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.
Attorneys
Blogs
- Two New Attorneys Join Dickinson Law
- New Workplace Protections For Pregnant And Nursing Moms
- Ignoring a Failed Drug Test as a "Reasonable Accommodation?"
- Blog Series: Offering Bank-Owned Life Insurance to Key Employees
- 23 in 2023: Dickinson Law Attorneys Honored by Best Lawyers®
- Dickinson Ranked Among Leading Law Firms by Chambers USA 2022
- Moving On: Employment Law Seminar Agenda Announced
- Moving On: Register for the 2022 Employment Law Seminar
- Large Iowa Employers: Should You Comply With the OSHA Vaccine or Testing & Masking ETS?
- Webinar On Demand: COVID-19 Vaccine, Testing, & Masking Laws
- OSHA ETS Webinar Delayed
- On Demand: The 2021 Employment Law Virtual Seminar
- What Does the New Iowa Vaccine Waiver Law Do?
- Mandated Vaccination under Executive Order 14042: Are Depository Institutions Covered?
- Sierra McConnell Joins Dickinson Law
- Get Back in the Groove at Our Employment Law Virtual Seminar
- Chambers USA 2021 Recognizes Dickinson Lawyers and Practices
- Failure to Reappoint Equals Wrongful Discharge?
- Don’t Cheat on an Iowa Employer’s Drug or Alcohol Test—You Could Now Go to Jail
- Longtime Dickinson Attorneys Head Into Retirement
- Extension of Emergency FFCRA Leaves Into 2021
- On Demand: 2020 Employment Webinar Series - Facing the Future Together
- On Demand: Startup Legal Webinar
- CDC and Iowa Guidelines After COVID-19 Exposure Now Conflict: Which Should Iowa Employers Follow?
- Startup Legal Webinar to Be Held October 8
- On Demand: 2020 Banking Law Webinar Series
- Bogart & Soderstrum Join Dickinson Law
- DOL Input on the Availability of FFCRA Leave as Employees Grapple with Various Return to Learn Scenarios
- Do New Overtime Rules Change the Landscape for Mortgage Loan Officers and Loan Officers?
- DOL Issues Guidance on Teleworking Employees’ Hours of Work under the FLSA
- “You’re Fired.” Cut the Euphemisms: At Least Trump Got This Right on “The Apprentice”
- Register Today for the 2020 Employment Law Webinar Series
- EEOC to Begin Closing Cases and Issuing Right-to-Sue Notices Again
- DOL Publishes a Request for Information on Current FMLA Regulations
- New State Requirement: Iowa Employers Must Tell Departing Employees About Unemployment Insurance
- NLRB Grants Employers More Leeway to Correct Abusive Workplace Behavior
- Register for the 2020 Banking Law Webinar Series
- Dickinson Law Welcomes Attorney Rob Porter
- A Guide for Employers on Proper Temperature Screening
- Paycheck Protection Program Deadline Extended Until August 8
- DOL Wage and Hour Division Eases Liquidated Damages Assessment Policy
- United States Supreme Court Rules that Gay and Transgender Workers are Protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- On Demand Webinar: Social Media and the Workplace in 2020
- On Demand Webinar: COVID-19 Potpourri – Employment Issues Not to Be Overlooked, Especially When Re-Opening for Business
- On Demand Webinar: When You Can't Maintain Payroll - WARN Acts & Unemployment in the COVID-19 World
- Department of Homeland Security Addresses Ongoing COVID-19 Issues with Temporary Policies
- New Guidance from EEOC Regarding COVID-19
- On Demand Webinar: Calculating EPSL & EFMLA Pay: It's Complicated
- Feds Turn Back Time: Notification of Relief from Certain COBRA and HIPAA Deadlines and Timeframes Due to COVID-19
- Iowa Workforce Development Announces It May Again Start Charging Employer Accounts for Benefits Paid as a Result of COVID-19 Pandemic
- On Demand Webinar: COVID-19 Relief Options and Your Business
- COVID-19: Fraudsters Want Your Payroll Protection Program Money
- COVID-19: SBA Releases Final Payroll Protection Program Rules
- Different Definitions of "Son or Daughter" Under EFMLA & EPSL: Differences Not Addressed by the DOL
- Webinar: COVID-19 Relief Options and Your Business
- COVID-19: DOL Clarifies EFMLA / FMLA Interplay
- DOL Has Revised Its "COVID-19" Poster
- On Demand Webinar: Mandated Emergency Leaves – Employers with Less Than 500 Employees
- COVID-19: Paycheck Protection Program – Forgivable Loans for Businesses under SBA 7(a) Program
- COVID-19: Fraudsters Also Work From Home
- Webinar: COVID-19 Mandated Emergency Leaves: Employers with Less Than 500 Employees
- DOL Issues Posters & Other Materials Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
- SBA Disaster Loans – What Constitutes a Small Business
- SBA Disaster Loans – Eligibility and Filing Requirements
- SBA Disaster Business Loans – Iowa Now Designated as Disaster Area
- Identification of Essential Critical Workforce During COVID-19 Response
- COVID-19: Will Your Rescue Package Be Considered Income For Child Support?
- I am Laid Off Due to Covid-19: Do I Still Have a Child or Spousal Support Obligation?
- Trump Signs Families First Coronavirus Response Act: How It Will Impact Employers*
- Update: House Makes Significant Changes to Families First Coronavirus Response Act
- House Passes Families First Coronavirus Response Act: How It Will Impact Employers
- Startup Presentation Now Available On Demand
- Building a Winning Cybersecurity Program: Where Does Leadership Start?
- Employers: Avoid Ageist Assumptions and Confine Required Medical Exams to Parameters of ADA
- Newest I-9 Form “Update” Includes a Reminder of Responsibility
- Iowa Employers Need to Be Mindful of the Breadth of Iowa's Prohibition Against Age Discrimination
- Iowa’s Court of Appeals Answers Several Questions Regarding the State’s “Byzantine” Drug Testing Statute – Part Two
- Iowa's Court of Appeals Answers Several Questions Regarding the State's "Byzantine" Drug Testing Statute - Part One
- Sign up for the 2020 Central Iowa SHRM Legal & Legislative Conference with a $20 discount
- NLRB: Rules Requiring Employees to Maintain “Confidentiality” During Open Investigations Lawful
- NLRB Permits, Again, Employers to Restrict Use of Email – Maybe
- NLRB Rolls Back Obama “Quickie” Election Rules
- NLRB Declines Jurisdiction Over Democratic Presidential Campaign
- The New FLSA White Collar Exemption Salary Threshold – Are You Ready for January 1?
- Non-Disparagement Clauses in Cross-Hairs of NLRB – Lessons for Employers and their Employment Lawyers - Part Two
- Non-Disparagement Clauses in Cross-Hairs of NLRB – Lessons for Employers & their Employment Lawyers - Part One
- Better Late Than Never? Have You Filed Your EEO-1 Component 2 (Pay Data) Forms Yet?
- DOL’s "Fluctuating Workweek" Method of Pay Explained - Part 2
- DOL Proposes New FLSA Rule on the “Fluctuating Workweek” Method of Paying Non-Exempt Salaried Employees - Part 1
- DOL Issues Proposed Rule for Tipped Employees
- Navigating Company Emergencies CLE Session Offered for Biotech Companies
- DOL Announces Results of the Payroll Audit Determination Program (PAID)