Andrew C. Smith
Practice Areas
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Labor and Employment
- Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation
- Employer Internal Investigations
- Employment Litigation
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Employment Relations, Policies, and Regulatory Practice
- Affirmative Action Programs
- 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
- Workplace Technology Policies
- Labor/Management Relations
- Litigation
Industries
Education
- University of Pittsburgh School of Law, J.D., 1984
- College of Wooster, B.A., 1980, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude
Bar & Court Admissions
Andy is a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and a member of the labor and employment group, which he chaired for eleven years. His practice focuses on all aspects of labor and employment law, including employment litigation, wrongful discharge, and wage and hour class actions. Andy has represented employers in federal and state court proceedings across the country; in administrative matters before a variety of federal and state administrative agencies; and in traditional labor relations issues. His clients include national retailers, home builders, financial institutions, and international container manufacturers.
Career highlights include:
- Successfully defending an international distributor and manufacturer of clothing in a pregnancy and national origin discrimination claim in a federal district court trial in New York, New York
- Successfully defending a national retailer in a disability discrimination trial in Wilmington, Delaware
- Successfully defending a national industrial container manufacturer in a sex and race discrimination trial in Mobile, Alabama
- Successfully defending an automobile parts manufacturer in the first sexual harassment case to be tried to a jury in a federal court action following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decisions in Ellerth v. Burlington Industries and Farragher v. City of Boca Raton
- Representing retailers, manufacturers, national home builders and restaurants to successful resolution of class and collective action wage and hour claims under Federal and state law
- Helping to successfully negotiate collective bargaining agreements for a variety of businesses, including a national galvanizing manufacturer, a national retailer, and an international industrial container corporation
Andy is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association and the Columbus Bar Association.
Andy frequently lectures on all aspects of employment law, including sexual harassment, wage and hour laws, wrongful termination, conducting successful employment investigations and updates on national labor relations issues.
Andy received his J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and his B.A. from the College of Wooster, summa cum laude, where he was a Phi Beta Kappa.
Professional and Community Activities
- Past President, Board of Directors, Athletic Club of Columbus
- Action for Children, former Board Member
- Prevent Blindness, Ohio, former Board Member
Honors & Awards
- The Best Lawyers in America, Columbus Labor Law - Management "Lawyer of the Year," 2016, 2018, 2021
- Client Service All-Star, BTI, 2014
- Chambers and Partners, Leading Lawyer in Labor & Employment, 2013-2014, 2018-2021
- The Best Lawyers in America, Labor Law - Management, 2012-2022
- The Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law - Management, 2012-2022
- The Best Lawyers in America, Labor and Employment Law, 2008-2011
- Ohio Super Lawyers, Employment and Labor, 2009, 2012-2019
- Columbus CEO, Top Lawyers in Columbus, 2010-2021
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Review Rated
News
- 8/19/2021One hundred and sixteen lawyers from Vorys were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America® 2022 edition. In addition, 34 Vorys attorneys were named to the 2022 Best Lawyers in America “Ones to Watch” list.
- 8/19/2021Ten Vorys attorneys have been named 2022 Lawyers of the Year by Best Lawyers. Each year, only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”
- 5/20/2021Vorys is pleased to announce that 33 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized among the leading practitioners in the country in the 2021 edition of Chambers USA .
- 8/20/2020Nine Vorys attorneys have been named 2021 Lawyers of the Year by Best Lawyers. Each year, only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”
- 8/20/2020One hundred and twelve lawyers from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America® 2021 edition. In addition, 26 Vorys attorneys were named to the inaugural Best Lawyers in America “Ones to Watch” list.
- 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.
- 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.
- 8/17/2017Twenty Vorys attorneys have been named 2018 Lawyers of the Year by Best Lawyers. Each year, only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”
- 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.
- 3/28/2017This year, 54 Vorys attorneys were listed in the 2017 Columbus CEO “Top Lawyers” List.
- 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.
- 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.
- 8/17/2015Sixteen Vorys attorneys have been named 2016 Lawyers of the Year by Best Lawyers.
- 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.
- 3/21/2014Andrew Smith, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and chair of the labor and employment group, was included on Columbus Business First’s “20 People to Know in Manufacturing” list.
- 2/4/2014Andrew Smith, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and chair of the labor and employment group, was named to the 2014 BTI Client Service All-Star List. Smith was one of 49 labor and employment attorneys nationwide to be named a 2014 “Client Service All-Star.”
- 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.
- 12/16/2011
- 9/6/2011
- 8/9/2010
- 12/7/2009
- 8/4/2009
- 12/29/2008
- 11/2008
- 10/29/2008
- 9/19/2007
Insights
- 11/30/2018On November 21, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a far-reaching decision that “an employer has a legal duty to exercise reasonable care to safeguard its employees’ sensitive personal information stored by the employer on an internet-accessible computer system.”
- 10/19/2018The third piece of legislation that California recently enacted – Senate Bill 1300 – significantly expands employer liability under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
- 12/2/2016As we previously reported, in October 2016, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that the mandatory payment of wages by payroll debit card does not satisfy the requirements of the state’s Wage Payment and Collection Law (WPCL).
- 6/27/2016A federal district judge in Texas today issued a nationwide injunction prohibiting enforcement of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) persuader rule, saying it threatens employers’ rights to secure legal advice about union organization.
- 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.
- 2/25/2015As the 131st Ohio General Assembly continues to get underway, Senate Democrats recently introduced three bills regulating employers’ use of consumer credit reports, criminal histories and social media accounts.
- 2/2/2015This is a reminder to all employers with employees in California to implement the new workplace bullying training requirements that went into effect for California employers on January 1, 2015.
- 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.
- 6/23/2011