Amy Robinson represents public and private employers throughout Washington, Oregon and Alaska in a broad range of workplace-related issues. She provides experienced counsel on compliance challenges and disputes covering the entire employment life cycle from hiring to separation, including employee classification, wage-and-hour issues, employee leaves and protected activities, disability and accommodation, and discrimination, retaliation, and harassment prevention. Amy is also adept at guiding employers through policy and handbook development, as well as drafting, negotiating, and enforcing employment-related contracts, such as noncompete agreements, nonsolicitation agreements, and nondisclosure agreements.
Amy’s clients range from small businesses with a single location to large employers with multiple locations in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, and she particularly enjoys the strategic and proactive approach that a new or growing organization requires. Amy’s clients include construction companies and contractors; health care organizations and public hospital districts; CPA firms, law firms, and medical and other professional practices; manufacturing businesses; mining companies; charitable organizations and nonprofits; restaurants and hospitality-related businesses; and family-owned businesses and start-ups. With a range of business cultures and industries to work with, Amy also knows how to tailor her approach and communication style in order to collaborate effectively with business owners, managers, and human resource professionals, as well as decision-making bodies such as executive teams, nonprofit boards, and port commissions.
In addition to direct representation, Amy regularly performs outside and third-party investigations into a wide range of workplace-related complaints and concerns. She is also a frequent speaker and presenter to human resources professionals, managers and employees, clients, and trade and industry groups.
Before her legal career, Amy worked as a human resources professional for a variety of employers and believes this foundation has provided her with a unique and keen awareness of the competing pressures, workplace dynamics, and practical challenges that her clients face every day.
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
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Employment Law
- Represents employers before a host of state and federal agencies on workplace-related investigations and administrative matters, including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Department of Labor (DOL), the federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (MSHRC), the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), the Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC), and the Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). Issues range from discrimination and retaliation complaints; audits and investigations regarding exempt classifications, meal and rest breaks, and other wage-and-hour practices; and fines and penalties associated with worker safety.
- Provides day-to-day counseling and guidance to large and small employers throughout Oregon and Washington regarding discipline, employee leaves, and attendance management to ensure compliance with state and federal leave laws, including medical leaves. This also includes training and strategies to avoid leave abuse.
- Drafts, negotiates, enforces, and defends a variety of employment-related contracts, including executive agreements, noncompetition agreements, nonsolicitation agreements, and confidentiality/nondisclosure agreements.
- Prepares tailored handbooks and employment-related policies and other documents for public and private employers with multiple locations, operations, and job categories.
- Conducts training for managers, HR personnel, and all staff on a host of workplace-related topics, including harassment, employee discipline, and wage-and-hour compliance.
- Advises managers and HR personnel on accommodation issues and light-duty requirements related to disabilities, workplace injuries, pregnancy, and religious practices, including strategies to avoid retaliation claims.
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