Labor, Employment and Benefits

Wiggin and Dana has been providing employers with extensive advice and advocacy in the realm of employee relations since the firm’s inception in 1934. With clients across the country and across the world, we provide dynamic, personalized, and cost-attentive legal services designed to fit your company’s labor, employment, and benefits needs.

Our highly-skilled attorneys draw on a wealth of experience to respond quickly and efficiently in the fast-paced and ever-changing world of labor, employment, and benefits law with creative solutions aimed at minimizing risk, litigation, and governmental intrusion into your business affairs. From publicly traded corporations to mid-sized businesses and tax-exempt institutions, we serve the employer community in a broad range of industries, including utilities, financial services, publishing, communications, entertainment, transportation, education, insurance, banking, manufacturing, biotechnology and healthcare. As a result, our attorneys are able to provide sound industry-focused insight into the labor, employment, and benefits challenges that have been—or inevitably will be—encountered by your business. In addition, as practitioners in a full-service firm, we work closely with our colleagues in other practice areas, including corporate, mergers and acquisitions, insurance, IP, and real estate law, to get a wide range of outside perspectives on particular issues impacting your business.

Our proficiencies include:

Affirmative Action:

• Preparation of Executive Order 11246, VEVRAA, and 503 affirmative action plans
• OFCCP Compliance Reviews
• Workplace Training Sessions

Employment Practices, Counseling and Litigation:

• Affirmative Action Plans
• Competition, Solicitation, and Trade Secret Law
• Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation Claims
• Electronic Communications, Social Media and Information Security
• Government/OFCCP Audits
• Hiring, Performance Management, Discipline and Termination
• Internal Investigations
• OSHA Proceedings
• Wage and Hour Disputes, including Class and Collective Actions
• Whistleblower Claims
• Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Claims
• Workplace Training and Legal Compliance

Labor Management Relations:

• Labor Contract Negotiations
• National Labor Relations Board Proceedings
• Grievance Processing and Labor Arbitration Hearings
• Union Elections, including Decertification Elections

Immigration and Nationality Law and Compliance:

• Compliance Services
• Non-Immigrant Visa Services
• Immigrant Visa Services
• Consular Services
• Citizenship and Nationality Services
• Global Visa Services

Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation:

• Benefit Plan Design and Administration
• Employee Stock Ownership Plans
• ERISA Compliance and Litigation
• Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits
• Healthcare Reform Planning and Implementation
• Multi-Employer Withdrawal Liability Negotiations
• Qualified and Non-Qualified Retirement Plans

Given our wealth and range of experience, we have been on the front lines of labor, employment, and benefits disputes, including complex jury and bench trials, union negotiations, arbitrations, hearings before the National Labor Relations Board, and administrative proceedings before the Department of Labor, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and numerous other federal, state and local agencies. At the same time, we understand that anticipating workplace problems before they happen is critical to the success of your business. To that end, we keep our clients informed about the latest legal issues and developments through email alerts, training seminars and client briefings. These educational opportunities are designed so you can spend less time with us, and more time conducting your business.