Burleson Attorneys Share Strategies For Handling Complex Overtime Issues And Avoiding Litigation

HOUSTON, Jan. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Burleson Partner Andrea "AJ" Johnson and Associate Demetri Economou will lead a complimentary seminar on the best practices for handling advanced overtime matters.  The event will be held on Jan. 27 at the JW Marriott in Houston from 8 to 10:30 a.m. and will include breakfast. 

The course is designed to provide training for human resources practitioners, C-suite managers, and in-house lawyers on a broad range of topics, including:

• The Fair Labor Standards Act and the risk of individual liability
• Strategies for responding to investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor
• Assessing and auditing jobs for appropriate classifications, including best practices for handling contractors, exemptions, and temporary workers
• Effective approaches for categorizing compensation as regular rate, bonus, or commission
• Reducing overtime expenses with fluctuating workweeks
• The value of recording time and how to handle waiting time, preliminary and postliminary time, and being "on call" 
• Strategies for building and enforcing policies, employee requirements, and other workplace rules governing overtime

"Overtime cases have been exploding everywhere – inside and out of the energy industry.  The risks are huge, particularly given that many of these cases are class actions: damages are regularly doubled by the courts, and attorneys' fees are awarded," said Johnson. 

"It can be a nightmare for the unprepared.  Companies relying on 'industry standard' can be caught flat-footed," Johnson continued.  "My idea is to drill down into these issues in a meaningful way so that seminar attendees will leave with the concrete rules in their back pocket."

Johnson's 30-plus years of practice have focused on diverse employment issues, with overtime claims and questions being a major segment of her areas of interest.   She represents managers and companies in and out of Texas – at trial, in arbitration and mediation, and before state and federal appeals courts – and she has advised her clients on every aspect of employee relations, from discrimination/retaliation controversies to wage and hour disputes to noncompetition questions.  She is an AV-rated lawyer of many years, co-chair of Burleson's Texas Litigation Team, and a sought-after speaker and writer.   She has been named a Texas Super Lawyer in employment law for seven consecutive years and won one of the largest commercial verdicts in Texas in 2013.

Like Johnson, Economou focuses his practice on litigation and labor and employment law.  He handles a wide range of matters, including termination and severance agreements, enforcement actions by government agencies, wage and hour issues, discrimination, retaliation, and other unfair labor practices.  His experience also includes general commercial matters. 

The seminar is part of the firm's Trends, Terms and Lessons Learned series, which is designed to encourage open discussion of significant issues impacting the energy industry and other sectors served by Burleson.

The course has been approved for two hours of Human Resource Certification Institute credit.  CLE and CPE credits are pending.  To register for the seminar, click here.

About Burleson LLP
Burleson LLP is a full-service law firm devoted primarily to the oil and gas industry. Burleson has a presence in every major North American onshore and offshore producing region – with unique experience in shale plays – and serves clients in the upstream, downstream, and midstream sectors. Many of the firm's attorneys have worked in the energy industry, including backgrounds as corporate general counsel, enabling Burleson to bring extensive understanding, knowledge, and insight to the companies and individuals it serves. With deep roots in oil and gas, complemented by broad-based corporate capabilities and mid-market rates, Burleson LLP is truly the law firm where energy matters. For further information, visit www.burlesonllp.com.

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