A former administrator of the wage and hour division at the U.S. Department of Labor, Tammy D. McCutchen is a leading authority on federal and state wage and hour laws who now represents and counsels management clients in connection with all types of labor and employment matters.  She focuses her practice on:

• Compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage-hour laws
• Conducting audits of overtime exemption classifications, non-exempt pay practices and independent contractor status
• Implementing compliance programs designed to avoid wage and hour disputes and lower potential litigation liabilities
• Representing employers being investigated by the DOL's Wage and Hour Division and similar state agencies

She also regularly serves as a consulting or testifying expert witness in wage-hour collective and class actions.

Additionally, Tammy represents and counsels clients on:

• The Family and Medical Leave Act
• The Service Contract Act
• The Davis Bacon Act
• The Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act
• Worker protections in federal immigration laws
• Reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Federal and state discrimination laws
• Affirmative action and prevailing wage requirements for government contractors

She appears before state and federal courts, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the DOL, and state agencies.

A frequent speaker, Tammy has lectured about wage and hour issues before trade associations, business organizations, and human resource groups. Most frequently, she works with clients in the following industries:

• Retail
• Restaurant
• Hospitality
• Janitorial
• Security
• Manufacturing
• Insurance
• Accounting
• Health care

Tammy is co-chair of Littler Mendelson's Compliance Audit Services Practice Group and a core member of the Wage and Hour Practice Group. She also is the primary architect of the firm's AuditQB software tool for conducting employment compliance audits. 

While at the DOL from 2001 to 2004, Tammy was responsible for enforcing, setting policy and preparing regulations for some of the country's most comprehensive labor laws, including:

• The Fair Labor Standards Act
• The Family and Medical Leave Act
• The Davis-Bacon Act
• The McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act
• The Medicare Secondary Payer Act

She managed the annual budget and 1,400 employees, represented by two unions, in more than 250 offices across the country.  She was a primary architect of the first major changes to DOL overtime regulations in 50 years and, under her leadership, the DOL increased enforcement by 60% in two years, while collecting millions of dollars in back wages.

Before working at the DOL, Tammy was senior counsel at a global chocolate corporation, where she provided counseling on labor and employment matters involving employees at corporate headquarters, field sales offices, and manufacturing plants located in the United States, Canada and Mexico.  She was responsible for:

• Managing employment litigation
• Advising the company on collective bargaining and labor arbitration issues
• Managing the preparation and implementation of affirmative action plans
• Providing assistance to the Diversity Council
• Conducting training for managers on recognizing and responding to discriminatory harassment

Tammy also clerked for Judge Daniel A. Manion on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and practiced law in Chicago for eight years.

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS

• Member, Labor and Employment Law Section - American Bar Association
• Member, Editorial Advisory Board - Law360, 2013
• Chair, Labor and Employment Practice Group - Federalist Society
• Member, Small Business Legal Advisory Board - National Federation of Independent Business

RECOGNITION

• Named, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business – Chambers USA, 2012
• Order of the Coif