Mark A. Knueve
Practice Areas
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Labor and Employment
- Employer Internal Investigations
- Employment Litigation
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Employment Relations, Policies, and Regulatory Practice
- Covenants Not to Compete and Trade Secrets
- Drug and Alcohol Policies and Testing
- Employee Discipline and Termination
- Employment Counseling
- Employment Policies and Manuals
- Equal Employment Opportunity
- Family and Medical Leave Act
- Management Training
- Wage and Hour/Fair Labor Standards Act
- Whistleblower Protection
- Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act ("WARN")
- Workplace Harassment, Including Sexual Harassment
- Labor/Management Relations
- Litigation
Industries
Education
- University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1996
- University of Virginia, B.A., 1993, with High Distinction
Bar & Court Admissions
Mark is a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and chair of the firm's labor and employment group. He represents primarily employers and assists them in litigation matters, focusing on complex employment litigation such as wage and hour class actions and collective actions. He is involved in the preparation of employment-related documents, including employment policies and contracts. Mark also participates in employment-related arbitrations, as well as employer counseling, training and non-compete matters.
Career highlights include:
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Acting as lead trial counsel in more than 60 putative class actions, collective actions, or representative actions
- Litigating matters in more than 30 states and in seven U.S. Circuit Courts
- Obtaining reversal of pro-plaintiff verdicts in multiple appeals
- Serving as lead counsel in multiple trials in federal court
- Obtaining summary judgment and favorable verdicts in a variety of wage and hour and discrimination claims in courts across the country
Mark has spoken on a variety of employment-related topics, including sexual harassment, wage and hour, discrimination, investigations, documentation procedures and other employment matters.
Mark received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A. with high distinction from the University of Virginia.
Professional and Community Activities
- Participating Lawyer, Veterans Consortium Pro Bono Program, 2002-present
Honors & Awards
- Chambers and Partners, Leading Lawyer in Labor & Employment, 2010-2020
- Ohio Super Lawyers, Employment and Labor, 2011-2020
- Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Stars, Employment and Labor, 2005-2007
- The Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law - Management, 2012-2020
- The Best Lawyers in America, Litigation - Labor & Employment, 2012-2020
- Columbus CEO, Top Lawyers in Columbus, 2015-2016
News
- 4/23/2020Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease is pleased to announce that 30 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized among the leading practitioners in the country in the 2020 edition of Chambers USA.
- 12/9/2019Vorys is pleased to announce that 39 attorneys from the firm have been named 2020 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.
- 8/15/2019One hundred and thirteen lawyers from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2020.
- 4/26/2019Vorys announced that 30 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized among the leading practitioners in the country in the 2019 edition of Chambers USA.
- 12/5/2018Vorys is pleased to announce that 48 attorneys from the firm have been named 2019 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.
- 8/15/2018One hundred and thirteen lawyers from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2019.
- 5/4/2018Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease is pleased to announce that 32 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized among the leading practitioners in the country in the 2018 edition of Chambers USA.
- 12/5/2017Vorys is pleased to announce that 56 attorneys from the firm have been named 2018 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.
- 8/17/2017One hundred and eight lawyers from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2018.
- 5/26/2017Vorys announced that 30 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized among the leading practitioners in the country in the 2017 edition of Chambers USA.
- 3/28/2017Vorys Partners Mark Knueve and Daren Garcia were included in a Retail Law360 story titled “Judge OKs Abercrombie's $700K Deal In Worker Seating Suit.”
- 12/2/2016Vorys is pleased to announce that 58 attorneys from the firm have been named 2017 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.
- 8/15/2016One-hundred and eleven lawyers from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2017.
- 5/27/2016Vorys announced that 36 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized among the leading practitioners in the country in the 2016 edition of Chambers USA.
- 2/19/2016Mark Knueve, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and a member of the labor and employment group, was included on Columbus Business First’s “20 People to Know in Retail” List.
- 12/2/2015Vorys is pleased to announce that 63 attorneys from the firm have been named 2016 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.
- 8/17/2015One-hundred and eighteen lawyers from Vorys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2016.
- 5/19/2015Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease is pleased to announce that 39 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized among the leading practitioners in the country in the 2015 edition of Chambers USA.
