Lee D. Moylan

Lee is the Chair of the firm’s Labor and Employment Law Practice Group. She is also a member of the firm’s Education Practice Group and serves on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee as well as the Associates Committee. Lee has extensive experience advising employers on a wide variety of labor and employment issues at all stages of counseling and litigation. Lee represents companies ranging in size from very large to very small, including multi-state asset/property management and construction companies, a large infrastructure and site development contractor, a major employer in the healthcare industry, a multi-national consulting company, local businesses in the hospitality industry, and small distribution companies. Lee is available to her clients to provide counseling on day-to-day workplace issues to ensure compliance with federal, state and local laws and to mitigate litigation risk as much as possible.

With her client’s goals, concerns, and past policies and practices in mind, Lee negotiates executive employment and severance agreements, reviews and drafts employment policies,  and advises her clients regarding the hiring, disciplining and terminating of employees, workforce reductions, and employer obligations under common law and Title VII, Title IX, the ADA, the ADEA, the FMLA, Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act, the FLSA, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (WARN), state and local laws regarding sick leave and background checks, and wage payment statutes. Lee’s clients have entrusted her to conduct prompt, thorough, and unbiased workplace investigations of allegations of harassment, discrimination and workplace misconduct.

After litigation has begun, Lee successfully has defended her clients on claims brought by former employees, as well as by representative plaintiffs in the collective and class action contexts. These matters include, but are not limited to, most recently:

• Defeating a multimillion-dollar breach of employment contract claim following a bench trial and appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court.
• Compelling a plaintiff to arbitrate her employment claims pursuant to an arbitration provision in her contract, which result Lee obtained on an appeal to the Pennsylvania Superior Court resulting in a published decision that Pennsylvania state and federal courts have cited often as authority.
• Obtaining summary judgment on FMLA, ADA, ADEA and PHRA claims for a national investment firm, which decision the Third Circuit affirmed on appeal.
• Obtaining summary judgment on ADEA and PHRA claims for a large employer in the healthcare industry, which decision the Third Circuit affirmed on appeal.
• Obtaining summary judgment on retaliation claims under Title VII and the ADA for a large employer in the healthcare industry.
• Obtaining summary judgment on an ADA claim for her client in the property management industry.
• At the pleadings stage, obtaining a dismissal with prejudice of a Pennsylvania Whistleblower Law claim.
• On multiple occasions, securing settlements for nuisance value of multi-claim retaliation, discrimination and whistleblower complaints.
• Zealously defending her clients sued on class and collective action claims and thereafter securing favorable settlements, pre-certification and afterwards, for a fraction of the threatened damages.
• Enforcing post-employment restrictive covenants both in court and through negotiation.
• Representing thousands of employees in a half dozen WARN Act class actions, which have ended in favorable settlements for the displaced employees.

Lee practices before Pennsylvania state and federal trial and appellate courts, as well as before the EEOC, the PHRC, the PCHR, the NLRB, and the DOL. She also has been admitted to practice pro hac vice in the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and in state and/or federal courts in California, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

Co-author, “New York Employers: Changes are Coming to Overtime Salary Thresholds and Uniform Maintenance Pay,” December 2, 2024

Co-author, “Texas Federal Court Judge Blocks Major Overtime Salary Threshold Increase, Leaving Employers in Limbo,” November 18, 2024

Co-author, “Pennsylvania Enacts the Fair Contracting for Health Care Practitioners Act Limiting the Use of Noncompete Covenants for Certain Health Care Practitioners,” November 8, 2024

Author, “Potentially Affecting Millions of Employees, the DOL Expands Overtime Protections by Raising the Salary Basis Threshold,” April 29, 2024

Co-author, “SCOTUS Finds “Forced Transfers” With the Same Pay and Seniority May be Sufficiently Adverse to Establish Title VII Liability,” April 24, 2024

Co-author, “Key Lessons From Recent Challenges to DEI Programs: Are Concerns over DEI Programs Overblown or Understated?” March 25, 2024

Presenter, “What all Employers Should Understand: the National Labor Relations Act and National Labor Relations Board Process,” accredited CLE program, March 18, 2024

Co-Author, “What Employers Should Know Now: DOL Proposes Significant Changes to Overtime Exemptions,” October 27, 2023

Co-Author, “EEOC Regulations to Implement Pregnant Workers Fairness Act,” August 11, 2023

Co-Author, “Now in Effect: Material Changes to the Form I-9 Made By DHS,” August 2, 2023

Co-Author, “United States Supreme Court Establishes New Standard for “Undue Burden” in Religious Accommodation Cases,” June 30, 2023

Co-author, “SCOTUS Rules Race-Conscious Admission Programs Are Unconstitutional,” June 30, 2023

Co-Author, “Most Non-Competes May Soon be Banned in New York,” June 29, 2023

Co-author, “EEOC Issues Guidance Further Cautioning Employers About the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Selection Procedures,” June 7, 2023

Presenter, “COVID-19 in 2023: Where We Are Now With Employer Obligations,” accredited CLE program, March 1, 2023. 

Author, “The National Labor Relations Board Says Severance Agreements Containing Broadly-Drafted Non-Disparagement and Confidentiality Provisions are Unlawful,” February 27, 2023.

