Employment & Labor Law

Overview

The attorneys in Dickinson's Employment & Labor Law Group frequently contribute materials and make presentations to professional associations and employers on a wide range of employment and labor law topics. These topics include anything from employment discrimination law to equal employment opportunity law. Many of our employment and labor law attorneys are members of the Society for Human Resource Management and other professional and employer trade associations. We maintain the Iowa Employer Law Blog with new and relevant information on labor and employment law. We produce relevant news alerts for clients that focus on current legal trends and issues in employment and labor law in Iowa. We also conduct an annual employment law seminar for clients to keep them up-to-date on current legal issues related to the management of their human resources.

Our firm's employment and labor law attorneys have extensive experience providing employment law advice. Our employment attorneys in Des Moines have expansive knowledge regarding employment law in Iowa from wrongful termination to occupational safety and health. We have represented and counseled clients in both federal and state laws and regulations as well as in matters of traditional labor law and providing general employment law advice. We represent private and public sector employers as well as a number of trade associations with specific interests in labor and employment issues, including Associated Builders and Contractors of Iowa. Our goal is to help our clients minimize the risk of legal liability by following federal labor laws while accomplishing their important business objectives.

Immigration Law

Employers who currently employ or seek to employ foreign nationals can rely on Dickinson’s immigration lawyers to help them given their ample knowledge regarding U.S. immigration laws. As an experienced labor law firm in Des Moines, we can navigate the complicated immigration rules and procedures for both applicants and employees. We ensure employers are in compliance with immigration-related regulations by providing training, conducting I-9 audits, assisting with E-Verify, and answering immigration-related questions that arise. Employers who employ college students or recent graduates with immigrant visas often have questions about CPT and OPT status. We file petitions for employers to sponsor foreign nationals for temporary employment status, such as H-1B, TN, and O-1 status. We also prepare and file labor certifications and employment-based permanent residency petitions.
If employers receive notice of a USCIS or ICE audit, Dickinson’s lawyers are ready to assist. As a complement to our employment-based immigration practice, we also assist spouses and other family members to obtain and maintain their lawful immigrant or nonimmigrant status. We can assist in providing advice, filing petitions, and attending immigration interviews. Finally, we are pleased to work with our clients who seek to become U.S. citizens through naturalization.

MICHAEL J. STAEBELL

Mike Staebell retired from the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division (WHD), in December 2015 after 33 years of enforcing various federal employment laws. That included 17 years of direct investigation experience, followed by 11 years supervising other investigators. In his final five years with the agency, he served as District Director for the states of Iowa and Nebraska. Under his leadership, the Iowa-Nebraska office was consistently ranked as one of the most productive in the U.S.

As a Compliance Specialist, Legal Paraprofessional, Mike works under the supervision of Dickinson’s attorneys to help our clients understand and comply with the law. And because his knowledge is in federal law, he can serve clients anywhere in the nation. Read more about Mike.