- 12/3/2014Vorys is pleased to announce that 74 attorneys from the firm have been named 2015 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.
- 8/18/2014One-hundred and ten lawyers from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2015.
- 5/23/2014Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease is pleased to announce that 39 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized among the leading practitioners in the country in the 2014 edition of Chambers USA.
- 12/4/2013Eighty-one attorneys from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP have been named 2014 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars. 57 Vorys attorneys were named 2014 Ohio Super Lawyer and 24 Vorys attorneys were named 2014 Ohio Rising Stars.
- 8/14/2013One hundred and eleven lawyers from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2014.
- 5/24/2013Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease is pleased to announce that 39 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized among the leading practitioners in the country in the 2013 edition of Chambers USA. Chambers USA conducts in-depth research and ranks the leading firms and attorneys in an extensive range of practice areas throughout America.
- 12/17/2012Seventy-Seven attorneys from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease have been named 2013 Ohio Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.
- 8/23/2012One hundred and twenty-six lawyers from Vorys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2013.
- 6/7/2012Vorys announced that 35 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized among the leading practitioners in the country in the 2012 edition of Chambers USA.
- 2/8/2012Vorys Partners Mark Knueve and Daren Garcia were included in a Law360 story about arguments made before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Amber Echavez v. Abercrombie and Fitch Co.
- 12/16/2011
- 9/6/2011
- 6/10/2011
- 4/22/2011
- 3/17/2011
- 8/9/2010
- 6/24/2010
- 4/6/2010
- 8/4/2009
- 10/29/2008
- 9/19/2007
- 6/26/2007
Events
- 4/27/2017Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP hosted the Cincinnati Labor and Employment Law Update on April 27, 2017.
- 10/20/2016Several Vorys attorneys were speakers at the 2016 Ohio Council of Behavioral Health & Family Service Providers Annual Conference on October 20-21, 2016.
- 10/15/2015Vorys and The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law presented a two-day program, In-House Essential Conference on October 15-16, 2015.
- 10/31/2012Vorys partners Mark Knueve and Allen Kinzer participated in the 6th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference that took place on October 31 to November 3, 2012. The Conference covered various issues and aspects of the labor and employment law arena.
- 3/13/2012Vorys partners Al Kinzer, Nelson Cary and Mark Knueve spoke at the Employers Resource Association’s Employment Law Update and Review on March 13.
- 4/7/2011
- 3/9/2011
- 10/28/2009
Insights
- 7/29/2019California and New York recently enacted the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace) to further prohibit discrimination on the basis of natural hairstyle.
- 1/22/2019The start of a new year often brings new laws. Discussed below are several laws affecting Illinois employers that became effective on January 1.
- 10/18/2018Labor and Employment Alert: California Extends Mandatory Sexual Harassment Training to All EmployeesCalifornia law currently requires employers with 50 or more employees to provide at least two hours of prescribed training and education regarding sexual harassment, abusive conduct, and harassment based upon gender to all supervisory employees within six months of assuming a supervisory position and once every two years thereafter.
- 10/12/2018This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to Congress reaffirming its stance that Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to websites.
- 9/7/2018In August 2018, in Gaffers v. Kelly Services, Inc., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an arbitration agreement that required individual arbitration of claims under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
- 6/21/2018Maryland recently enacted the “Disclosing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Act,” which becomes effective on October 1, 2018.
- 5/31/2018California law requires that employees receive an itemized wage statement containing statutorily prescribed information. Wage statements that lack the required information or that are inaccurate subject the employer to penalties and potential liability under the state’s Private Attorney Generals Act.
- 5/21/2018In a split 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court upheld workplace arbitration agreements that prohibit class and collective actions.
- 4/11/2018On April 9, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that prior salary, either alone or in combination with other factors, cannot justify a wage differential between male and female employees.
- 3/8/2018The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently announced a pilot program to encourage employers to self-report their wage-hour violations.
- 10/16/2017On October 12, 2017, California became the latest jurisdiction to prohibit employers from inquiring into applicants’ salary history.
- 8/30/2017On August 29, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) immediately halted the EEOC’s revisions to the EEO-1 form that were to take effect in March 2018.
