Douglas R. Sergent
Doug Sergent concentrates his practice on employment litigation, employment counseling and traditional labor matters. He regularly gives speeches on various employment matters and formerly served as the Chairman for the Labor & Employment Section of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. He also serves on the Board of Directors for a local nonprofit organization operating 17 Head Start centers within the Cleveland area.
With over ten years of non-law-related work experience, including five years of management-level experience in the retail industry, Mr. Sergent brings a practical “hands on” approach to his work. This experience has enabled him to successfully defend employers against claims of discrimination and harassment (including sex, race, age, national origin and disability), retaliation, breach of contract, wrongful discharge and other work-related tort claims. He has developed a deep understanding of complex electronic discovery issues and federal and California wage and hour class action litigation, as well as matters involving trade secrets, confidential information and breaches of noncompetition/non-solicitation agreements.
Mr. Sergent has also litigated matters in state and federal courts and has extensive experience defending employers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and various state civil rights agencies.
Mr. Sergent is an experienced employment counselor, regularly advising employers on employment issues including, but not limited to, hiring and termination practices, pay policies and practices, employee discipline, noncompetition agreements, employment contracts, employment and labor due diligence issues and corporate investigations. He has counseled employers on all aspects of federal and state employment law, including matters involving the OFCCP, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) and various state law provisions.
Mr. Sergent also practices in the labor relations area, handling unfair labor practice cases and representing clients during the negotiation of bargaining agreements and plant shutdown agreements. He also counsels clients on matters including the National Labor Relations Act, the Davis-Bacon Act and similar state law provisions, as well as the Employee Retirement Income Service Act (ERISA) with respect to multi-employer pension funds.