Roberta Limongi Ruiz, a trilingual attorney fluent in Spanish, Portuguese and English, advises and represents employers in a broad range of employment matters arising under federal and state laws, including whistleblowing and retaliation, discrimination and harassment, wage and hour issues, wrongful termination and unfair competition.  She represents clients in federal and state courts and during proceedings before various federal, state and local administrative agencies.  She also advises management in traditional labor issues and counsels multinational companies on how to meet their workforce needs worldwide. 

An active member of Littler’s Whistleblower and Retaliation Practice Group, Roberta has particular expertise in handling retaliation and whistleblowing claims in federal and state courts, as well as before the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration.  She has briefed evolving issues such as what is “protected activity,” what constitutes an “adverse action,” and how an employer negates an inference of causation under a wide variety of whistleblower statutes.  Roberta has also advised clients regarding the myriad whistleblowing and retaliation issues facing employers, and provided approaches and solutions for preventing and defending whistleblowing and retaliation claims.  In addition, she has extensively contributed to publications on that subject, including as a contributing author to Gregory C. Keating’s (Co-Chair of Littler’s Whistleblower and Retaliation Practice Group) treatise titled Retaliation and Whistleblowing: A Guide for Human Resources Professionals and Counsel, Lexis Nexis, and to Greg’s various publications for the National Employment Law Institute on Responding to and Preventing Retaliation Claims.

Roberta also advises clients and assists them with drafting and implementation of employee handbooks and policies, and in developing best practices for Human Resources professionals. She has conducted numerous field investigations in response to various claims, including discrimination and harassment, whistleblowing and retaliation, and unfair labor practice charges. She has defended wage and hour class action lawsuits, and conducted audits and risk assessments related to compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. She also prepares and customizes employers’ protective covenants and severance agreements for multi-state compliance.

*Not licensed to practice law in Texas

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS

• Member, Hispanic National Bar Association
• Member, Massachusetts Bar Association
• Member, Maine State Bar Association
• Former Regional President, Region I (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, and VT) - Hispanic National Bar Association, 2009-2011
• Former Deputy Regional President, Region I – Hispanic National Bar Association, 2008-2009