With over 25 years of experience as a litigator, Margaret A. Keane represents employers in actions involving wage and hour claims, restrictive covenants, and discrimination claims. She works with employers to navigate the challenges of the digital workplace, including compliant use of social media, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies and associated privacy issues. She recently represented the defendant in Phone Dog v. Kravitz, litigation over the ownership of Twitter accounts and Twitter followers.

She has extensive experience in the employment aspects of corporate transactions, including due diligence, such as Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and compliance audits; addressing Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) compliance; and drafting employment, consulting and severance agreements. 

At her previous firm, Margaret was co-chair of the Global Employment Dispute Resolution practice group. As managing partner of a 30-lawyer office, she managed nationwide litigation for a Fortune 100 manufacturing client under a fixed-fee retainer agreement in which the firm actively defended each matter or retained outside counsel and directed strategy.

Margaret is a mediator for California' 3rd District Court of Appeal, and a settlement conference officer for the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco.

Among her successful employment representations, Margaret has:

• Defended employers in class and multi-party litigation alleging misclassification, off-the-clock work and other wage and hour violations
• Represented individual in arbitration over the section 16602 exception for non-competes
• Represented seller in arbitration over post-closing adjustments
• Obtained judgment in favor of employer on all counts in bench trial of wrongful termination and FMLA retaliation claims
• Defended class action alleging that changes to retiree benefit plans for unionized employees violated ERISA and the Labor Management Relations Act
• Obtained summary judgment for employer in action alleging ERISA violations associated with plant shutdown; opinion was affirmed by the Eleventh Circuit
• Obtained summary judgment for employer in state and federal court actions alleging reverse discrimination and retaliation; decisions affirmed on appeal before Sixth Circuit and Ohio Court of Appeals
• Obtained summary judgment for employer against employees’ denial of benefit claims under ERISA and for breach of collective bargaining agreement under the LMRA
• Defended class action alleging race discrimination in selection and promotion practices based on employer’s use of a test with disparate impact
• Defended private and EEOC actions alleging pattern and practice of gender, national origin and gender discrimination in hiring, training, promotion, compensation and discharge
• Advised and represented federal contractors in OFCCP audits investigating claims of systemic discrimination in hiring and promotion practices

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS

• Member, Board of Directors - Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, Western Division, 2010-2012