Chris Hesse successfully defended Bridgewood Health Care Center in a charge of race discrimination brought by a former employee. On September 30, 2011, the City of Kansas City, Missouri Human Relations Department issued a “No Probable Cause” Determination and dismissed the charge.
HM is proud to announce that Attorney Janis Merrill received the John McDonald Award, given by the Arizona State Bar Association to a lawyer for exemplary service to Arizona’s public schools. Janis is a highly respected education lawyer and has served for a number of years as Tri-District Legal Counsel to Tempe Elementary, Tempe Union and Kyrenne Elementary, and this award was richly deserved.
Janis is widely recognized as being one of the premier education lawyers in the State of Arizona, and HM is honored that she has chosen to continue her practice with the Firm.
HM is pleased to announce that Allison Taylor has rejoined the Firm after serving as Interim General Counsel for a national company headquartered in St. Louis (where she managed nationwide civil, commercial and employment litigation).
Allison returns as a Principal with the Firm and will be practicing in the areas of employment law and labor law in addition to handling general business, corporate and intellectual properties matters.
Hesse Martone Partner Andy Martone has been selected for inclusion in the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® in the practice areas of:
Employment Law – Management
Labor Law – Management
Litigation – Labor & Employment
Selection to Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprising of more than 3.9 million confidential evaluations by top attorneys. Andy has been repeatedly selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for a number of years.
Hesse Martone Partner Chris Hesse was asked to write the keynote chapter for Inside The Minds: Navigating Municipal Employment Issues. Chris wrote the chapter entitled “Succeeding as a Municipal Employment Lawyer: Overcoming Conflicts and Negotiating Wisely.”
Navigating Municipal Employment Issues will be published in 2011 and will be available from Aspatore Books.
Hesse Martone is pleased to announce that William J. Clark, IV has joined the Firm as Senior Counsel in the Saint Louis office. Bill brings over 20 years of experience in Missouri state and federal courts, in administrative agencies, and in alternative dispute resolution. Bill will be concentrating his practice in labor and employment and in civil litigation. You can review Bill’s experience and qualifications here, and you can find the announcement here. Contact Bill by telephone at 314.862.0300 or by email at billclark@hessemartone.com.
Back on December 22, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that it was considering a rule that would require private employers to notify all of their employees about their rights and explain how employees could go about joining a union.
Today that rule became a reality. All employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act are required to “post a copy of a notice advising employees of their rights under the NLRA and providing information pertaining to the enforcement of those rights.” An employer who fails to post this notice has committed an unfair labor practice. A copy of the NLRB’s rule can be found here.
If you would like assistance in interpreting and complying with this new rule, please contact Andy Martone (andymartone@hessemartone.com) or Dan Doetzel (dandoetzel@hessemartone.com).
For some time, the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund has been considering adopting an alternative method of calculating withdrawal liability. On August 4, 2011, Central States announced that its Board of Trustees amended the pension plan to provide for a hybrid method of calculating withdrawal liability that would become effective upon approval by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”). A copy of the Fund’s announcement can be located here [link].
If you would like a copy of HM’s fact sheet on Central States’ direct attribution and a copy of Central States’ response, please email Andy Martone at andymartone@hessemartone.com
Hesse Martone Partners Chris Hesse and Dan Doetzel have been appointed to the faculty at Enterprise University where they will teach curriculum related to employment law. Their first course – “Employment Pitfalls – What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You!” – will be taught in the fall semester, with Chris teaching the St. Louis courses and Dan teaching the Arizona courses.
Enterprise University offers hard-hitting practical courses taught by recognized experts in their field. It is offered free to business owners and leaders – attendees do not have to be clients of Enterprise Bank & Trust.
On July 29, 2011 the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri dismissed more than 15 employment-based civil rights claims filed by multiple plaintiffs against the Village of Bel Nor, its Chief of Police, one of its Aldermen and a Lieutenant on its police force. The Village of Bel Nor was represented by Andy Martone, Chris Hesse and a number of members of the Hesse Martone Team. Plaintiffs are represented by Chet Pleban and Lynette Petruska. Copies of the Court’s Orders are here.