Overview

Joon Hwang represents employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. He has successfully defended clients in scores of complex, high profile individual, class, and collective actions; countless mediations and arbitration proceedings; and achieved exceptional outcomes in state, federal, and appellate courts as well as administrative agencies. A highly recognized and skilled litigator, Joon understands his clients' business objectives, and his pre-litigation and litigation strategies are designed to efficiently meet clients' business goals and minimize risks. Joon's practice resides in the Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland region, but he has represented international, national, and regional clients across the country, including New York and California.  

Joon’s nationwide practice includes:

  • Employment discrimination, harassment, and retaliation
  • Whistleblower and retaliation investigations and litigation
  • Executive contracts and compensation
  • Noncompetition, nonsolicitation, and nondisclosure negotiation and litigation
  • Business torts, including defamation, breach of fiduciary duties, duties of loyalty, tortious interference, conspiracy, and other business competition issues
  • Equal pay audits and litigation
  • Independent contractor and contingent worker audits and litigation
  • Wage and hour, including defense of allegations of employee misclassification, off-the-clock work, meal and rest break violations, and compensable preliminary and postliminary activities
  • Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims under California law

Joon works with a diverse range of clients in industries such as government contracting, consulting, technology, health care, transportation, construction, telecommunications, retail, insurance, staffing, higher education, and professional sports. His clients also include U.S. subsidiaries of multinational Korean conglomerates as well as emerging growth companies, start-ups, and entrepreneurs.

Joon is the Virginia liaison for Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), which partners with employers to engage in legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts on issues that impact the workplace. Joon focuses on Virginia state legislative and regulatory developments in employment and labor law, as well as municipal ordinances and regulation of the workplace. He assists the employer community in understanding and impacting Virginia legislation before it becomes law. Joon has been published in a variety of publications, including Bloomberg Law and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and routinely speaks on employment-related issues to businesses and human resource groups.

From 2016-2019, Joon served on Littler’s Diversity and Inclusion Council responsible for creating, implementing, and reviewing firmwide diversity and inclusion strategies, including enhancing the firm’s recruitment and retention of diverse attorneys, and creating pipelines in which lawyers from diverse backgrounds are promoted within the firm’s management and leadership tracks. He has also devoted substantial time to the success of Littler’s award-winning Career Advocacy Program (CAP), a signature diversity and inclusion initiative of the firm. Currently, Joon serves as the co-chair of the Littler SOAR Program, which mentors newly hired diverse attorneys to excel professionally at the firm. 

Previously, Joon was a judicial clerk to the Honorable James C. Fox of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Professional & Community Affiliations

Executive Committee Member

Business Climate Executive Committee

Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Co-Chair

Labor and Employment Committee

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

Member

Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington, D.C. Area

Member

Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Virginia

Member

Korean-American Bar Association for the Washington, D.C. Area

Member

Labor and Employment Law Section

American Bar Association

Member

Virginia Bar Association

Member

Employment Law Section

Fairfax Bar Association

News, Analysis & Press

Employee Poaching

MedEsthetics Magazine

November 5, 2020

Books & Book Chapters

  • Employment Discrimination Laws and Statutory Rights in Virginia, Chapters 1 and 3, The Mid-Atlantic Employer, LexisNexis, chapter co-author, 2014-2015
  • Employee Privacy Rights, Chapter 19, The National Employer, LexisNexis, contributing chapter author, 2014-2015
  • Family and Medical Leave Act, Chapter 15, Employment Law in Virginia, Virginia CLE Publications, co-author, 2014-2016, 2019-2020

Speaking Engagements

2023 Mid-Atlantic Regional Employer Conference

Washington, DC

June 16, 2023

New Noncompete and Nonsolicitation Rules: The Altered Legal Landscape in Virginia, D.C. and Maryland

Tysons Corner, VA

November 17, 2021

New Administration, CW Risk Policy Guidance & Expectations

Staffing Industry Analysts Risk Management & Compliance Workshop

April 13, 2021

Ask Your Littler Attorney

Tysons Corner, VA

March 17, 2021

Tysons Corner Fall Mini Series: Elections Matter: An Update on the Impacts of the 2020 Election

Tysons Corner, VA

December 16, 2020

Virginia’s New Employment Law Mandates and What Employers Need to Know

August 4, 2020

Key Considerations for WARN Act Notice Obligations

The Institute for Workplace Equality Washington, D.C.

June 17, 2020

How to Handle Sick Employees in the COVID-19 Era

The Institute for Workplace Equality Washington, D.C.

May 28, 2020

Virginia is for Lovers ... of Employees? The Commonwealth Enacts New Laws that Expand Employee Protections and Increase Employer Liability

May 19, 2020

Coronavirus Relief for Small Businesses – The CARES Act & Paycheck Protection Plan

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

April 21, 2020

Employment Law and Coronavirus: An Update and Discussion

National Asian Pacific American Bar Association

March 26, 2020

Preparing Your Organization for 2019’s Employment Laws: Renewing Your Focus and Refining Your Approach

Labor & Employment Webinar Series – Littler Mendelson and BB&T

February 25, 2019

Navigating Ever-Evolving Times: Top Labor and Employment Issues Affecting the Workplace in the U.S. and Korea

International Association of Korean Lawyers (IAKL) Conference

September 14, 2018

Accurate and Defensible Job Descriptions for 2018: Refining Your Craft, Avoiding the Common Quandaries, and Protecting Your Organization From Exposure

Center for Competitive Management (C4CM) Webinar

July 24, 2018

What’s New in Employment Law for 2018: Your Hotel’s Early Check-In

Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA)

February 7, 2018

New Year, New Focus: Preparing Your Organization for 2018's New Employment Laws

Labor & Employment Webinar Series – Littler Mendelson and BB&T

February 6, 2018

Best Practices for Conducting Effective Workplace Investigations: Legal Requirements and Practical Considerations

Labor & Employment Webinar Series – Littler Mendelson and BB&T

November 1, 2017

Effectively Handling Leave and Accommodations Under the ADA, FMLA, and Workers’ Compensation Laws

Virginia Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Conference

March 15, 2017

Conducting Internal Investigations: Facing New Challenges, Refining Your Techniques, and Avoiding the Common Pitfalls

Virginia Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Conference

March 14, 2017

Legally Terminating Employees on Leave: The Interplay of the FMLA, ADA, and Workers’ Compensation Laws

Center For Competitive Management (C4CM) Webinar

June 28, 2016

Navigating the FMLA and ADA Minefields

Labor & Employment Webinar Series – Littler Mendelson and BB&T

September 16, 2015

Writing Accurate & Defensible Job Descriptions that Comply with the FLSA, ADA, and FMLA

Center For Competitive Management (C4CM) Webinar

February 4, 2015

Privacy and Social Media in the Workplace

Labor & Employment Webinar Series - Littler Mendelson and BB&T

October 9, 2014

Education

  • J.D., University of North Carolina School of Law, 2010
  • B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2004

Languages

  • Korean

Bar Admission

Virginia
Maryland
District of Columbia
North Carolina

Courts

  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Virginia
  • U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
  • U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of North Carolina
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit