Eve I. Klein

New York

Duane Morris LLP
1540 Broadway
New York, NY 10036-4086
United States

Tel: +1 212 692 1065

Email: EIKlein@duanemorris.com
Web: www.duanemorris.com

Eve I. Klein serves as Chair of Duane Morris’ Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group and serves as the firm’s employment counsel. Ms. Klein has over 30 years of experience representing businesses in all aspects of employment law, management labor relations and employment-related litigation. Ms. Klein has extensive experience advising clients about their rights and obligations regarding the complex and frequently changing federal, state and local laws and regulations which affect the workplace. Ms. Klein counsels clients on day-to-day workplace matters, in M&A and in protecting company good will and proprietary information.

Ms. Klein regularly handles complex labor and employment litigation brought by current and former employees and labor unions, in state or federal court and before administrative agencies. Ms. Klein advises and defends employers in connection with issues and claims involving the employment discrimination statutes, disability accommodation obligations (both employment and public accommodation), family and medical leave laws, employee recruitment and work eligibility rules, plant closing restrictions, wage and hour rules and employee benefits. Ms. Klein frequently defends employers in wage and hour class action litigation. She also helps businesses draft employment agreements, including those with restrictive covenants, and has a wealth of experience litigating issues relating to the enforceability of restrictive covenants.

Ms. Klein has significant experience in the representation of employers in labor relations under the National Labor Relations Act and the Taylor law, including in union representation and decertification elections and unfair labor practice proceedings. For clients that are unionized, Ms. Klein represents them in collective bargaining and grievance arbitration. Ms. Klein has handled collective bargaining for clients in a variety of different sectors. She has successfully represented unionized employers in hundreds of arbitration proceedings. Ms. Klein also represents employers in labor litigation, which runs the gamut from enjoining unlawful picketing activity, enforcing employer rights in connection with agreements to arbitrate and defending employers in withdrawal liability proceedings brought by multi-employer pension funds.

Ms. Klein also serves as editor of the practice group’s client alerts regarding employment and labor law developments. She is a frequent speaker on employment and labor issues for clients, business groups and educational institutions. Ms. Klein has been recognized as one of the top 100 leading women lawyers in New York City in Crain’s 2018 Legal List, in Best Lawyers in America since 2005 and frequently in New York Super Lawyers for labor and employment law since 2006.

Ms. Klein is a 1985 graduate of Cornell Law School and a graduate, with distinction, of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Employment Advice, Counsel and Training

  • Represented a large financial services firm as outside counsel defending employees of the firm as co-defendants in three separate employment-related litigations.
  • Represented numerous companies and executives in variety of industries in the negotiation and drafting of executive employment agreements, non-compete covenants, trade secret protections, severance and related agreements.
  • Conducted numerous executive, management, human resources and employee training sessions on topics such as: harassment and diversity; reasonable accommodations; performance management; managing a union workforce; management rights and obligations during union organizing campaigns; onboarding employees; performance appraisals; the interplay of FMLA and ADA and many other employment law topics.
  • Conducted employment law audits for healthcare, building services, engineering, communications, airlines, hotel and restaurant companies.
  • Drafted numerous employee handbooks and policy manuals for clients in a wide range of industries.

