• EEO/Employment Litigation
• Class and Collective Employment Litigation
• Trade Secret/Non-Compete Litigation
• U.S. Department of Labor Claims
• ERISA Litigation
• Litigation Arising Under Collective Bargaining Agreements and Employment Contracts
• Whistleblower and Retaliation Claims
• Arbitration
• OSHA Litigation

Kiesewetter Wise has a long history of litigating employment claims in defense of employers. Our attorneys have confronted virtually every type of employment law claim, both federal and state, covering the entire field of employment litigation.

EEO/Employment Litigation

Kiesewetter Wise represents management defending discrimination charges before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state human rights commissions, as well as civil litigation in federal and state court litigation across the country. Kiesewetter Wise routinely defends clients from claims raised under the various federal and state equal employment statutes, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. We routinely defend employers and managers from various workplace harassment claims. In addition, we routinely defend employers against claims asserted under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and other federal and state statutes regulating the workplace. We also represent clients in state court litigation involving statutory, contract, and tort theories of wrongful discharge, unjust dismissal, breach of employment contracts and similar claims asserted by both employees and former employees.

Class and Collective Employment Litigation

The attorneys of Kiesewetter Wise have had extensive experience defending employers in a wide variety of class and representative actions. Our attorneys have defended both federal class actions arising under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as well as state class actions in a variety of jurisdictions. We have defended class actions asserting claims under a variety of federal and state statutes including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Additionally, we have defended collective actions brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Our firm is a member of the National Wage and Hour Defense Institute. We also have defended employers in significant representative actions brought by federal agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

Trade Secret/Non-Compete Litigation

Kiesewetter Wise has significant national experience in litigating non-compete, non-solicitation, and trade secret cases. Our experience includes protecting employers trade secrets and business interests by seeking injunctive relief to stop the unlawful use and disclosure of trade secrets or competition in violation of non-competition or non-solicitation agreements. We have also sought damages to compensate employers who have been harmed by such unlawful acts. The Firm also represents employers who have been sued because they have employed an employee who is accused of possessing or misusing trade secrets or violating a non-competition or non-solicitation agreement.

U.S. Department of Labor Claims

Kiesewetter Wise represents clients before the United States Department of Labor and its various subdivisions. Our representation includes the defense of claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act, Wage and Hour cases under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and claims under the Occupational Safety and Health Act. We also assist clients in preparing and implementing Affirmative Action Plans under Executive Order 11246, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act and defend clients in administrative proceedings and audits before the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

ERISA Litigation

Kiesewetter Wise defends claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The Firms’ attorneys have represented employers, pension plans, health and welfare plans, and their administrators and fiduciaries in a broad range of litigation from simple claims for employee health benefits to complex class actions involving claims of fiduciary misrepresentation.

Litigation Arising Under Collective Bargaining Agreements and Employment Contracts

Kiesewetter Wise has a broad range of experience defending employers from breach of contract suits arising under both individual employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements with unions in both the private and public sector.

Whistleblower and Retaliation Claims

Kiesewetter Wise defends whistleblower and retaliation claims brought under a variety of federal and state statutes, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Sarbanes Oxley, and a host of state and federal regulatory statutes that contain whistleblower and retaliation protections. We bring our experience in managing not only the claim process but working with our clients to manage public relations concerns.

Arbitration

Kiesewetter Wise has routinely defended employers in arbitration proceedings arising under both the arbitration provisions of collective bargaining agreements and under individually executed arbitration agreements.

OSHA Litigation

Members of the Firm have successfully represented employers in large scale plant explosion cases as well as individual OSHA citations. The Firm has experience representing clients in inspections and litigation involving both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and state agencies in cases such as large scale chemical plant fire accidents, death cases involving cyanide poisoning and an industrial press-related accident and more run of the mill cases involving failure to guard machinery, lock out tag out regulations, working at heights, violations of the general duty clause, etc.