Katie is a member of Rogers Towers’ Labor and Employment Department. She works closely with employers of all sizes to identify best practices to reduce risk, accomplish business objectives, and consider industry-specific issues. Most issues do not arise in a vacuum. Katie aims to understand each employer’s overall business needs to identify effective and practical solutions.
To accomplish these objectives, Katie assists employers with implementing appropriate policies and procedures and guides employers when decisions involve employment laws, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, and other federal, state and local employment laws.
To establish the foundation for employment decisions, Katie works with employers on the preparation of employment applications, employee handbooks, restrictive covenant agreements, confidentiality agreements, separation agreements, and other employment-related documents and agreements. To educate employers, she provides training for management and non-management employees on key workplace issues. Katie also assists employers with carrying out employee discipline, reductions in force, and complicated employment separations, along with guiding employers through workplace crises and associated employee communications. She assists employers with enforcement of restrictive covenant agreements and prepares executive employment agreements, both individually and in conjunction with larger business transactions.
When claims are asserted against employers, Katie defends employers against charges of discrimination, arbitration demands, and lawsuits filed in state and federal court. She routinely defends employers against claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Labor, Office of Personnel Management, Office for Civil Rights, Florida Commission on Human Relations, and other state and federal agencies. She also routinely defends employers in cases filed by current and former employees alleging discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; whistleblower retaliation; wage and hour violations, including unpaid minimum wage, unpaid overtime, and misclassification issues; FMLA interference and retaliation; ADA violations, including failure to accommodate; and other federal and state law claims.
