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Practice Area

Labor & Employment

Trusted advisors for employers — guiding businesses through every challenge of the modern workplace with proactive counsel and proven litigation experience.

Share and Download Labor & Employment

Friday, Eldredge & Clark’s Labor & Employment Practice Group is one of the most experienced in Arkansas, representing employers in every industry across the state and beyond. We take a proactive approach to workplace law — helping clients develop policies, procedures, and training to prevent disputes before they arise, while providing strategic defense when litigation becomes necessary.

Our attorneys counsel employers on a full spectrum of employment and labor issues, including compliance with federal and state regulations, wage and hour law, discrimination and harassment claims, workplace investigations, collective bargaining, and non-compete enforcement. When issues escalate, our team is equipped to handle complex trials, administrative hearings, and appeals in state and federal courts, ensuring our clients’ interests are protected at every level.

Areas of Focus

Covenants Not to Compete

Disputes over covenants not to compete often pit businesses or individuals against one another. We have handled many of these cases in courts and are skilled at securing and resisting TROs and permanent injunctions to protect employer interests in any type of case. We regularly litigate non-compete claims based on unfair competition and common law misappropriation of trade secrets. In drafting a covenant not to compete for your company, we structure it precisely so that your provision of confidential and proprietary information during an employee’s time with you is balanced by securing the agreement to refrain from working for a competitor for a certain period of time, from soliciting or serving your customers or recruiting your other employees, and from divulging the information you provided during employment.

Employment Litigation

Any protected class of employees – by age, race, gender, disability, or religion – could bring suit under the discrimination statutes, and we have successfully litigated and resolved all types of discrimination matters. We believe our employment litigators have tried more cases than any other firm in the state. Our strong regional practice, class action experience, experience in every federal district court, in most of the state circuit courts, and experience representing clients in several other states, add additional value for our clients.

Education

We counsel school districts regarding compliance with the Arkansas Teacher Fair Dismissal Act, Public School Employee Fair Hearing Act, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. 1400, et seq., the Voting Rights Act, Title IX, the Equal Access Act, 20 U.S.C. 4071, and other federal and state laws governing school districts, their students, and employees. Our education lawyers also represent school districts in cases involving constitutional issues such as free speech, religion and student searches.

Immigration and Employer Compliance

We assist companies in establishing I-9 compliance procedures, and our attorneys provide guidance on documentation and employment eligibility issues that arise in the hiring or re-verification process. Our employment law litigators also work collaboratively to defend employers who are subject to I-9 audits, worksite enforcement actions, and immigration-related discrimination claims at both the administrative agency and judicial levels.

Summary
  • Comprehensive Employment Counsel: Advising employers on compliance with federal and state laws including Title VII, ADA, FMLA, OSHA, and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
  • Proactive Risk Prevention: Partnering with management and HR professionals to design policies, handbooks, and strategies that prevent disputes and support a positive workplace culture.
  • Litigation Defense Expertise: Representing employers in discrimination, retaliation, wage-and-hour, and non-compete litigation in state and federal courts across the region.
  • Labor Relations Representation: Helping employers navigate union organizing efforts, collective bargaining, and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proceedings with confidence.
  • Industry-Specific Insight: Serving employers in healthcare, transportation, telecommunications, retail, manufacturing, and other sectors with practical, business-focused solutions.
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Experience

Extensive Recognition in Labor & Employment Law

Friday, Eldredge & Clark’s Labor & Employment attorneys are consistently recognized among the top practitioners in Arkansas and the region. Nine of our attorneys have been named Lawyers of the Year by The Best Lawyers in America for their work in employment law, labor law, and bet-the-company litigation. Our team also has the most attorneys ranked in Arkansas for employment law (management) and labor and employment litigation. Chambers USA has ranked multiple members of our group, describing them as “reliable and responsive,” “very capable,” and “experienced advocates.”

Proven Defense in Complex Workplace Disputes

We have represented employers in virtually every type of labor and employment matter, including discrimination and harassment claims, wage-and-hour class and collective actions, non-compete and trade secret disputes, and wrongful termination claims. Our attorneys regularly appear in state and federal courts, before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), OSHA, and other agencies. This broad experience allows us to handle high-stakes litigation and administrative proceedings efficiently while keeping business disruption and cost in check.

Global Employment Law Support Through ELA

Friday, Eldredge & Clark is the exclusive Arkansas member of the Employment Law Alliance (ELA), the world’s largest network of employment and labor law firms. Through this membership, our clients have access to trusted employment counsel in all 50 states and more than 100 countries, enabling us to support multistate and international workforces with consistent, high-quality advice. Whether a client is expanding into a new jurisdiction or managing cross-border employment issues, we can quickly connect them with vetted local expertise while remaining their central point of contact.

Industry-Specific Insight and Practical Perspective

Our attorneys combine legal acumen with practical experience drawn from working directly with employers in healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, telecommunications, retail, hospitality, and other key industries. Members of our team have served as field attorneys for the NLRB and as part of client labor negotiation teams, giving us firsthand knowledge of the pressures employers face on the ground. This background allows us to craft strategies that are not only legally sound but also realistic, actionable, and aligned with each client’s operational goals.