Employment Law

Employment law covers a complex network of laws that control how employers must treat employees, former employees, and applicants for employment. Gilkey & Stephenson’s employment law practice provides comprehensive service covering all aspects of employment law, employee benefits law to private sector companies, not-for-profit organizations, and governmental entities.  Through aggressive representation and sound legal advice, we help our clients achieve their business objectives.  Our accessibility and ability to meet client needs on short notice are central to effective, efficient client representation.  We routinely work with labor relations, human resources, and employee benefits managers, as well as business owners and senior executives, and are conscious of business realities, cost management, and relationship needs.  While we focus a good portion of our employment law practice on employment counseling, risk management, and litigation avoidance, we are just as adept in the courtroom, and provide clients with effective and aggressive litigation services.  Our lawyers have significant experience interpreting and applying state and federal statutes and case law in areas involving:

• Appeals
• Breach of non-compete and confidentiality agreements
• Civil rights
• Defamation
• Drug testing
• Employee benefits planning
• Employee privacy
• Employment discrimination (age, race, sex, religious affiliation, disability)
• Employment contracts
• Executive compensation
• Labor law
• Partnership agreements
• Severance agreements
• Sexual harassment 
• Unfair competition
• Whistleblower cases
• Workplace privacy
• Workplace tort claims
• Workplace violence and safety
• Wrongful/retaliatory termination

Many of our cases involve application of Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Sections 1981 and 1983, the New Mexico Human Rights Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), the Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA), the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), administrative claims filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), as well as common law claims recognized in New Mexico. We encourage the use of, and have successfully utilized facilitative mediation and arbitration to minimize the time and expense related to resolving employment disputes.