- 8/21/2017Effective October 1, 2017, Connecticut employers will be required to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees and job applicants. The new "Act Concerning Pregnant Women in the Workplace" generally requires an accommodation unless providing one would cause an undue hardship.
- 7/14/2017Washington law requires that employees who work five consecutive hours receive a 30-minute meal break.
- 6/15/2017This week a federal judge in Florida passed down one of the most historic Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) website accessibility decisions to date, finding that Winn-Dixie was liable under the ADA because its website was inaccessible.
- 6/7/2017Today, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it is withdrawing two Administrator’s Interpretations on joint employment and independent contractors that were issued under the Obama administration.
- 5/25/2017California, like 48 other states, is an employment-at-will state (Montana is the sole exception). This means that employment without a specified term may be terminated at the will of either party. But the presumption of at-will employment can be overcome by the parties agreeing – either expressly or impliedly – to limit the employer’s termination rights.
- 3/8/2017New York currently has no laws or regulations specifically addressing the use of payroll debit cards.
- 3/6/2017Effective July 1, 2017, Seattle’s Secure Scheduling Ordinance requires certain large employers to establish predictable work schedules, involve their employees in scheduling practices, and ensure that employees may obtain additional hours of work before new employees are hired.
- 3/3/2017Beginning on March 8, 2017, employers in San Jose generally must offer their part-time employees additional work hours before hiring new or temporary employees.
- 11/23/2016In a surprising decision, a federal judge in Texas blocked the U.S. Department of Labor’s new overtime rule from taking effect on December 1.
- 11/1/2016The EEOC issued its Strategic Enforcement Plan for 2017-2021 setting forth “its continued commitment to focus efforts on those activities likely to have strategic impact.”
- 9/30/2016California continues to expand its Labor Code. On September 25, 2016, California enacted a law that generally protects employees from having to adjudicate in other states any employment claims arising in California.
- 9/16/2016According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), retaliation is now the most frequently alleged basis of discrimination.
- 8/24/2016Labor and Employment Alert: The Split Widens: Now the Ninth Circuit Invalidates Class Action WaiversOn August 22, 2016, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that requiring employees to sign an arbitration agreement prohibiting them from filing class or collective actions over wages, hours, and employment terms and conditions violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
- 6/23/2016Effective January 1, 2017, Colorado’s private employers must allow current and former employees to inspect and copy their personnel files. The new law does not apply to a financial institution, bank, trust company, savings institution, or credit union. Nor does it apply to public employees, who already have access to their personnel records under the Colorado Open Records Act.
- 6/20/2016In a case of first impression, the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously held that an employer’s attempt to contractually shorten the two-year statute of limitations for claims under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) violates public policy and so is unenforceable. After reviewing the LAD’s legislative history and purpose, the Court concluded that “a private agreement that frustrates the LAD’s public-purpose imperative by shortening the two-year limitations period for private LAD claims cannot be enforced.”
- 6/14/2016In a case of first impression, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently considered whether an employer violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) because it failed to include cash-in-lieu of benefits payments when it calculated employees’ regular rate of pay.
- 6/7/2016In December 2013, in D.R. Horton, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the National Labor Relation Board’s (NLRB) prohibition on mandatory arbitration clauses. Since then, the vast majority of federal courts addressing this issue have agreed with the Fifth Circuit, including the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Second and Eighth Circuits.
- 5/18/2016Today, the U.S. Department of Labor published its final rule significantly expanding the overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The rule increases the salary an employee must receive before being considered overtime-exempt to $913 per week – $47,476 per year (or, $134,004 for highly compensated employees).
- 3/15/2016A recent case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals highlights the importance of well-drafted and strictly enforced wage-hour policies. In Ambrea Fairchild v. All American Check Cashing, Inc., 811 F.3d 776 (5th Cir. 2016), All American’s overtime policy prohibited hourly employees from working overtime without prior approval and required employees to accurately report all of their hours worked in its timekeeping system.
- 2/4/2016On January 20, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division (WHD) issued an Administrator’s Interpretation on joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Migrant Worker Protection Act (MWPA).
