Cohen Employment Law was founded by Michael B. Cohen, an award-winning employment attorney licensed in North Carolina and Virginia. Mr. Cohen has enjoyed significant success representing clients of all sizes—from Fortune 50 companies and C-suite executives to small businesses and hourly workers—in high stakes class action litigation, employment agreement and severance package negotiations, and other engagements across the country.
Cohen Employment Law focuses on representing its clients within three core practice areas
We regularly handle class action claims for unpaid wages, including overtime premiums, commissions, bonuses, and tips, as well as issues involving improper deductions, independent contractor misclassification, and exempt employee misclassification.
We vigorously advocate for our clients in disputes over stolen, misused, or otherwise misappropriated trade secrets and other confidential information, and we have litigated high stakes matters involving misappropriated proprietary and sensitive materials.
We represent executives, shareholders, managers, and other employees in negotiating or adjudicating their employment agreements and severance packages, including non-competes, non-solicitations, confidentiality provisions, and more.
We’ve represented publicly traded companies and helped recover millions for employees in class action and individual lawsuits. We’re able to leverage our experience assessing how the other side thinks and operates to obtain the best results for our clients.
Mr. Cohen—a Board Certified Specialist in Employment Law—has practiced with some of the largest firms in the world, presented on employment law issues to industry groups and organizations across the country, and authored many publications analyzing employment law developments. Mr. Cohen also serves on the Labor and Employment Council, the Professionalism Committee, and the Labor and Employment CLE Committee of the North Carolina Bar Association, and has been recognized by both Super Lawyers® and Best Lawyers® for years. He brings his reputation to every matter he handles.
We endeavor to make our pricing as transparent as possible so that our clients can effectively and accurately project their legal costs. Instead of billing by the hour, most of our engagements are provided on a flat fee or contingency fee basis (or some combination thereof)—including litigation.
Though based in North Carolina, we’ve litigated employment law cases in federal and state courts across the country, from New York to Alaska. Nothing is out of reach for us.
Many law firms either shy away from class action litigation or fumble their way through it when it comes along, leading to disastrous results. We focus on class action lawsuits and know how to develop the appropriate strategy to address class certification and other unique issues at play in class action litigation.
We only practice employment law (and always have). Working exclusively in employment law allows us to understand the nuances and intricacies of the field better than most.
Visit our FAQs page for more
Cohen Employment Law focuses on representing its clients within three core practice areas: (1) unpaid wages, overtime, and commissions (wage and hour); (2) employment agreements and severance packages; and (3) trade secret misappropriation.
Class (or collective) actions contain many nuances that are beyond the scope of this brief description, but at their core, they require that a group of employees suffer similar legal violations by their employer. Class or collective actions help streamline litigation when a particular violation affects many employees, allowing employees to seek relief simultaneously rather than through hundreds or thousands of individual lawsuits. Class or collective actions also make pursuit of smaller claims more cost-effective and viable.
The exact cost of your engagement will depend on your needs, but unlike many other firms, we endeavor to make our pricing as transparent as possible. Rather than strictly billing by the hour, most of our engagements—including litigation—are provided on a flat fee or a contingency fee basis (or some combination thereof). This allows you to accurately project your legal spend and ensures that our interests are always aligned.
Yes. The law protects employees who file a lawsuit against their employers from retaliation, including termination, regardless of whether the employment relationship is ongoing. Of course, as a matter of practicality, supervisors or coworkers may react and make the workplace a less comfortable environment after a lawsuit is filed, but the law prohibits most negative treatment in response to litigation, such as harassment, a demotion, or termination. At Cohen Employment Law, we work closely with our clients to develop strategies for handling these situations, both before and after a lawsuit is filed. We’re also proud to have established new precedent in North Carolina prohibiting employers from retaliating against current or former employees by filing frivolous counterclaims against them in responding to a lawsuit.
Employees should be classified as nonexempt by default unless a particular exemption applies. Determining whether an exemption applies depends on a number of factors, including an employee’s job duties, how the employee is paid (on a salary basis, by the hour, etc.), and how much the employee is paid. Common exemptions include the executive, administrative, professional, computer, outside sales, and highly compensated employee exemptions, but there are many other exemptions that may apply. For a more thorough review of the applicable exemptions, visit the Overtime Exemptions section of the FLSA Review.
Misclassifying employees as independent contractors is a common issue with significant potential ramifications, including employment law, tax law, and immigration law violations. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor generally requires an assessment as to whether, as a matter of economic reality, the worker is dependent on the hiring party. For a more thorough review of the issue, visit the Independent Contractors vs. Employees section of the FLSA Review.
Calculating overtime rates depends on how an employee is paid, whether on an hourly basis, fixed schedule salary basis, fluctuating schedule salary basis, piece-rate basis, day-rate basis, at multiple different rates, with bonuses or commissions, or as a tipped employee. For a straightforward explanation as to how to calculate overtime rates, visit the Calculating Overtime Premiums section of the FLSA Review.
At a high level, a trade secret is confidential business information that provides companies with a competitive edge. Trade secrets derive independent economic value from not being generally known and must be the subject of reasonable efforts to maintain their secrecy. Trade secrets can encompass a wide range of information, including formulas, patterns, processes, techniques, plans, designs, algorithms, code, customer lists, customer requirements, supplier lists, product specifications, financial data, and marketing strategies. Unlike patents, copyrights, and trademarks, trade secrets do not require formal registration and may be maintained indefinitely. Well known examples include Coca-Cola’s formula and Google’s search algorithm.
Whether non-compete agreements are enforceable depends on many factors, including how reasonable their restrictions are as to scope, duration, and geography, whether they protect an employer’s legitimate business interests, whether they are supported by adequate consideration, and whether they are otherwise consistent with the public policy of the state law they are governed under. Non-compete agreements are also restricted for certain categories of employees, including “low wage” employees in Virginia. Assessing the enforceability of non-compete agreements requires a case-by-case analysis of the terms of the written agreement, the nature of the employer’s business, and the duties and scope of the employee’s job.
While not required, it is often advisable to have an employment lawyer review any employment agreement or severance package before execution. These agreements typically contain terms with significant economic and non-economic implications, including those affecting an employee’s ability to work for competitors after termination (non-compete provisions), ability to solicit or work with certain customers or coworkers after termination (non-solicitation provisions), ability to pursue litigation against the employer (release or arbitration provisions), liability for fees in the event legal action occurs, obligations as to how to handle confidential information, and, of course, entitlement to payments and equity. Working with an employment lawyer not only helps employees understand the legal implications of these agreements, but it could also provide employees with better perspective as to what constitutes fair market value and how to negotiate more favorable terms.