Georgia Prime

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce, one of the nation’s oldest and largest state business organizations, is pleased to present the Georgia HR Library. We hope it will help you operate your business more efficiently and avoid the hidden pitfalls that lurk among the maze known as HR.

Targeted, timely and comprehensive, these resources are cover more than thirty primary topics directly related to the employment process, from job descriptions through termination and beyond. Each resource includes practical advice on what should be done, solid advice on how to do it and a complete explanation of why it is important.

This updated and revised edition of the Georgia HR Library was not written as a response to employee-related problems, but to help you avoid them. The guidelines and checklists will make that easier and the examples, FAQ’s and step-by-step instructions will give you the confidence to know that you are on solid ground.

This series of publications is prepared exclusively for Georgia employers and made available by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in a continuing effort to provide reliable and practical information for our members and the Georgia business community.

If you would like to know more about the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, we would welcome your call at 404-223-2264 or a visit to our web site at www.gachamber.com.

 

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete LLP

At Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP, workplace law is all we do—but we’re not your typical law firm. We are a preeminent boutique firm for labor and employment law in the U.S.  Our clients tell us there is also “a soul to Constangy that is unique and refreshing, that’s not found with other firms.” For more than 70 years, our clients have appreciated our common-sense approach and our commitment to being a real partner in helping employers navigate the prickly legal and regulatory environments of the changing workplace. Today we have more than 190 attorneys across 15 states, offering services ranging from the defense of single and multi-plaintiff employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims to complex wage and hour litigation, workplace safety, and affirmative action compliance, as well as OSHA, to workers’ compensation, ERISA and employee benefits, immigration, and labor relations. A “Go To” Law Firm in Corporate Counsel and Fortune magazine, Constangy represents Fortune 500 corporations and small companies across the country. Our attorneys are consistently rated among the best by sources including Chambers USA, Martindale-Hubbell, and Best Lawyers in America, and we are ranked as a Tier 1 firm by the U.S. News & World Report/Best Law Firms survey. What Sets Us Apart Our lawyers know each other. They like each other. Clients benefit from our agility and a financial structure that does not pit offices against each other. Our structure allows for teams with the best mix of lawyers to serve clients. The result is optimal responsiveness and consistent service across all locations where your company uses us. Are we the biggest firm? No—and that’s by design. We have the depth and experience of our “BigLaw” colleagues, with a roster of attorneys with exceptional experience. We are a growing and vibrant firm, yet we respect the heritage and culture that has built us into a unified team providing common-sense, practical, and out-of-the box solutions that mitigate risk and help you achieve your unique objectives. Clients let us know that diverse teams are also important to them.  We routinely see this, for example, in Requests for Proposals. Interviews with in-house counsel at top companies further reveal that they want to work with lawyers of diverse backgrounds, because they believe such teams reflect their own evolving workforces—and, because lawyers looking through “a wider lens” actually bring more innovative ideas to the table. Yes, at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, we take our clients’ needs seriously. We have been told that of the largest 350 firms in the U.S., ours is the first to have an African-American named partner. What’s being built on the inside of our firm is reflected on the outside of our door. Among our firm’s governing body, more than 40% are comprised of women and minorities. In fact, Constangy was one the first law firms in the country to have a female attorney in labor law in the 1940s. Our lawyers are not clones. We come from various backgrounds in terms of geography, economic background, and ethnicity. Some of us are parents and sports fans, and former government agency professionals and prior HR managers. We are real people just like you and your employees. What We Do Our focus is labor and employment law, and we have represented management exclusively since 1946. From Title VII to OSHA to ERISA and the NLRA, Constangy attorneys can help you keep policies up-to-date and your workplace running smoothly. We have a full range of experienced attorneys who can help you with everything from developing harassment and workplace safety policies or securing foreign worker visas, to protecting trade secrets and defending against wrongful discharge and discrimination claims. From our roots in labor relations and manufacturing, to our recent work in helping employers understand the convergence of digital technology in the modern workplace—our capabilities cover all aspects of the employer-employee relationship. National Presence With more than 180 attorneys and a full complement of paralegal and support staff, Constangy has the ability to work wherever you need, whenever you need. In addition to bar admissions in more than half of the United States, our attorneys regularly appear with permission of the court in jurisdictions nationwide. We also have strong relationships with local counsel in many states, ensuring we can work with clients in locations across the country.  Accolades and Awards Constangy has put together an outstanding team of attorneys that distinguishes us. We focus on bringing in the best and the brightest, and have recruited many leading minds in employment and labor law. U.S. News/Best Law Firms recently ranked us as a Tier 1 firm in employment law (management), labor law (management) and litigation (labor and employment). We also received 37 metropolitan tier rankings across our offices in various areas relating to employment law. We were recently named a “standout” firm in both complex and routine employment law in BTI Consulting’s 2016 Litigation Outlook. Fortune magazine and Martindale Hubbell have recognized Constangy as a “Top Firm” indicating that more than one out of three of our lawyers have achieved the AV Preeminent® Peer Review designation.  We currently have 48 attorneys named in the Best Lawyers in America®rankings. We currently have 28 attorneys ranked by Chambers USA in labor and employment categories.

Troutman Sanders LLP

Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton have agreed to merge effective April 1, 2020, becoming Troutman Pepper. Troutman Sanders LLP, founded in 1897, is an Atlanta-based international law firm with more than 600 attorneys throughout the United States and China. With over 40 areas of legal practice, the full-service firm offers a broad array of legal services, including corporate, energy and regulatory, finance and real estate, business litigation and specialized litigation services. The Troutman Sanders LLP Labor & Employment Practice Group consists of more than 20 attorneys located in the Firm’s Atlanta, Hong Kong, New York, Orange County and Richmond,. The Labor and Employment Group provides clients with comprehensive advice and counsel in all areas of labor and employment law, including litigation, human resources consulting, and training, as well as business immigration law and traditional labor law. The Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group at Troutman Sanders LLP consists of 14 attorneys in Atlanta, Richmond and New York who provide legal and consulting advice on the full spectrum of federal laws impacting employee benefit plans, compensation, and privacy issues. Likewise, the Immigration Practice Group consists of attorneys in Atlanta, and New York focusing on all aspects of business immigration law. Together, the Labor and Employment Group, Compensation and Employee Benefits Group and Immigration Practice Group represent numerous Fortune 500 companies across a wide variety of industries.