Laura Stutz practices in the area of employment law counseling and litigation. She represents management in the hospitality, retail, financial services and health care industries, including hospitals and hospital systems, nursing homes, clinical laboratories, acute care centers and retail pharmaceuticals. Laura’s practice involves counseling employers on employment laws and employee benefit issues arising under ERISA. She also litigates on behalf of management in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies over disputes involving claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful discharge, retaliation, whistleblowing, wage-and-hour noncompliance, misappropriation of trade secrets, and enforcement of non-competition and non-solicitation agreements.
Several of Laura’s cases have centered on hot-button issues such as claims involving the Equal Pay Act and other wage-and-hour laws, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act and its 2008 amendment, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act and state law fair employment statutes. Laura also handles employment-related tort, contract and whistleblower claims. She has litigated employment cases in state and federal courts and taken appeals up to the Second Circuit and Third Circuit Courts of Appeals. Laura also has successfully defended employers in charges of discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights and various state agencies.
After law school, Laura served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Richard Newman, Judge of the Appellate Division, Superior Court of New Jersey. Before her clerkship, while pursuing her law degree, Laura received the Raymond del Tufo, Jr. Constitutional Law Award as well as an award for her pro bono service.
Areas of Focus
Employment Litigation and Compliance
Laura partners with clients to achieve their goals in the areas of compliance and litigation avoidance. She provides counsel and advice on an array of employment issues from hires to terminations and everything in between, including disciplinary actions, compliance with state and federal wage-and-hour laws, prevention of workplace harassment and violence, leaves of absence, workplace accommodations, restructurings, and due diligence related to M&A and other business transactions, and workplace issues involving Stark, HIPAA and state privacy laws. Laura also prepares workplace policies, contracts and other documents, and guides and conducts internal investigations.
