Overview
– Client Testimonial in Chambers USA
Proactively addressing diversity, gender, and pay equity is a top priority for employers. You look to counsel to be on the pulse of these issues and to help develop plans that are ahead of the curve and protect your organization’s people, culture, and reputation.
McDermott’s global employment lawyers counsel industry-leading public and private companies, boards of directors, and senior executives on employment discrimination, internal investigations, and aligning advice with your business objectives. Our approach goes beyond rote legal recitation to provide comprehensive and business-oriented solutions for protecting the organization’s market position and minimizing legal liability, financial loss, and reputational damage.
Bringing decades of management-side experience in pay equity, discrimination, and harassment lawsuits, McDermott’s employment lawyers combine diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) best practices with deep knowledge of anti-discrimination laws to proactively identify concerns within the organization and deliver customized solutions.
If faced with an employment discrimination lawsuit, our litigators have a proven track record of success, from negotiating early settlements that minimize impact to winning favorable verdicts in arbitration and in state and federal courts.
Capabilities
Pay Equity
McDermott helps global employers comply with the evolving legal frameworks that govern pay equity. Through confidential pay studies in partnership with trusted experts, our lawyers identify and address pay discrepancies based on gender, race, ethnicity, or other factors before challenges arise.
Our employment and executive compensation teams work together to analyze sector-specific pay data, compensation structures, pay equity laws, and board fiduciary responsibilities to help you protect your business. We partner with organizations to:
- Administer a pay study under attorney-client privilege
- Assess pay disparities
- Review policies and pipeline initiatives to identify root causes
- Develop an action plan based on findings – either by implementing policy, pipeline, culture, and other changes compliant with state and federal requirements, or redesigning compensation structures for compliance, impact, and competitive edge
- Conduct assessments on a global basis considering relevant foreign pay equity laws and reporting requirements
Harassment & Employment Discrimination
McDermott takes a proactive approach to help our clients navigate sensitive allegations of workplace harassment and discrimination. Such allegations are becoming increasingly complex to manage, with the rise of such claims being posted directly to social media.
To prevent allegations from arising, our lawyers partner with your in-house legal and human resources teams to evaluate conduct, update policies, provide interactive trainings, and foster a culture of compliance. We work closely with your organization to:
- Conduct harassment prevention training programs for employees across all levels of your organization, as well as offer one-on-one executive leadership training for members of your C-suite and board
- Ensure compliance with state and federal regulations, including the deployment of confidential reporting systems
- Identify potential risks and make informed decisions about allocating compliance resources
If you are faced with a high-stakes harassment or discrimination claim, we work with your in-house teams to respond swiftly and take decisive action, including measures to:
- Conduct an extensive internal investigation and deliver recommendations for corrective action
- Form a special committee of the board to provide necessary independence to the process
- Counsel the board on disclosure obligations to shareholders, regulators, and other stakeholders to mitigate risk for shareholder derivative litigation
- Deploy a crisis management plan, including an appropriate public statement