Overview
Jon Sterling defends employers against claims by current and former employees, including claims of wrongful discharge, unpaid wages, and harassment. He appreciates that employment disputes often feel personal, and his goal is to relieve employers of both the legal and the emotional burden they face. His clients include schools, colleges, businesses, municipalities, and other organizations, as well as individuals who have been sued in employment-related litigation.
In court nearly every week, Jon defends employers in cases involving FLSA, FMLA, ERISA, freedom of expression, workers' compensation retaliation, and common law claims. He has obtained numerous dismissals of lawsuits, as well as of administrative complaints filed with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). Jon routinely defends employers in CHRO and EEOC investigations and has successfully litigated against the CHRO in Superior Court.
Jon also provides proactive advice to help employers stay compliant with employment laws and avoid litigation. Each day, he assists employers with practical matters, including reviewing and drafting employee handbooks, employment agreements, noncompete agreements, and arbitration agreements, and advises them on a variety of issues, such as terminations, investigations, reductions in force, and wage and hour issues, and in developing areas like biometrics and medical marijuana. Jon also conducts management, sexual harassment, and other training for employers.
Jon also assists education clients with a variety of matters unique to their industry, including academic and student discipline issues. He routinely counsels educational clients on a wide variety of student, employment, and academic matters, from Title IX to bullying to vaping on campus. For example, in recent years, Jon has obtained judgments following trial for a university on claims brought by former students alleging hazing and alleged failure to pay an athletic scholarship.
Jon has a significant litigation practice outside of the employment and education arena as well. He has represented clients in a number of industries in cases involving contractual, negligence, and other disputes in state and federal court, including class actions.
Jon belongs to the Employers Counsel Network and is an editor and frequent contributor to the Connecticut Employment Law Letter and 50 Employment Laws in 50 States. He serves as a co-author of the ERISA Litigation Handbook.