Meredith provides advice and counseling on day-to-day employee-related and compliance matters, ranging from Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) matters to termination best practices, restrictive covenants, and employment agreements, as well as advancements and changes in the pay equity space. She regularly assists clients through pay equity disputes and internal audits, and on global compliance with pay equity legislation. She also advises clients, including federal contractors, on affirmative action, legislative and regulatory changes affecting employment matters for federal contractors, and Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) compliance issues, developing affirmative action plans and representing companies during the audit process.

Meredith frequently partners with companies to analyze and develop diversity and inclusion initiatives, and to analyze compensation programs, to not only ensure they are in compliance with applicable law, but to help them achieve internal equity and other goals.

Meredith’s litigation practice includes all aspects of employment law, such as discrimination, harassment, retaliation, trade secrets, and wage and hour issues. She represents employers in state and federal courts, as well as proceedings before the Texas Workforce Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the OFCCP.

Meredith is actively involved in the National Industry Liaison Group (ILG), along with local ILGs, which assist federal contractors in obtaining education and networking with fellow federal contractors. Her role on the Board of the National ILG allows her to collaborate with OFCCP, EEOC, and other governmental agencies to address key issues faced by the contractor community and helps her stay current on regulatory changes and other agency developments.

Prior to joining the firm, Meredith was in-house counsel at a mutual fund where she addressed day-to-day employment law issues, managed employment matters in international offices, and helped develop employment policies. Her in-house experience, along with other prior secondments, gives her a unique perspective on how to balance business needs and objectives with various initiatives, and assists her in providing meaningful and cost-effective advice.

Relevant Experience

• Represents government contractors and subcontractors in OFCCP audits regarding compliance with affirmative action laws and regulations.
• Prepares affirmative action plans for government contractors and subcontractors, and counsels government contractors and subcontractors regarding all aspects of affirmative action obligations under federal law.
• Counsels employers in developing and implementing meaningful and lawful diversity and inclusion initiatives.
• Counsels employers in pay equity analyses and investigations, as well as other employment data analytics.

• Represented a medical sales company in successfully negotiating a reduction in assessed penalties by the OFCCP from $10 million to $500,000.
• Represented a healthcare company in successfully negotiating a reduction in assessed penalties by the OFCCP from $1.2 million to $200,000.
• Represented a private investment firm focused on commercial real estate in the US and Europe in the employment aspects of the June 2020 acquisition and financing of a San Antonio-based property management firm with a portfolio including 30,000 apartment homes; the acquisition expanded the investment firm's integrated real estate platform of capital raising, acquisitions and property management, as well as its holdings in the “necessity housing” market.
• Represented healthcare company in obtaining a complete victory and an approximately $108 million final award from nationwide insurer; the award included nearly $80 million in breach of contract damages (inclusive of interest) and more than $21 million in penalties against opposing party for violating Texas Prompt Payment laws, and also shifted attorneys’ fees and other costs onto opposing party and denied all counterclaims against healthcare client.
• Represented regents of a large public university in an employment case involving claims of gender and disability discrimination, retaliation, and violations of the California Equal Pay Act. The jury found for the plaintiff on her disability discrimination and retaliation claims, but motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for a new trial were successfully granted, with the jury verdict being vacated, resulting in judgment for the regents on all claims.

Education
BBA, University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business, 2009

• OFCCP Continues Issuing Directives: What We've Seen and the Newest Developments, OFCCP Digest, Volume 8, Issue 10
• 10 common termination traps — and how to avoid them, HR Dive
• US Department of Labor Issues Final Rule Implementing Minimum Wage Increase for Federal Contractors, Pratt’s Government Contracting Law Report
• Federal Court Rules EEO-1 Reports Not FOIA-Exempt, The National Law Review
• Words matter — Can your DEI policies be evidence of (reverse) discrimination claims?, Reuters Legal News
• DEI programs are under fire. Is yours the next target?, HR Dive
• Woke: The New Four-Letter Word, Employee Relations Law Journal
• The Differing Court Approaches To Pay Equity Questions, Law360
• Racial Stereotypes’ Use May Doom Some Employers’ DEI Initiatives, Bloomberg Law
• ESG Hot Topics