Meredith Gregston

Meredith focuses her employment practice on affirmative action, pay equity, and diversity and inclusion, regularly assisting clients with a variety of employment matters, such as retaliation and discrimination claims, investigations, and day-to-day counseling.

Meredith provides advice and counseling on day-to-day employee-related and compliance matters, ranging from Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) matters to termination best practices, restrictive covenants, and employment agreements, as well as advancements and changes in the pay equity space. She regularly assists clients through pay equity disputes and internal audits, and on global compliance with pay equity legislation. She also advises clients, including federal contractors, on affirmative action, legislative and regulatory changes affecting employment matters for federal contractors, and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) compliance issues, developing affirmative action plans and representing companies during the audit process.

Meredith also advises private equity funds and public and private companies on labor and employment-related risks and considerations in complex transactions and restructurings across a multitude of industries, including technology, retail, life sciences and healthcare, aerospace, energy, and telecommunications. She regularly conducts labor and employment-related due diligence and risk assessment for multi-national mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations and sales, and counsels clients on workforce integration and separation considerations. Meredith offers clients innovative and pragmatic solutions, and leverages her extensive experience in representing both employers and management in drafting and negotiating executive employment and separation agreements, consulting agreements, and restrictive covenants.

Meredith frequently partners with companies to analyze and develop diversity and inclusion initiatives, and to analyze compensation programs, to not only ensure they are in compliance with applicable law, but to help them achieve internal equity and other goals.

Meredith’s litigation practice includes all aspects of employment law, such as discrimination, harassment, retaliation, trade secrets, and wage and hour issues. She represents employers in state and federal courts, as well as proceedings before the Texas Workforce Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the OFCCP.

Meredith is actively involved in the National Industry Liaison Group (ILG), along with local ILGs, which assist federal contractors in obtaining education and networking with fellow federal contractors. Her role on the Board of the National ILG allows her to collaborate with OFCCP, EEOC, and other governmental agencies to address key issues faced by the contractor community and helps her stay current on regulatory changes and other agency developments.

Prior to joining the firm, Meredith was in-house counsel at a mutual fund where she addressed day-to-day employment law issues, managed employment matters in international offices, and helped develop employment policies. Her in-house experience, along with other prior secondments, gives her a unique perspective on how to balance business needs and objectives with various initiatives, and assists her in providing meaningful and cost-effective advice.

Relevant Experience

• Represents government contractors and subcontractors in OFCCP audits regarding compliance with affirmative action laws and regulations.
• Prepares affirmative action plans for government contractors and subcontractors, and counsels government contractors and subcontractors regarding all aspects of affirmative action obligations under federal law.
• Counsels employers in developing and implementing meaningful and lawful diversity and inclusion initiatives.
• Counsels employers in pay equity analyses and investigations, as well as other employment data analytics.