Mekesha represents management in the areas of union negotiations and arbitration and employment discrimination/wrongful discharge. She has successfully represented companies defending against class and collective actions alleging employment discrimination and wage and hour violations, including class actions under the FMLA, collective actions under the FLSA and EEOC-initiated class actions. Mekesha regularly provides advice and counsel to management responding to union-initiated grievances and has represented management in numerous labor arbitrations. She also has significant experience dealing with issues arising from covenants not to compete and with ERISA and Employee Benefits Litigation.
Mekesha’s Labor & Employment practice includes working with employers to:
- Negotiate collective bargaining agreements that are beneficial to the business but at the same time maintaining or even improving relationships with the union;
- Win labor arbitrations;
- Successfully defend employment discrimination cases;
- Navigate complex and time-consuming class and collective actions to successful resolutions;
- Build policies and procedures that help to avoid litigation; and
- Defend or prosecute non-compete/non-solicitation agreements.
Understanding that each client has different pain points and objectives in dealing with labor & employment matters, Mekesha stays informed with what is happening within the clients’ industries she serves by attending industry events, reading industry publications and satisfying her natural nosiness through facility tours and field trips. This approach allows her to understand not only the legal challenges her clients are facing, but how those challenges directly impact operations. As a result, she can help to steer clients through a multitude of issues with an immediate understanding of the business context of the legal decisions.