Keith Weddington has been representing employers for more than 30 years and has defended Fortune 500 and middle-market companies in a broad array of disputes with employees and former employees. Named a Best Lawyers "Lawyer of the Year" in Charlotte four times for employment law or litigation, he is a go-to attorney for clients’ most sensitive and potentially high-profile employment disputes. Whether the case requires resolute and intensive litigation or delicate negotiations to achieve a favorable resolution, Keith provides results-oriented solutions to achieve clients’ objectives.
"My experience with him has been fantastic," one of his clients told Chambers USA, which develops rankings using in-depth interviews and objective research. "He is incredibly responsive and provides very practical advice."
In addition to defending U.S. and international employers in discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge, wage and hour, FMLA/ADA, and ERISA matters, he brings his more than 30 years of experience to bear in advising employers on strategic employment practices, human resources policies, and the continuum of employment compliance issues.
Keith has earned a Yellow Belt Certification in Legal Lean Sigma® and Project Management from the Legal Lean Sigma Institute. He teamed up with clients to earn the certification through a two-day course that Parker Poe hosted.
Representative Experience
Represented clients in employment law issues that include:
- EEOC proceedings and defensive litigation in state and federal courts involving claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on race, gender, age, disability, national origin, and religion.
- Advising, structuring and managing personnel actions such as hiring, evaluation, discipline, and termination.
- ERISA denial of benefits litigation.
- Defense of wage and hour class actions and collective actions.
- Covenants not to compete, confidentiality agreements, and protection of trade secrets.
- Wrongful discharge, breach of contract, bonus, compensation, infliction of emotional distress, and other claims arising out of the employment relationship.
- Compliance and risk management counseling regarding FMLA, ADA, FLSA, state wage and hour matters, drug testing, internal investigations, workplace violence, and reductions in force.
- Drafting employment, bonus, retention, noncompetition, secondment, relocation, severance, and other agreements in the context of ongoing businesses, mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, and divestments.
- Conducted sensitive internal investigations for multiple clients involving issues such as alleged misconduct by senior executives, whistleblower complaints involving corporate cybersecurity risks, and hostile work environment claims.
- Won summary judgment on each of four claims involving a $40 million bonus compensation dispute by a former senior executive of a Fortune 500 company. The case involved extensive electronic discovery and a complex fact pattern that spanned a decade of events and compensation plans.
- Won a complete defense verdict in a jury trial of a sexual harassment, assault/battery, and infliction of emotional distress lawsuit brought by a former employee against the employee’s supervising physician and the medical practice by which the plaintiff had been employed.
- Engaged in a delicate balancing act of negotiation, investigation, and arming for a full counterattack against an opportunistic plaintiff after receipt of a soon to be filed complaint making explosive sexual harassment allegations about a senior-level employee of a national company. Negotiated a delay in the filing of the complaint and structured a pre-litigation mediation conference to obtain a favorable settlement at a fraction of the plaintiff’s demand and also avoided inevitable adverse media coverage.
- Won complete dismissal of a highly publicized lawsuit by a former employee who was suspended after reporting alleged improprieties and corporate risk issues to company executives. Plaintiff asserted claims related to his discharge and claimed that he had accepted a prior severance package under threat of termination and based on fraudulent representations, rendering it void. On appeal, the dismissal was affirmed.
- Successfully defended a multi-state employer against claims of age discrimination by seven laid-off employees, who were among the oldest in the company. Following intensive investigation and a coordinated exchange of data that avoided prolonged and expensive discovery, we demonstrated objective performance and profitability-based justifications for their selections and obtained a less than cost of defense settlement via early mediation.
Honors & Awards
- The Best Lawyers in America in Employment Law: Management, 2011-2024; Labor and Employment Litigation, 2011-2024
- The Best Lawyers in America “Lawyer of the Year” in Charlotte for Labor and Employment Litigation, 2015, 2017; Employment Law: Management, 2013, 2016
- Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers in Labor & Employment, 2007-2023; Employment: Mainly Defendant, 2004-2006
- Benchmark Litigation, Labor & Employment Star in the South, 2020-2022
- North Carolina Super Lawyers, 2006-2021
- Who's Who Legal in Labor, Employment & Benefits, 2017
- Business North Carolina magazine's "Legal Elite" in Employment Law, 2005-2006, 2008-2009, 2012
- Martindale-Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ in Employment & Labor; Litigation; ERISA Litigation; Class Action Defense
- Phi Beta Kappa