Labor and Employment
Fennemore Craig advises and defends management in virtually all aspects of the employment relationship. Our employer clients range from large mining and utility companies to small service and professional firms.Our clients benefit from our significant experience in working with corporate counsel, human resources professionals and management to develop programs designed to improve and define employment relationships and reduce the likelihood that disputes will arise. We regularly draw upon the expertise of our attorneys in other practice areas to address the distinct but related issues that often arise.
Labor Management
Fennemore Craig counsels clients concerning union avoidance, collective bargaining, strike management, and contract interpretation and administration. We also represent our clients in labor arbitrations, National Labor Relations Board proceedings, and in contested cases in state and federal courts.
Employment Relationships
We counsel employers with regard to personnel policies and procedures, individual employment decisions, drug and alcohol testing policies, and compliance with state and federal statutes and regulations. Our attorneys have substantial experience in employment-related litigation involving allegations of breach of employment contract, wrongful termination, employment discrimination, and related tort actions. We appear frequently on behalf of clients before federal and state administrative agencies, including the United States Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Arizona Civil Rights Division, and the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Our clients are invited to attend periodic employment law seminars, at which we discuss recent developments in the law and emerging client concerns.
Workers' Compensation
Fennemore Craig provides legal representation and counsel in the area of workers' compensation to a number of major corporations. The firm represents employers in litigation before the Industrial Commission of Arizona and Arizona's appellate courts. We also advise clients on the various legal, medical and administrative issues which arise in connection with the workers' compensation claims outside the litigation arena. The firm's attorneys also prepare legislative proposals, lobby and testify before legislative committees on workers' compensation matters.
Unemployment Compensation
Fennemore Craig's unemployment compensation practice includes a full range of services relating to unemployment insurance, taxes and benefits. We represent employers defending against claims for benefits by ex-employees at all levels - Appeal Tribunal (hearing officer), Appeals Board and Court of Appeals. We also represent employers in disputes with the Department of Economic Security as to whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor, or over the amount of contributions (taxes) owed. We have participated extensively in legislative revisions to the unemployment insurance statutes and in DES rule-making proceedings to adopt or revise the voluminous rules governing unemployment cases.
Employee Benefits
Fennemore Craig has an extensive practice counseling employers on all aspects of the design, implementation, and operation of qualified retirement, profit sharing, and executive compensation plans, including employee stock ownership plans and Section 401(k) savings plans. We routinely represent employers on qualified plan matters before the Internal Revenue Service, the Department of Labor, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. We regularly advise clients concerning fiduciary and prohibited transaction issues. We also advise employers regarding the implications and liabilities involved with participation in multi-employer union pension plans.
The firm regularly advises clients on the tax implications and laws governing the provision of medical benefits, disability coverage, and life insurance, including employers' liability for health continuation coverage under COBRA.
Benefits Litigation
Attorneys James Trimble, Christopher Staring and Erwin Kratz defend employers, benefit plans, insurance companies, plan consultants and others in the employment benefits industry. They are experienced litigators, handling disputes involving plan administration, allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, and claims for retirement benefits, disability benefits and medical benefits.
Immigration
The Fennemore Craig Immigration Practice represents both domestic and international companies on the work authorization issues of foreign national employees. The Immigration Practice compliments the firm’s full range of labor and employment legal services. Fennemore Craig’s commitment to immigration legal services reflects the growing demands from employers for result-oriented assistance in recruiting highly qualified workers worldwide for specialized fields, such as health care and the tech sector.
Immigration Practice attorney Nancy-Jo Merritt, assisted by a team of experienced paralegals, aid U.S. businesses in obtaining and maintaining the appropriate immigration status for foreign professionals and highly skilled workers. They also counsel multi-national clients in the international relocation of employees to such diverse locations as Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and Pacific Rim countries, as well as the United States. They also assist employers who want to provide sponsorship for foreign workers who wish to obtain lawful permanent resident status, or a "green card."
The Immigration Practice counsels employers on compliance with federal law requiring verification of employee eligibility to work in the United States and advises employers regarding audits and documentation requests from the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service), the Department of Labor, the Social Security Administration, and the new Bureau of Immigration and Custom Enforcement. Development of internal policies for management of the myriad issues facing employers with foreign national employees in their workforce is also a focus.
Business and Professional Visas
Business travel now frequently encompasses global destinations. Fennemore Craig’s Immigration Practice assists companies with securing necessary visas for business travel around the world. Timely processing of visa requests is facilitated by a state-of the art web-based, secure portal site available to clients round-the-clock, putting necessary forms immediately within reach and positioning them for immediate submittal.
Citizenship Matters for Foreign Executives and Professionals
Citizenship applications, changes, and processing for foreign executives and professionals are handled routinely by the Immigration Practice in support of business clients both in the United States and abroad.
Corporate Compliance and Policy Development
The impact of federal legislation oriented toward tightened national security, as well as state and federal legislation addressing the status of immigrants seeking work in the United States, has complicated corporate compliance. The firm offers the experience and knowledge needed to help business ensure that employment-eligibility verification responsibilities are met and that business clients comply with the regulations of federal agencies, which include the newly organized Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, now part of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the Department of Labor, the Department of State and the Social Security Administration. In addition, the firm helps clients respond to government inspections and search warrants.
Immigration Visas and Permanent Resident Processing, Labor Certificates
The Fennemore Craig Immigration Practice has expertise in United States, Mexican and Canadian immigration matters, which include lawful permanent resident status or "green cards," the I-9 process, alien labor certifications, L-1 visas, H-1B visas, Canadian permanent residence, TN status, and Canadian employment authorizations.
Fennemore Craig Immigration Portal Tracking
Fennemore Craig’s Client Portal enables Immigration Practice clients to access documents and necessary visa forms anytime through a secure pass-code system. In turn, clients can upload completed forms for prompt attention by the firm, saving valuable time. Clients can have their workers at locations all over the world upload completed applications to the portal site during their normal work-day, which immediately places the completed application in front of the client’s human resource administrators and the firm attorneys for processing. In addition, clients can track the progress of labor certifications, employment authorizations, and visas round-the-clock from any web-connected computer.
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