Presenter, “Benefits and Risks of Using Artificial Intelligence in Hiring, Including its Potential Adverse Impact on Diverse Applicants,” accredited CLE program, November 16, 2022

Quoted, “Should Employers Cover Commuting Costs,” Human Resources Director, June 15, 2022

Author, “Philadelphia City Council Passes Legislation Providing Philadelphia Employees with Commuter Benefits,” June 13, 2022

Quoted, “Feds’ Warnings on Hiring Algorithms Highlight Challenges of Avoiding Disability Bias When Using AI,” New Jersey Law Journal, May 16, 2022

Author, “EEOC and DOJ Warn that Artificial Intelligence and Other Hiring Tools May Violate the Americans with Disabilities Act,” May 13, 2022

Author, “Philadelphia Reinstates its Indoor Mask Requirement,” April 13, 2022

Presenter, “Hiring and Onboarding Employees – Recent Developments in the Law,” accredited CLE program, March 30, 2022

Author, “Department of Health Pauses Vaccine Requirement for Restaurants Pursuant to a New System Used to Rate and Publicly Report Risk Levels,” February 18, 2022 

Author, “Philadelphia Ordinance Prohibits Pre-Employment Testing for Marijuana Use,” January 10, 2022

Presenter, “Diversity Lessons Learned: What Employers Need to Know,” accredited CLE program, December 15, 2021

Author, “EEOC Updates Guidance to Address Religious Accommodation Requests Concerning Mandatory Vaccine Policies,” October 28, 2021

Author, “New Jersey Strengthens Its Age Discrimination Law,” October 6, 2021

Quoted, “What Do Vaccine Mandates Mean For Employees and the PA Gambling Industry?” Play Pennsylvania, October 1, 2021

Author, “The Southern District of Texas Ruled that Employers Legally May Require All Employees to be Vaccinated Against COVID-19,” June 15, 2021

Author, “EEOC Issues Updated COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance,” June 4, 2021

Author, “Before Fully Reopening, Restaurant and Bar Owners Should Take a Tip From FLSA Cases,” May 14, 2021

Presenter, “Common Provisions, Considerations and Pitfalls in Writing Offer Letters and Severance Agreements,” accredited CLE program, May 12, 2021

Author, “Department of Labor Withdraws Trump-Era Independent Contractor Rule,” May 12, 2021

Author,”OSHA Adds Recordkeeping Obligations Regarding Adverse Reactions to Mandated Vaccines,” April 29, 2021

Author, “The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021’s COBRA Premium Assistance Imposes New Obligations on Employers,” April 26, 2021

Author, “The COVID-19 Relief Bill is Expected to Become Law,” March 10, 2021

Presenter, “Where We Are Now in 2021 : Complying With the ADA and FMLA in the Age of COVID-19,” accredited CLE program, January 21, 2021

Author, “The Second Coronavirus Relief Bill Does Not Extend the FFCRA’s Mandated Paid Sick Leave But Does Provide a Tax Credit to Employers Who Voluntarily Provide the Leave,” December 23, 2020

Author, “CDC Expands Definition of ‘Close Contact’,” October 27, 2020

Author, “EEOC Warns Employers Against Antibody Testing,” June 19, 2020

Author, “EEOC Continues to Update Guidance on Steps Employers May Take to Control the Spread of COVID-19 Without Violating the ADA,” April 28, 2020

Author, “OSHA Relaxes Recording and Reporting Requirements for Some Employers Regarding COVID-19 Cases in their Workforce,” April 15, 2020

Author, “CDC Interim Guidance Enables Essential Workers to Continue Working After Potential Exposure to COVID-19,” April 13, 2020

Author, “PA’s Department of Labor & Industry Provides Additional Guidance on UC Benefits Given the Families First Act and the CARES Act,” April 2, 2020

Author, “CARES Act Significantly Expands Unemployment Benefits,” March 27, 2020

Author, “Considerations Regarding Furloughing Employees,” March 19, 2020

In addition to counseling her clients on various pressing personnel matters and employment questions, Lee has served as pre-litigation and litigation counsel for her clients in numerous matters, including:

• Conducting workplace investigations of allegations of harassment, discrimination and workplace misconduct.
• Achieving a verdict for a major employer in the healthcare industry after a multi-day bench trial in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on breach of employment contract claims involving a demand of well over a million dollars in damages.
• Working closely with Associate General Counsel and achieving favorable outcomes for a major employer in the healthcare industry in many different actions involving discrimination, retaliation and whistleblower claims.
• Achieving, after extensive briefing and oral argument, a reported Pennsylvania Superior Court decision granting her client’s preliminary objections to compel arbitration pursuant to an arbitration clause in the parties’ contract and establishing often-cited law on the interpretation of such clauses in Pennsylvania.
• Successfully defending and obtaining summary judgment or favorable settlements in multiple matters for a company with billions in assets in matters concerning allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, as well as in wage claim collective and class actions under the FLSA and state laws involving plaintiffs throughout the country and complex legal and factual issues concerning off-the-clock claims and allegedly improper wage deductions.
• Guiding and representing her clients in connection with Department of Labor audits and threatened collective and class action claims.
• Serving as outside Labor and Employment counsel for numerous clients in a variety of industries including in Higher Education.
• Obtaining nuisance value settlement for a pharmaceutical company client in an FLSA collective action alleging improper classification of employees as exempt.
• Co-counseling an international private equity management company on matters concerning various discrimination statutes.
• Obtaining favorable WARN Act settlements for thousands of individuals, in several different matters.
• Obtaining summary judgment for a Fortune 500 company in a case brought under the FMLA and Michigan’s Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act.