Public Sector Law
Mansour Gavin’s Public Sector Labor and Employment Group has a strong reputation for providing practical and effective legal counsel to cities, counties, townships, and municipal agencies throughout Ohio. Our attorneys have served, and continue to serve, as law directors, prosecutors, mayors, board members, and trusted advisors to public entities, giving us a deep understanding of the operational, political, and legal challenges facing government employers.
The firm’s experience encompasses the defense of public sector employers in employment discrimination, wage and hour, civil rights, and wrongful discharge matters in state and federal courts, as well as in administrative proceedings before agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board, the State Employment Relations Board, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, and the Industrial Commission of Ohio.
Our team is highly experienced in collective bargaining negotiations, mediations, fact-finding, conciliations, unfair labor practice proceedings, civil service disciplinary matters, and grievance arbitrations. We regularly advise municipalities and other public entities on a broad range of labor and employment matters, including:
– Advising governmental representatives, mayors, administrations, and councils on municipal law, employment matters, and the interpretation and application of collective bargaining agreements
– Counseling public-sector employers on wage and hour compliance, civil rights and discrimination laws, unemployment matters, workers’ compensation, wrongful termination, and other employment-related issues
– Negotiating collective bargaining agreements with law enforcement, fire, public works, and other public-sector unions
-Advising public employers throughout disciplinary processes and representing them in grievance and arbitration proceedings
-Conducting and overseeing internal workplace investigations, including harassment and other employment-related complaints
-Defending public entities against individual and class action claims arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act and other federal and state employment statutes
Our longstanding client relationships, with many spanning decades, reflect both our commitment to public service and our in-depth knowledge of the communities and institutions we represent. We serve as strategic partners to public sector leaders, providing proactive guidance that minimizes risk while supporting effective governance.