Overview
Susan focuses her practice on labor, employment, and OSHA compliance, defense, and crisis response. Susan’s practice includes comprehensive OSHA representation of employers across all industry sectors. Her OSHA practice includes compliance assistance, training, citation defense, participation in rulemaking, appellate administrative litigation, whistleblower cases, creation/oversight of PSM/RMP and general OSHA audit programs, and fatality/serious injury accident investigations. She has substantial experience guiding organizations through infectious disease outbreak response and related compliance with the myriad of applicable safety, labor, employment, and public health requirements.
Susan has over 30 years of experience representing employers in all other aspects of the employer-employee relationship as well, including discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, tort claims, contract claims, defamation, wrongful discharge, trade secret, covenants not to compete, duty of loyalty, wage/hour, retaliation, FMLA, ADA, and WARN Act. She has particularly broad experience regarding accommodation and leave issues, with a keen understanding of the interplay between federal/state family and medical leave laws, federal/state disability laws, state/local sick pay and paid family leave laws, OSHA, and workers’ compensation. Her experience extends to representation of employers with unionized workforces and includes collective bargaining, labor arbitration, and unfair labor practice matters and advice relating to contract compliance and grievance handling. She has handled numerous large and small reductions in force and voluntary retirement programs.
Susan conducts and oversees investigations following workplace accidents and infectious disease outbreak as part of her OSHA work. She also is a “go-to” lawyer for crises relating to allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation involving senior and executive leadership. She has a significant track record of meticulous and thoughtful investigative work.
Susan is admitted to practice in the Virginia state courts, Eastern and Western Federal District Courts of Virginia, District of Columbia Superior Court, District of Columbia Federal District Court, Federal District Court of Maryland, Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and US Supreme Court. She has represented employers in employment and/or OSHA/MSHA litigation in almost every state in the continental United States.
Experience
- Successfully defended national meat processing facility in COVID-19 workplace litigation, obtaining dismissal of federally filed lawsuit and defeating a request for injunctive relief.
- Develops and implements PSM/RMP and general occupational safety and health compliance audit programs for employers across all industry sectors.
- Participates in all aspects of OSHA rulemaking, including administrative litigation over final rules.
- Counsels employers regarding OSHA obligations and provides representation in citation contests. Substantial experience in significant injury, infectious disease, and fatality accident investigations.
- Assists companies with the preparation of emergency response plans to address infectious disease outbreaks and other natural and man-made disasters.
- Conducts investigations of allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, including those involving executive leadership and directors.
- Represents employers in lawsuits and agency proceedings in cases involving employment discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, employment torts, contract disputes, retaliation, reduction in force, FCRA, FLSA, FMLA, and wrongful discharge, including class action defense.
- Trains managers and employees on preventative practices to avoid employment litigation and OSHA citation.
- Counsels employers with respect to all facets of the employer/employee relationship, including discrimination and harassment issues, wage and hours issues, safety and health issues, covenants not to compete, and confidentiality agreements.
- Counsels companies regarding access and accommodation obligations under Title III of the ADA.
- Reviews and prepares employee handbooks, corporate policies and employment agreements.
- Represents unionized employer with respect to all aspects of collective bargaining relationship, including contract negotiation, contract interpretation, grievances, arbitration, defense of unfair labor practices, and litigation.
- Represents employers in state law unfair competition, trade secret and business tort cases.
- Provided MSHA advice, accident investigation, and citation defense for mining companies.
- Advice to and representation of federal contractors regarding their anti-discrimination, affirmative action, Davis-Bacon and other legal compliance issues. Preparation of affirmative action plans.
- Preparation, negotiation, and litigation of executive employment agreements.
Accolades
Honors & Recognitions
- Recognized as a Leader in Occupational Safety and Health, USA-Nationwide, Chambers USA, 2022-2023
- Recognized among the 2022 Influential Women of Law by Virginia Lawyers Weekly
- Recommended for Labor and Employment Disputes (Including Collective Actions): Defense, Legal 500 United States, 2021
- Listed as a Labor and Employment Star, District of Columbia, Benchmark Litigation, 2020-2024
- Recognized as a Washington DC Trailblazer by The National Law Journal, 2020
- Runner Up, Litigator of the Week, American Lawyer, May 11, 2020
Affiliations
Professional
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
- Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
- Member, American Bar Association
Insights
Legal Updates
Events & Speaking Engagements
Publications
Blog Posts
News
Education
JD, Wake Forest University School of Law, cum laude, 1989
BA, English and Government, The College of William & Mary, 1984
Admissions
District of Columbia
Virginia
Areas of Focus
- Labor and Employment
- Labor-Management Relations and Labor Litigation
- Unfair Competition and Employee Raiding
- Complex Employment Litigation
- OSHA Compliance, Litigation and Defense
- Affirmative Action and OFCCP Compliance
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Counseling
- Immigration
- Extractive Industries: Mining & Mineral Processing, Oil & Gas
- Crisis Management
- Batteries and Energy Storage
- COVID-19 Litigation
- National Security
- Energy Sector Security Team
- Environmental Release and Incident Response
- Food Industry
- Retail and Consumer Products