Employment Law,
Discrimination & Retaliation

NELSON HESSE, LLP provides a wide variety of legal services in the field of labor and employment law. We can consult with you and your company to enable you to effectively comply with the maze of federal, state and local laws and regulations. When compliance efforts have failed, we can help you defend a lawsuit or administrative claim.

With more than forty-five years experience in representing many sizeable corporate and governmental entities as general counsel, NELSON HESSE, LLP has a client-oriented perspective that can be gained only from close, day-to-day operations-level involvement in client business affairs. We are committed to being only a telephone call away from the human resources managers of our employer clients — ready to answer spur-of-the-moment questions with authoritative advice on a timely basis.

Development of personnel policies and procedures manuals and employee handbooks, including the dozens of forms now required for compliance with various federal and state regulatory schemes, is a significant part of the legal services that NELSON HESSE, LLP can provide to you. The paper chase is alive, well, and unavoidable in today's era of government oversight, but it can (and must) be managed appropriately to avoid civil or criminal liability, penalties, and fines.

NELSON HESSE, LLP also provides full-scale legal compliance audits and management-initiated investigations of employer operations, practices and procedures relating to workplace issues such as employment discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, sex, national origin, age, disability, religion, pregnancy and veteran’s status. We have helped employers achieve major reduction in their workers' compensation costs by analyzing risk management procedures, insurance company reserve settings, and claims handling practices, as well as by implementing drug-free workplace programs and mandatory safety regulations. Development of coordinated Family and Medical Leave Act policies has also saved employers significant money with respect to employee use of sick leave and workers’ compensation leave.

In today’s competitive environment, and especially in the various high-tech industries, you may find it increasingly desirable (and, in many instances, absolutely necessary) to require key employees to enter into written employment contracts. The contracts limit the employee's ability to take advantage of your training and job experience and then leave for the greener pasture of a competitor with your confidential business information such as client lists, proprietary processes, cost and sales information, etc. NELSON HESSE, LLP can help you develop contracts that offer significant protection from this kind of conduct, incorporating confidentiality and non-competition covenants into employment contracts that preserve the employer’s right to manage its workforce.

An increasing number of our clients, particularly in the manufacturing and building construction sectors, rely on NELSON HESSE, LLP to provide periodic on-site training programs to management level staff. These programs teach managers how to handle of sexual or racial harassment complaints, how to prevent inadvertent worker’s compensation retaliation actions, and how to respond appropriately to whistle blower complaints, all of which are becoming increasingly common. We tailor all training to the particular client and its workforce, and frequently we use weekend or after-hours training sessions to reduce employee downtime.

When threat of litigation arises, our experienced attorneys can often assist in heading off an actual lawsuit by use of various negotiation strategies and alternate dispute resolution techniques. If all efforts fail and a lawsuit or demand for arbitration is filed, NELSON HESSE, LLP is well-prepared to defend you against such actions in both state and federal courts and in the arbitration arena.

Contrary to the practice of some labor and employment law firms, except in the case of conflicts with existing employer clients, NELSON HESSE, LLP does not limit its representation to an employer/management clientele.

We believe that everyone has a right to retain legal counsel to protect their rights and interests from illegal actions by others. We also believe that representing both employers and employees helps our clients by keeping our attorneys attuned to the current practices and tactics being used successfully on both sides of the issues. We have a balanced perspective that frequently contributes to the settlement of disputes without the need for time-consuming and expensive litigation.

NELSON HESSE, LLP represents individuals in claims against employers for discrimination, harassment and retaliation based on sex, pregnancy, disability, age, race, national origin, religion and veteran’s status, as well as in claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act and various state and federal whistleblowers laws. The firm’s employment attorneys regularly practice before the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Florida Commission on Human Relations, administrative hearing officers, federal and state courts. Claims of this type for employees are generally handled on a contingent fee basis.

For further information regarding our services in the area of  employment law, contact Omer Causey at 941-366-7550.

Email Mr. Causey

Please include the names of all parties to allow us to check for conflicts of interests. Do not send any confidential information until it can be determined whether any conflict of interest exists. No attorney-client relationship is established until such time as a written representation agreement or letter of engagement is fully executed by NELSON HESSE, LLP and the client.