Hannah J. Fitzgerald
Associate
Overview
Hannah J. Fitzgerald is a labor and employment attorney in Holland & Knight's Denver office. Ms. Fitzgerald focuses her practice on providing strategic and tailored counseling in compliance with federal, state and local labor and employment laws. Ms. Fitzgerald also has experience successfully representing companies in labor and employment disputes.
Ms. Fitzgerald regularly provides guidance on day-to-day workplace issues, drafting and revising various types of employment-related forms and agreements, preparing employment policies, conducting internal workplace investigations and audits, and providing workplace trainings. She also advises clients on employment-related risks and exposure in merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions.
In addition to her counseling practice, Ms. Fitzgerald represents companies before administrative agencies, in state and federal courts, and in arbitration on a variety of claims that arise in the employment context, including single-plaintiff discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, class and collective wage and hour actions, trade secret litigation, labor relations matters and Title IX actions.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Ms. Fitzgerald was a labor and employment attorney for an international law firm in its Dallas office and worked with an international labor and employment law firm in its Denver office. Previously, she was a law clerk for a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, where she gained experience with the day-to-day process of federal courts.
Representative Experience
- Advising companies on all aspects of the employer-employee relationship, including hiring, onboarding, handbooks and policies, paid time off and sick leave, medical leaves of absence and accommodation requests, disciplinary and termination decisions and mass layoffs
- Advising companies on federal and state wage and hour issues, including employee classifications, intern classifications, wages, overtime, meal and rest periods, tip credits, off-the-clock work and payment of leave time
- Drafting and revising employment-related documents and forms, including offer letters, executive employment agreements, restrictive covenant agreements, policies and procedures, employee handbooks, accommodation request forms and separation/severance agreements
- Conducting internal workplace investigations concerning allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, hostile work environment, violations of policies and other alleged unlawful conduct
- Providing various workplace trainings for management and employees, including labor relations training
- Representation of employers in state and federal court, as well as arbitration proceedings, for single-plaintiff litigation matters and wage and hour class/collective action matters
- Representation of employers in federal and state agency complaints, including before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Colorado Civil Rights Division (CCRD) and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
- Representation of clients in high-stakes, complex trade secret matters
- Representation of employers in labor relations, including collective bargaining, providing representation at Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, overseeing the election process and labor arbitrations
Credentials
- Pepperdine University School of Law, J.D., cum laude
- East Tennessee State University, B.S., cum laude
- Colorado
- Texas
- U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- American Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division
- Pepperdine Law Review, Managing Editor and Member, 2016-2018