What Does A Human Resources Attorney Do?

Our Davis Business Law Tulsa human resources attorneys try to keep our clients’ businesses running smoothly and keep problems from arising. We believe that preventing human resources problems from occurring enables business owners to focus on what they do best – growing their business.

Our human resources attorneys can design and implement your employment policies and properly train managers and employees in legal requirements. We would love to help you secure your business in ways including implementing an employee handbook, designing anti-discrimination policies, and ensuring your company properly follows wage and hour laws. Call us today at (918) 900-0192 or contact us online for a free consultation about what your business may need.

Policies and Procedures

Employee Handbooks

A good employee handbook contains all the guidelines and procedures necessary to comply with employment laws, to protect your company, and to help the employer-employee relationship flourish. Your employee handbook should be as unique as your company and tailored to fit. Our Tulsa human resources attorneys see problems arise when employers use a generic template or another company’s handbook for their business.

Davis Business Law employment lawyers work closely with our clients to draft and review their employment policies and practices. We prepare employee handbooks to define the rights and responsibilities of the employer and the employee, to ensure the business abides by employment laws, and to reduce the company’s potential legal liabilities.

Employee and Contractor Agreements

In addition to an employee handbook, employee and contractor agreements can also define the employment relationship, and protect the company from potential harm. Errors or omissions in an employment agreement can cause serious legal problems for a business. Courts will sometimes refuse to enforce ambiguous or overbroad agreement terms. Davis Business Law’s human resources attorneys help our clients prepare efficient, effective, and enforceable agreements.

Non-Competition Agreements

A non-competition agreement, or a covenant not to compete, is generally meant to prevent a former employee from competing against a former employer, whether individually or when working for a competing business. It is a type of employment contract most employers commonly seek – but in Oklahoma it must be carefully drafted to have any enforceability.

In Oklahoma, broad non-competition agreements are generally not enforceable.  But, Oklahoma law allows a non-competition agreement to prevent a former employee from competing against a former employer by going after that business’s established customers. An employer’s focus should be on protecting its confidential information, trade secrets, and relationships with existing customers.

Said another way, a former employee can compete against the former employer. But, the former employee cannot do it using the employer’s confidential information or by directly soliciting the former employer’s established clients. Oklahoma courts Davis Business Law’s Tulsa human resources attorneys can help you draft an agreement of appropriate scope to give you the best chance of enforcing the agreement in court.

Non-Solicitation Agreement

Non-solicitation agreements prohibit a former employee from trying to solicit or steal your company’s customer or other employees. This type of agreement can work together with a non-compete.

Non-Disclosure Agreement

A non-disclosure agreement protects the company’s confidential information and trade secrets. Oklahoma law gives employers more latitude to enforce properly crafted non-disclosure agreements between an employer and its employee, contractor, or vendor.

Confidential information and trade secrets can often be more valuable to a company than its physical assets. Your company has unique strategies, pricing information, customer contacts, databases, and other private information that could cause irreparable damage if a competitor obtained it. Our Tulsa employment attorneys can help your business protect its confidential information through a well-written non-disclosure agreement.

Representing Businesses In Human Resources-Related Cases

Even with good practices and policies, a current or former employee can still sue an employer. Defending an employment lawsuit is common and almost a rite of passage for a growing business. Below are some of the more common types of human resources-related lawsuits our Tulsa employment attorneys defend.

Wrongful Termination Claims

Absent a contract for a term of employment, the employment relationship is generally “at-will,” meaning either the employer or the employee can end the relationship at any time and for any reason. But, there are limits to “at-will” employment. An employer cannot terminate employment or make a material employment decision (such as failure to hire or promote) for an unlawful reason.

A large category of unlawful reasons to make an employment decision falls under discrimination law, discussed below. But, there are others. For example, an employer cannot retaliate against an employee for the doing the following things:

• Filing a workers’ compensation claim;
• Complaining about safety issues;
• Taking protected leave;
• Discussing wages or working conditions with other employees;
• Raising the issue of not being properly paid; or
• Opposing unlawful discrimination.

If an employee files a wrongful termination complaint or lawsuit against your company, our Tulsa human resources attorneys can fight back to help you prove that you lawfully made your employment decisions.

Discrimination Claims

One of the largest areas of human resources law is employment discrimination. Suppose a company fails to hire, fires, demotes, reassigns, or makes another material employment decision about an employee based upon the employee’s status in a protected class. In such a case, the employee can file a discrimination claim.

Protected classes include:

• Race;
• Gender;
• Religion;
• National Origin;
• Sexual Orientation;
• Age;
• Disability;
• Marital Status; and
• Pregnancy.

In addition to prohibiting employment decisions based upon protected classes, the law also requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. An employer must make a good faith effort to engage an employee in an interactive accommodation process. Our Tulsa human resources attorneys can help guide you through that.

Wage & Hour

Complex laws and regulations govern how employers must pay employees, how many hours some employees can work, and how much to pay the employee.

Many employers mistakenly believe that simply paying an employee a salary absolves the employer from responsibility to pay overtime wages. That belief is a misconception which often causes lawsuits. Let Davis Business Law help you navigate wage and hour laws to avoid legal trouble.

Contact an Experienced Attorney Today

As your business grows, complying with human resources laws and regulations becomes an increasing burden. Many Davis Business Law clients have grown so large they can no longer handle all human resource compliance, but they also cannot hire in-house counsel.

Call Davis Business Law’s Tulsa employment attorneys today at (918) 900-0192, or contact us online, to discuss how we can serve as counsel for all your human resources needs.