliance with standards in federal air pollution
• Credit applications for emission reduction 
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pollutant, air quality, and emissions audits and inspections
• Rulemaking and rule challenges in the EPA

2. Federal Water Quality Compliance

Similarly voluminous burdens come via federal water quality compliance obligations for a variety of different types of entities. Along with the Clean Water Act, a variety of other avenues of federal authority necessitate careful and critical assessment in order to figure out what is prohibited, what is permitted, and when EPA approval is required. In regards to federal water quality compliance, we are equipped to providing you legal advice and representation regarding:

• Permitting and compliance under National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
• Compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
• Permitting and compliance under Clean Water Act Section 404
• Challenges and appeals against permit denial 
• Compliance under the Clean Water Act for Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)
• Compliance with federal water pollution standards
• Water quality certifications
• Environmental Protection Agency rulemaking and rule challenges
• Water quality audits and inspections under the EPA
• Cleanup, mitigation, abatement, and cost recovery

3. Federal Hazardous Waste and Wastewater Disposal Compliance

Hazardous waste and wastewater disposal is potentially the category of environmental compliance that is most broadly pertinent to companies doing business in the United States. The federal regulations and controls with respect to hazardous waste  are far more comprehensive than many entrepreneurs and corporate executives realize.  Unfortunately, this often leads to instances of unintentional non-compliance and subsequent enforcement at the hands of the EPA. Since simply being ignorant of the law is no real defense to liability, companies must make certain that they have a thorough understanding of their federal environmental compliance requirements, and they need to develop comprehensive compliance programs designed to do away with unwanted federal scrutiny.

In the hazardous waste and wastewater disposal realm, here are the federal environmental compliance services we offer:

• Permitting and permit denial challenges and appeals for hazardous waste 
• Compliance in hazardous waste treatment
• Compliance in hazardous waste disposal
• Compliance under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) 
• Compliance under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
• Compliance under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
• Compliance under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act
• Compliance under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, also known as Superfund)
• Compliance with Good Laboratory Practices (GLP)
• Rulemaking and rule challenges involving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Hazardous waste audits and inspections by the EPA
• Cleanup, mitigation, abatement, and cost recovery

4. Federal Wetlands Protection Compliance

Special protections for the nation’s wetlands are established under federal law. For companies that intend to erect buildings or operate near or on protected wetlands, proactive compliance is  a crucial tactic in avoiding sunk expenses and vigorous EPA enforcement. Our lawyers are available to assist clients with circumstances including:

• Permitting and compliance for dredging, filling, and grading
• Permitting and compliance under the Clean Water Act Section 404 
• Compliance under the Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA)
• Compliance assessments and enforcement proceedings under the EPA wetlands protection statues
• Rulemaking and rule challenges involving the EPA

What Risks Come With Non-Compliance?

For companies that are obligated to comply with the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, and a range of federal environmental laws and statutes, what are the risks of non-compliance? The EPA pushes for both civil and criminal enforcement of companies’ statutory and regulatory requirements, and it can seek to impose sanctions in both administrative and judicial proceedings. In criminal cases involving the EPA’s Criminal Enforcement Division, business owners, executives, and other individuals can possibly be exposed to the risk of substantial monetary penalties and even federal imprisonment.

On top of the threat of  EPA enforcement, in numerous cases, accusations of environmental statutory and regulatory non-compliance can raise questions from and spark enforcement action by other federal agencies as well. Agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and even the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can join the fray. Particularly in situations where non-compliance may point to either an intentional violation or intentional disregard of a company’s federal obligations, federal authorities will customarily expand the focus of their inquiries beyond issues that are unique to  compliance with environmental protection laws.

Establishing Compliance with Federal Environmental Laws and Regulations

With such risks in mind, what would it take for your company to institute compliance with all applicable federal environmental laws and regulations? At Spodek Law Group, our team of lawyers rely on centuries of combined federal experience to comprehensively pinpoint the issues that are relevant to our clients’ businesses and create compliance strategies that leave no space for accusations or charges from the EPA or other agencies. In our role as your company’s federal environmental compliance counsel, we will:

Zero In On Your Company’s Particular Compliance Needs – As with every aspect of federal compliance, the best initial step to take is to identify your company’s unique set of compliance needs. We will do all that is required to protect your company.

Prepare Your Applications for All Necessary Permits, Variances, and Approvals – Our lawyers will prepare and prosecute all required applications for permits, variances, and approvals for your business. We will also quickly challenge any denials and file appeals as necessary.

Challenge EPA Rules and Work in Conjunction with EPA Agents as Necessary – Under some circumstances, proposed rulemaking can potentially long-standing plans futile. If a pending regulatory or legislative change is threatening your company or its operations, we can battle it on your company’s behalf.

Draft and Assist with the Implementation of Your Company’s Compliance Program – Internal compliance documentation is paramount in for the purposes of maintaining compliance and demonstrating your commitment to compliance to the EPA. Our lawyers can prepare and work with you through the implementation of the policies and procedures your workplace needs to stay protected.

Give Environmental Compliance Advice on an Consistent and As–Needed Basis – In the area of environmental compliance, new situations can arise suddenly and unexpectedly, frequently on a day-to-day basis. The federal compliance attorneys on our staff can be at your service when and where you need them.

Respond to Inquiries  from the EPA and Other Federal Agencies – Should your company be contacted by the EPA or any other federal agency, a rapid and correct response can be critical to avoiding an invasive and potentially ruinous investigation. In addition to working as your federal compliance counsel, our attorneys also boast an extensive track record of protecting clients in the course of federal audits and investigations.

Help You with Risk Mitigation and Cost Allocation in Private Transactions – Finally, on top of our commitment to assisting with EPA and other federal agency matters, we represent our clients in private transactions and dispute resolution. We can ensure that your contracts with vendors, project partners, and suppliers provide a fair amount of liability protection.  We can even provide vigorous representation for any disputes that may come up.