Greg Hare has been an employment lawyer at Ogletree Deakins his entire career, ever since 1991. He assists companies with human resources and employment-related litigation matters, including wrongful termination claims, sexual harassment, employment discrimination, employment contracts, trade secrets, and non-compete agreements.
He advises clients on a wide range of human resources topics, such as employee discipline and discharge, severance planning, independent contractor classifications, wage payment, family and medical leave, disability law, military leave, joint employment issues, affirmative action and reductions in force.
Mr. Hare also counsels clients on traditional labor relations matters involving union avoidance, decertification, strike contingency planning, double-breasting, grievance administration and arbitration, collective bargaining, unfair labor practice litigation, and other matters involving the National Labor Relations Board.
Mr. Hare encourages companies to develop proactive human resources strategies that are designed to minimize exposure to costly litigation and disputes. This commonly includes conducting comprehensive employment law compliance audits, employment policy design and review, management training and counseling, and simulated problem solving workshops.
Experience
Greg’s diverse practice cuts across multiple disciplines within the labor & employment law specialty area, but generally can be subdivided into five broad categories:
- Employment Litigation: assisting companies with state & federal court lawsuits involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, interference with leave entitlements, improper wage payment, denial of benefits, breach of contract, and employment torts (e.g., infliction of emotional distress, defamation, quantum meruit, etc.). Greg has handled dozens of federal court litigation matters over the past 20 years, plus multiple appeals to federal appellate courts. He even has handled matters before the United States Supreme Court.
- Traditional Labor: union avoidance, labor arbitrations, collective bargaining, project labor agreements, double-breasted operations, benefit plan contribution disputes, etc., with heavy experience in construction, transportation, logistics, warehousing and manufacturing sectors.
- Business Divorces/Non-Competition Cases: representing companies dealing with the fallout of executive departures, including: enforcement of post-employment restrictive covenants (non-compete, non-solicitation, non-disclosure and non-recruitment clauses); negotiating the value of departing executive’s stake in the business, including fair market valuation disputes; protecting the company’s trade secrets, copyrights and confidential information.
- Franchise/Distributor Disputes: representing companies in disputes with franchisees and distributors, where claims commonly include wrongful termination of relationship, breach of contract, and unfair business practices, allegedly in violation of federal and state statutes.
- Human Resources Advice: counseling companies on best practices for responding to agency investigations (EEOC charges, DOL audits, etc.), advising managers on disciplinary matters, minimizing employment-related exposures by properly responding to adversarial employees, formulating severance strategies, training managers on their employment-related obligations, etc.
Industries
Greg’s practices touches a wide array of industries, including: Automotive, Bakery, Banking, Beverage, Biochemical, Construction (residential, commercial, and industrial), Distribution, Education, Energy, Engineering, Food Processing, Food Service, Franchising, Healthcare, Hospitality/Hotels, Industrial Equipment, Insurance, Logistics, Manufacturing, Medical Devices, Medical Practices, Non-profit/Religious, Pharmaceutical, Poultry, Retail, Software, Staffing, Telecommunications, Transportation, Warehousing.
Georgia
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth, Eighth and Eleventh Circuits
National Labor Relations Board
Education and Honors
- Super Lawyer – Georgia Law and Politics
- Leading Lawyer for Business – Chambers USA attorney guide
- AV Rated – Martindale-Hubbell Lawyer Directory
Professional Activities
- SHRM Atlanta (Director of Buckhead Subchapter)
- SHRM National (Speaker)
- Association of Corporate Counsel (Speaker)
- Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce (Speaker)
- South Fulton Chamber of Commerce (Speaker)
- The Seminar Group (Speaker)
- American Bar Association
- State Bar of Georgia
- Atlanta Bar Association
- Lawyers Club of Atlanta
- Commerce Club of Atlanta
- Ogletree Deakins Workplace Strategies Seminar - "HR Update Roundtable" - Phoenix - May 12, 2012
- Major Benefits Company - "Hot Topics In Employment Law: Make Sure Your Company Is Ready!" - Atlanta - May 3, 2012
- Association of Residential Cleaning Services - "Managing Within the Law" - Orlando - April 14, 2012
- SHRM Atlanta - "Best Practices When Severing Employees" - Atlanta - March 13, 2012
- SHRM National Conference - "A Best Company's Guide To Handling Harassment Allegations" - Las Vegas - June 29, 2011
- Private Client Seminar - "EEOC, DOL & NLRB Briefing: Increased Government Activity; What Every WFM Should Know" - Atlanta - April 14, 2011
- Major Retailer - "Hot Topics In Employment Law: Make Sure Your Company Is Ready!" - Atlanta - March 18, 2011
- Private Client Seminar - "FLSA Update" - Atlanta - January 20, 2011
- Private Company Training - "Managing Within the Law" - Atlanta - January 19, 2011
- SHRM Atlanta - "Hot Topics in Employment Law: Make Sure Your Company is Ready!" - Atlanta - January 18, 2011
- General Counsel Seminar - "Georgia’s New Restrictive Covenant Law" - Atlanta - November 17, 2010
- SHRM Atlanta - "Hot Topics in Employment Law" - Atlanta - November 16, 2010
- Ogletree Deakins Briefing - "Hot Topics In Employment Law" - Atlanta - November 16, 2010
- Private Client Seminar - "Hot Topics In Employment Law" - Plano - November 10, 2010
- SHRM Atlanta 20th Annual Convention - "Coping With Georgia’s Restrictions on Restrictive Covenants" - Atlanta - October 19, 2010
In The News
- March 13, 2012 - Atlanta Business RadioX - "Hot Topics in Employment Law"
- May 26, 2011 - Atlanta Business Chronicle - "Setting Company Tone and Attitude Key to Success"
- September 29, 2010 - Law360 - "How to Handle a Pro Se Litigant"
- January 26, 2010 - SHRM.org - "DOT Announces Federal Ban on Texting for Commercial Truck Drivers"
- January 2010 - SHRM.org - "Enforceability Of Noncompete Agreements Differs From State To State"
- October 9, 2008 - SHRM.org - "Attorney: Don't Let Fear of Litigation Impact Termination Decisions"
- June 27, 2008 - Atlanta Journal Constitution - "Handle With Care: When Company-Owned Technology Goes Home With You, Rules Apply"
- March 2008 - Inside Counsel - "Language Barriers: English Only Rules in the Workplace"
- February 2007 - Inside Counsel - "Pernicious PDAs: Employee Blackberry Use Can Create Employer Liability"
- May 13, 2010 - Daily Labor Report - "Texting While Driving . . . Subjecting Employees & Employers to Unnecessary Risk"
- Fall 2008 - The Human Resource - "Employment Law Update: What’s at Stake in ’08 – The Changing Political Environment"
- Fall 2007 - Construction Magazine - "Federal Court Sexual Harassment Ruling Recognizes Sufficiency Of Company’s Investigation"
- April 2007 - The Human Resource - "Ruling Says Courts Should Not Micro-Manage A Company’s Internal Investigation of Sexual Harassment Claims"
