Tanja dedicates her practice to representing companies in the area of traditional labor law. Fortune 500 companies nationally as well as local employers across various industries, (including manufacturing, healthcare, services, and others), seek Tanja’s expertise in remaining union-free and in managing their union-represented workplaces. Union-free efforts include campaigns, comprehensive union vulnerability assessments, human relations audits, communication strategies, and union avoidance and positive employee relations training. She has successfully represented companies throughout the country in union organizing campaigns. Recent successes include:
- A union organizing drive in Puerto Rico led by a local union for a Fortune 100 company
- A Teamsters campaign in Maryland involving two hearings and an appeal to the NLRB in Washington
- A first and second election at the same site in the Boston area within a two year period
Tanja’s NLRB litigation practice includes unfair labor practice charges, as well as pre- and post-election litigation. Recent employer wins led by Tanja include:
- Successful litigation of bargaining unit issues for a Fortune 100 Company
- Successful litigation of challenged ballots for an election win
- Successful litigation of a jurisdictional dispute before the NLRB that resulted in the dismissal of the union’s petition in Memphis
For unionized clients, Tanja takes a proactive and assertive approach in representing clients’ interests at the bargaining table, in labor arbitrations, and in developing training and communication programs to ensure effective management under a collective bargaining agreement
Tanja improves business outcomes for companies by counseling employers and reducing risks in the areas of:
- Daily labor and employment matters
- Discipline and discharge
- Policy development and implementation
- Communication and change strategies
- Employee surveys and vulnerability assessments
- Personnel file documentation
- Section 7 activity under the NLRA
PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS
- Member, Labor and Employment Law Section - American Bar Association
- Employer co-chair, Committee on Development of the Law Under the NLRA, Labor and Employment Law Section - American Bar Association
- Member, Labor and Employment Law Section - Tennessee Bar Association
- Member, Labor and Employment Law Section - Memphis Bar Association
- Immediate Past President, Alumni Chapter - University of Memphis Law School
- Barrister, Leo Bearman, Sr. American Inn of Court
- Member, Labor Lawyers Advisory Council - National CUE Association
RECOGNITION
- Named, Rising Star - Mid South, Super Lawyers Magazine, 2010
- Named, Top 100 Labor Attorneys in America - Labor Relations Institute, 2007-2009
- Awarded, Martindale-Hubbell AV® Peer Review Rating
PUBLICATIONS AND PRESS
- December 31, 2012Littler ASAP
- October 2012Can the NLRB Prohibit Confidentiality of Workplace Investigations?HR Professionals Magazine
- September 1, 2012HR Professionals of Greater Memphis
- June 2012New NLRB Election Rules are Short LivedHR Professionals of Greater Memphis
- September 2011Proposed NLRB Election RulesHR Professionals of Greater Memphis
- 2007Toering Electric Co: NLRB Limits Job Protection for Job Applicants to Those with Genuine Interest in an Employment RelationshipSection of Labor and Employment Law - American Bar Association
- 1997Weapons in the Workplace: The Effect of Tennessee's Concealed Weapons Statute on Employer Liability28 University of Memphis Law Review 281
BOOKS & BOOK CHAPTERS
- The Developing Labor Law, 2009-2011 Cumulative Supplements, BNA, 5th and 6th Eds., associate editor, 2009-2012
- Guide to Workplace Law, Random House, 2nd Ed., American Bar Association, associate editor, 2006
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- March 21, 2013The ADA in Real Life
Littler Mendelson, Memphis, TN - November 28, 2012NLRB Rulings: Think They Don't Impact Non-Union Employers? Think Again
American Bar Association Webinar - November 7, 2012The Toxic Employee
Memphis Restaurant Association - October 28, 2012Ask the Experts
CUE Conference, San Antonio, TX - July 19, 2012Is Your Handbook Legal? – Handbook Scrutiny by Today’s NLRB
Lunch Byte – Littler Mendelson, Memphis, TN - July 10, 2012Employers and Employees on the Web – Have We All Gone Too Far?
Memphis Better Business Bureau - November 4, 2011Trying an NLRB Case - Pre-Trial Process, Procedure, and Insights
Annual CLE, Labor and Employment Law Section - American Bar Association, Seattle, WA - May 2011The Times They Are a Changing: Recent Developments in Labor and Employment Law
Annual CLE, Memphis Bar Association, Destin, FL - March 16, 2011Full Speed Ahead: A Review of Recent NLRB Decisions and Regulatory Actions
Labor and Employment Law Section - American Bar Association Webinar - April 28, 2010Labor and Employment Law Update: Perceptions and Predictions
Annual CLE, Memphis Bar Association, Destin, FL - November 6, 2009As the Pendulum Swings: The Role of Precedent in National Labor Relations Board Decisions
Annual CLE, Labor and Employment Law Section - American Bar Association, Washington, D.C. - December 2008Labor Law for Employment Lawyers
Annual CLE, Labor and Employment Law Section - Memphis Bar Association, Memphis, TN - November 2008Mock NLRB Representation Case Hearing
Annual CLE, Labor and Employment Law Section - American Bar Association, Denver, CO - February 2008Update on the NLRB's September 2007 Decisions
DLL Midwinter Meeting, Labor and Employment Law Section - American Bar Association - 2008September Steamroll or Standard Operating Procedure?
Labor and Employment Law Section - American Bar Association Webinar - 2006Leadership Positions in the Law
Professional Women's Business Group, Jackson, MS - February 2004An Exercise in Discretion - An Newly Organized or Successor Employer's Duty to Bargain About Implementing Decisions
DLL Midwinter Meeting, Labor and Employment Law Section - American Bar Association
