Kevin
S. Mullen is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of
Legal Specialization and he’s been named a Texas Super Lawyer in
Employment and Labor Law by Thomson Reuters since 2016. He represents a broad client base, including clients
engaged in construction, oil and gas, health care, transportation,
manufacturing, hospitality, retail, technology, sales, and other industries.
While Kevin considers himself an employment law generalist for whom no issue is
too big or too small, his areas of interest and knowledge include the following:
+OSHA and Workplace Safety
+Employment discrimination (Title VII) +Employee handbooks, policies, procedures, and EEO training
+Non-compete agreements, unfair competition, and trade
secrets
+The Americans with Disabilities Act
+Wage and hour issues
+The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
+The Family and Medical Leave Act
+Civil rights
+Employment torts
+Contract issues
+Whistleblower claims
+Architectural barriers / accessibility issues
Kevin’s
employment practice is equal parts litigation and counseling. An experienced
litigator in the state and federal trial courts, Kevin additionally defends
private sector employers, individuals, non-profits, and governmental entities
in private arbitrations and administrative proceedings. During the last several
years, Kevin has successfully tried several matters, including a
whistleblower/retaliation administrative proceeding for a national trucking
company, two age discrimination arbitrations involving a well-known insurance
carrier, a federal civil rights case against a school district in state court,
a traditional labor arbitration involving a large healthcare provider, and two
employment discrimination/tort arbitrations against a national automobile
dealership chain. He also routinely appears in court and before private arbitrators
on motions for summary judgment, motions to compel arbitration, motions to
transfer venue, remand-related motions, injunctions, and other proceedings.
Kevin has also represented clients in oral argument before the State Courts of
Appeal and composed winning state and federal appellate briefs.
Kevin
routinely counsels clients on pressing employment issues, such as terminations
and suspensions, the enforcement of non-compete agreements, dealing with
difficult employees, and handling disability accommodation and leave requests.
He responds quickly to client inquiries and endeavors to provide clients with
business-focused, concrete advice upon which they can make real-world
management decisions. Kevin is a firm believer in addressing issues before
they turn into lawsuits and in weighing the pros and cons, and costs and
benefits of each option.
Kevin
devotes significant attention to helping clients resolve OSHA matters. He
counsels clients through OSHA investigations and has successfully challenged
citations in administrative proceedings before the Occupational Health and
Safety Review Commission.
With
the substantial increase in wage and hour suits in the last decade, Kevin has
developed proficiency in defending and defusing multi-plaintiff minimum wage
and overtime suits, and he advises businesses on strategies for minimizing
their risk of such claims. Kevin has successfully handled matters ranging
from a few pest control technicians to hundreds of bus drivers.
Kevin
also efficiently resolves claims brought against retailers, restaurants,
and hotels under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits
public accommodations and commercial facilities from discriminating against the
disabled and regulates architectural barriers.
Kevin advises executives in assessing and negotiating employment agreements, non-compete agreements, and severance packages. He also provides selected representation of executives and employees in wrongful termination, non-compete, and other employment-related claims.
On-site investigation of employment- and compliance-related claims and preparation of independent reports is another area in which Kevin has expertise.
Before
deciding to open his own law firm, Kevin spent eight years as an equity
shareholder in the world’s largest labor and employment law firm representing
management, and he co-founded its Austin office. As a newly-licensed attorney, Kevin was
selected by then-Texas Attorney General (current-United States Senator) John
Cornyn for membership in the Attorney General's Honors Program, Class of 2001.
In that capacity, he defended the constitutionality of state programs and
statutes and represented state agencies and employees in employment
discrimination cases.