Employment Law

Compliance with employment laws can be one of the most pressing concerns for any organization, whether you are a new business hiring its first employee or a large employer facing a major down-sizing.  We help management make sense of the myriad of labor and employment laws, regulations, and court decisions, and we offer practical advice tailored to meet a client’s business needs. Clients come to us looking for solutions.  Our commitment is to provide prompt and strategic advice.  The advice will be delivered in clear and declarative language; our clients do not want a legal brief that leaves them struggling to discern the answer.  Lawsuits by disgruntled employees and former employees are a constant threat to employers.  We work with clients in a proactive partnership to minimize the risks of a lawsuit being filed.  We achieve this through preventative measures such as policy development, training and HR audits, and also by timely counsel in key personnel decisions.

Brann & Isaacson advises employers in all areas of day-to-day employee relations matters. Our clients want a partner who can respond in minutes to the unexpected personnel matter that calls for legal advice.

Clients turn to us for advice on terminations – whether an individual or a mass layoff. We steer clients through investigations, termination assessments, termination letters, WARN Act and severance pay notices, unemployment, references, confidentiality, severance, and COBRA. We draft separation agreements.

On wage and hour matters, we advise on exempt/non-exempt status, overtime, minimum wage, independent contractor status, FLSA, and a host of related compliance issues.

We counsel employers about workplace safety and OSHA compliance, and we defend enforcement actions.  

Brann & Isaacson works with both public and private sector employers in the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements and contract administration. In the event of a dispute, we handle arbitrations and unfair labor practice proceedings before the NLRB and state labor relation agencies. 

Brann & Isaacson is regularly hired as special outside counsel to conduct high profile, sensitive internal investigations. We support our clients with their own internal employee investigations.

In the event of a lawsuit, we provide seasoned trial counsel. We vigorously defend employers before state agencies, the EEOC, and federal and state courts in wrongful discharge, wage and hour, harassment, and discrimination claims, including claims based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, FLSA, FMLA, COBRA, WARN Act, ADEA, ADA, EPA, and OWBPA, as well as parallel state statutes. 

Brann & Isaacson attorneys draft and review employment policies and employee handbooks, and keep clients informed of emerging developments through newsletters, alerts, and seminars.

Our training programs include workshops on performance management and termination, performance evaluation, workplace harassment and discrimination, managing leaves of absence and attendance, and interviewing and hiring.  

Brann & Isaacson lawyers share their knowledge and expertise throughout the year as regular speakers at employment and HR conferences and workshops, including: The Maine HR Conference, Samoset; Annual Employment Law Update, Central Maine Human Resources Association; Maine Rural Water Association Annual Conference; Maine School Management Annual Conference; and the L.L. Bean In-House HR Law Training.

Recent presentations include:

On December 3, 2020, Peter Lowe joined a webinar sponsored by Career Management Associates on “Looking Ahead to HR Workplace Issues in 2021.”

On October 15, 2020, B&I participated in a webinar with Career Management Associates on “Preparing Employers for Maine’s New Earned Paid Leae

On September 15, 2016, Peter Lowe presented a workshop to the Maine Society for Healthcare, Human Resources Administration (MSHHRA) titled “Diversity in the Workplace: Legal Review of Religious Discrimination and Accommodation. The workshop focused on the challenges and opportunities faced by employers when addressing sensitive religious and cultural issues in the workplace.

On October 7, 2016, Dan Stockford presented a workshop to the Northeast Occupational Health Nurses Association titled “Impairment in the Workplace, A Legal Review of the Challenges Presented by Medical Marijuana and Other Drugs at Work.”

On October 28, 2016, Peter Lowe presented at the annual MSMA Fall Conference. The topic was “Understanding the Rights of Transgendered Students in Public Schools.

On October 28, 2016, Dan Stockford presented at the annual MSMA Fall Conference. The topic was “How to Navigate School District Withdrawals.”

On October 28, 2016, Nat Bessey led a clinic on Constitutional Rights in the Classroom at the Maine School Management Association’s Annual meeting in Augusta, ME. The clinic, intended for an audience of superintendents and school board members covered key court decisions regarding issues of student speech, searches, and discipline, and the sometimes delicate balance between constitutional rights and the legitimate needs of school administration in the special context of the public school classroom.

Our firm publishes the Maine Employment Law Letter, the leading employment law newsletter in Maine. We are also regular contributors to the HR Insight, a national newsletter for HR Professionals. 

Augusta School Department
Bangor School Department
Career Management Associates
City of Auburn
City of Lewiston
City of Presque isle
Clyde Bergemann Bachmann
DeLorme Publishing Company, Inc.
ENEFCO
Erving Paper Mills, Inc.
Finance Authority of Maine (FAME)
Five County Credit Union
Forest Avenue Veterinary Hospital
Formed Fiber Technologies, Inc.
Garrand & Co.
Georgetown School Department
Home, Hope & Healing
Image, Inc. d/b/a Poland Spring Resort
The Island Institute
Johnson Management Corp. d/b/a Don’s Electric
Lewiston-Auburn 911
L.L. Bean, Inc.
Lee Auto Malls
Lincoln Academy
Maine Audubon
Maine Center for Cancer Medicine
Maine Rural Water Association
Maine Oxy Acetylene Supply Co.
MSAD No. 75
Norton Financial
Pediatric Associates
Plastic Surgery Center
Reed & Reed
Savage Safe Handling
Seaman Paper Company
Sure Winner Foods
Town of Chebeague Island
Town of Hartford
Town of Lisbon
Town of Wiscasset
Waban Projects, Inc.

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