Paul M. Thomas is Holland & Knight’s Diversity Partner and first Chief Diversity Officer, chairing the firm’s 13-member Diversity Council. Mr. Thomas is also a partner in the Corporate Diversity Counseling and Employment practice groups. Mr. Thomas has advised major corporations in enhancing their cultural diversity performance and profiles. He has counseled clients regarding the development of human resources policies and practices, minimizing legal and litigation risks, implementing counseling and training programs, expanding relationships with diverse professional service providers, and reviewing internal and external communications messages. Mr. Thomas also advises corporate diversity clients on matters relating to class action discrimination lawsuits, including risk assessment and settlement evaluation.
Mr. Thomas has had particularly extensive experience with the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs ("OFCCP"), where his clients include some of the nation's largest corporations in the aerospace, energy, food service, high technology, products manufacturing, and education sectors. Mr. Thomas has also negotiated landmark cooperative agreements with OFCCP as the Agency implements its public/private partnership initiative. Mr. Thomas has also represented clients before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), and state and local human rights agencies, as well as Federal and state courts on a wide variety of employment matters.
Mr. Thomas advises clients on issues relating to both enhancement and legal vulnerabilities of the diverse workplace and employer/employee relationships, including recruiting, hiring, training, mentoring, evaluation, promotion, compensation, discipline and termination. He counsels clients on the obligations arising from numerous Federal, state and local statutory provisions, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the Drug-Free Workplace Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and related statutory and regulatory matters.
Mr. Thomas has written and served as a guest lecturer on a variety of subjects such as keys to successful management of employees, minimization of litigation risks, workplace diversity, and equal employment opportunity.
In addition to his legal experience, he served as Assistant Dean of Lake Forest College from 1971 through 1973.