- 8/7/2015Since 1990, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has required places of public accommodation to meet certain standards for accessibility by persons with disabilities. The traditional definition of “places of public accommodation” – stores, schools, offices, etc. – has largely remained unchanged since the ADA’s enactment. In April 2016, however, a long-awaited change could see an entirely new frontier fall under the scope of the ADA: websites.
- 7/15/2015Today, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an Administrator’s Interpretation discussing the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. In this guidance, the DOL takes the position that “most workers are employees under the FLSA’s broad definitions.”
- 4/15/2015Last year, the Sixth Circuit opened the floodgates on telecommuting as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In EEOC v. Ford Motor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Ford under the ADA for failing to accommodate Jane Harris’ (a former employee) irritable bowel syndrome by refusing her request to telecommute as-needed up to four days a week.
- 4/9/2015California courts have made it notoriously difficult to enforce noncompete agreements against former employees in California. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has just made it even harder.
- 3/4/2015Any employer who has done business in California is familiar with the state’s byzantine wage-hours laws and the immense liability for even minor violations. The complexity of these laws – and the potential exposure facing employers – has not been lost on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as the recent case of Mendoza v. Nordstrom demonstrates.
- 2/10/2015FLSA claims involving off-the-clock work have become a popular claim in recent years. A recent Eleventh Circuit ruling has made employer defenses to such lawsuits a bit more challenging. In Bailey v. TitleMax of Ga., Inc. (11th Cir., No. 14-11747, 1/15/15), the employer argued that the plaintiff’s claims should be barred because the plaintiff failed to report all hours worked, which caused the company to under-compensate the plaintiff.
- 1/23/2015President Obama delivered his sixth State of the Union address on Tuesday, and labor and employment matters took center stage. While the president’s address does not have the force of law, it highlights for employers what issues the White House plans on pursuing in the coming year.
- 1/12/2015The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a decision regarding whether interruptions of an employee’s meal period automatically render that time compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
- 12/9/2014As we reported in October, the case of Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, U.S. No. 13-433, has been closely watched by companies that screen their workers to prevent employee theft. Integrity Staffing required its employees to pass through a security check at the end of each shift and did not compensate them for the 25 minutes the employees claimed the process took.
- 12/3/2014Led by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), federal agencies are beginning to focus on sexual orientation, gender identity and transgender discrimination. While the proposed federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which has been introduced in every Congress since 1994, is unlikely to gain traction in the new Republican-controlled Congress, the EEOC and Department of Labor (DOL) have made lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues an enforcement priority.
- 11/5/2014Voters in four states and two California cities yesterday faced ballot initiatives proposing to raise the state minimum wage. All were passed. Alaska will raise its minimum wage from $7.75 an hour to $8.75 on Jan. 1, 2015, and to $9.75 on Jan. 1, 2016. The measure also provides for automatic yearly increases after 2016 based upon inflation, and further provides for an automatic increase should their minimum wage ever be less than $1 over the federal minimum wage. The measure included language that specifically indicated that tips and gratuities do not count towards a worker’s wage.
- 10/20/2014A federal district court in Virginia last week tentatively approved a $4 million settlement between Dollar General and a nationwide class of job applicants to settle a proposed class action claiming that the company did not properly notify more than 100,000 job applicants since 2007 that they would be screened by background checks.
- 10/9/2014Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, U.S., No. 13-433, which will address whether the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), as amended by the Portal-to-Portal Act, requires payment for time employees spend waiting for and engaging in security screenings at the end of a shift.
- 10/7/2014Workplace bullying is a topic that is garnering a lot of attention. A new poll commissioned by CareerBuilder found that 28% of workers feel that they have been bullied at work and 19% of those workers have left their jobs because of the bullying. Twenty-Seven percent of those bullied are management employees (manager, director, team leader, vice president and above); 19% of employees bullied earn more than $50,000 a year.
- 10/31/2012Mark Knueve, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office, authored an article for the Human Resources Association of Central Ohio Connections about the recent increase in Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuits. He says that the trend is related to non-exempt employee use of smart phones or computers to perform work outside of regularly-scheduled work time.
- 5/5/2011
- 10/12/2010
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- 7/2006