Sara Shok’s employment practice responsibilities include a broad range of topics related to national employment issues covering the full life cycle of onboarding to offboarding an employee, including managing employee performance issues, disciplinary actions and terminations. She has a broad range of experience working with clients regarding a single separation, as well as large reductions of force requiring state and federal compliance.
In addition, Sara helps clients navigate difficult disability accommodation matters, leaves of absence issues and employment policy, procedures and handbook strategies.
Sara advises clients regarding matters related to discrimination, harassment and retaliation. She also creates customized harassment and discrimination prevention training plans and general management training sessions for her clients and assists with client investigations related to the same.
Sara guides clients through various wage and hour issues, focused on a strategy that reduces client exposure related to employment law violations, including classification analysis and wage considerations related to employees versus contractors and exempt versus nonexempt employees.
Sara works closely with clients to advise on businesses planning workforce reductions and reorganizations, creating a customized solution for each client’s needs. She advises on compliance with federal and state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Acts and the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWPBA). She also partners with clients to create comprehensive reduction-in-force plans that include reasoned business justifications, defensible selection criteria, adverse impact analyses, multistate severance agreements, and a clear communications strategy for affected and nonaffected employees.
