Practice Areas
Drawing on combined experience of over 50 years, Dobson & Vines offer services to clients in the following areas:
Labor & Employment
Labor & Employment law encompasses multiple federal and state laws, regulations, and Executive Orders. An Arkansas employer-focused labor and employment attorney can provide advice to employers in a wide range of employment related matters, with the goal of ensuring legal and regulatory compliance, fairness to employers – and employees – and maximizing a company’s defensive position. Dobson & Vines, PLLC, offers labor and employment services to employers in the following areas:
- Employment Discrimination
- Sex, race, age, disability, etc.
- Harassment Prevention
- Wage & Hour
- Family and Medical Leave Act
- OSHA
- Employee Handbooks
- Drug Testing
- Medical Marijuana
- COVID-19
- Covenants not-to-Compete
- Confidential Information
- Trade Secrets
Workplace Investigations
When issues arise between or with employees that cannot be adequately addressed by internal investigations, Dobson & Vines, PLLC, can assist employers and provide neutral, unbiased workplace investigation services to businesses or corporate counsel.
Allen Dobson has conducted or instructed clients on conducting, hundreds of workplace investigations. In 2019, he completed training and received his certificate from the Association of Workplace Investigators (“AWI”). Subsequently, Allen Dobson was approved by the American Arbitration Association to be listed on a panel of workplace investigators.
Wage & Hour Audits
Wage & Hour lawsuits have exploded over the past 20 years. In 2020, 6,663 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuits were filed in the United States District Courts, a 300% increase over the number filed in year 2000. FLSA lawsuits are frequently risky and expensive for employers, resulting in attorneys’ fees, as well as loss of productive work time from human resources, managers, and others. Compounding those risks is the fact that if an employer loses or settles a FLSA lawsuit, the employer may be forced to pay thousands or tens of thousands of dollars in backpay damages, liquidated damages, and attorneys’ fees to the employee’s attorney.
Employers can reduce their risk by conducting a thorough and comprehensive review of their wage and hour practices, ideally with input from both an experienced wage and hour professional and the assistance of legal counsel.
Dobson & Vines, PLLC, works with Chad Dalton, former Wage & Hour Investigator with the U.S. Department of Labor, to offer organizations wage and hour audits, with results protected by attorney-client privilege.
Commercial Litigation
Commercial litigation involves a broad range of lawsuits between businesses. From simple contract disputes to complex multi-business disputes, Dobson & Vines, PLLC, is experienced in representing companies and their principals. Businesses often recognize the need to resolve disputes quickly. An Arkansas commercial litigation attorney can help clients position themselves strategically, and work to secure an advantageous resolution of lawsuits.
Construction Litigation
Insurance Policy Disputes
Companies and individuals purchase insurance to cover risks that can be financially devastating otherwise. Unfortunately, those risks are often very narrowly defined in an insurance policy, and mere payment of premiums is no guarantee that a loss is covered. On occasion, the insurance company mistakenly, or even unlawfully, denies a claim. In those situations, the assistance of an Arkansas insurance dispute attorney can help you determine your rights. If you feel that your claim has been wrongly denied, Dobson & Vines, PLLC, can review your policy and represent your interests against the insurance company in the following areas:
- Commercial General Liability (CGL)
- Directors and Officers (D&O)
- Other Business Insurance
- Life Insurance