Employment Litigation

  • Represented a home remodeling company in obtaining summary judgment dismissal of two separate cases filed by former marketers for unpaid commissions.
  • Won Second Circuit appeal of race discrimination case on behalf of healthcare provider. Toussaint v. New York Dialysis Services, Inc.
  • Won dismissal of class action wage and hour law suit on behalf of national home remodeling company in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York; court compelled arbitration and enforced class action waiver. Muslim v. Power Home Remodeling Company .
  • Won appeal of Connecticut Department of Labor decision that national home remodeling company’s installers were misclassified as independent contractors; Connecticut Superior Court determined that company satisfied ABC test and properly classified installers as independent contracts. Connecticut Department of Labor v. Power Home Remodeling Company
  • Represented brokerage firm in sexual harassment and wage discrimination lawsuit. Obtained summary judgment dismissing the complaint, which was affirmed on appeal by the New Jersey Appellate Division. Anglin v. Prudential Financial.
  • Represented pattern maker in federal age and gender lawsuit following reduction in force. Obtained summary judgment in favor of employer in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York. Tullo v. McCall Pattern Co.
  • Represented New York savings bank in federal disability discrimination litigation. Obtained summary judgment in favor of bank, which was affirmed on appeal by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals Gronne v. Apple Bank.
  • Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a supermarket chain resulting in dismissal of a Connecticut wage and hour class action claim after the court held the fluctuating work week method for paying overtime to be lawful in Connecticut. Roach v. Save-A-Lot
  • Obtained settlements that the clients found to be favorable in ADA Title III disability discrimination cases on behalf of real estate developer, bank and REIT related to accessibility of a mall, a store and a website.
  • Obtained settlement that the client found to be favorable on behalf of executive coach allowing him to maintain clients and business in the face of suit filed by national firm he had worked for in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking to enforce restrictive covenants.
  • Obtained settlement that the client found favorable on behalf of home healthcare agency in a Fair Labor Standards Act and New York State class action lawsuit alleging failure to properly pay minimum wages and overtime.
  • Obtained settlement that the client found to be favorable on behalf of a large grocery store chain in a consolidated Fair Labor Standards Act and multi-state Rule 26 class action lawsuit alleging failure to properly pay overtime.
  • Successfully defended action against financial services client by former CEO who sued company for defamation, breach of contract and other torts. Negotiated a de minimis settlement of multi-million dollar claims after vigorous discovery phase.
  • Successfully defended medical resident in sexual harassment case seeking the termination of his residency and in separate criminal proceeding arising from same facts. Obtained arbitration award and trial verdict in favor of resident.
  • Successfully defended airline in multiple actions filed by employees seeking compensation for alleged race, gender and age discrimination. Each case was dismissed on the merits by the relevant human rights enforcement agency.

Duane Morris employment lawyers regularly counsel and advise employers on compliance with federal, state and local employment laws with the goal of increasing workplace efficiency and preventing potentially disruptive litigation. We also represent management interests in responding to union organizing campaigns, negotiating collective bargaining agreements, handling administrative agency investigations and defending employment-related litigation.

Duane Morris offers practical counseling designed to prevent potentially disruptive labor and employment disputes. We handle a wide variety of employment-related litigation and are experienced in management labor relations matters.

Employment services are individually developed to reflect each client’s business goals and objectives. We assist clients in preparing employee manuals, crafting personnel policies to address the client’s business needs, implementing customized supervisory and nonsupervisory training programs, and designing compliance strategies.

As a result of our extensive experience in the labor and employment field, we strive to place our clients’ issues directly before the appropriate decision makers. In representing clients in employment and labor matters, issues may arise that require the skills of lawyers practicing in a variety of disciplines. Because of the broad scope of services offered at Duane Morris, our employment attorneys, when necessary, consult with lawyers on matters involving employee benefits, bankruptcy, business law, real estate, complex trial work and healthcare.

Duane Morris LLP, a law firm with more than 900 attorneys in offices across the United States and internationally, is asked by a broad array of clients to provide innovative solutions to today’s legal and business challenges.

From a partnership of four Philadelphia attorneys in 1904, the firm has grown to be among the 100 largest in the world. Duane Morris’​ lawyers now work out of offices in North America, Europe and Asia to address clients’​ issues around the globe. See the Harvard Business School’s second case study of the firm titled “Collaborating for Growth: Duane Morris in a Turbulent Legal Sector.”

Throughout all the growth, Duane Morris always has been guided by the same principle. At the heart of the firm is a partnership, an agreement to work together in the pursuit of its clients’​ goals. Under the leadership of the firm’s founders, and the influence of past and present chairmen, Duane Morris has embraced a culture of inclusiveness, congeniality and consensus building that is rare among law firms.