Amber Dodds counsels employers in all areas of employment law. Her advice includes analysis and direction on issues such as leave administration, employee investigations, use of background checks and consumer reports, employee discipline and preventing harassment and retaliation claims. She drafts employment policies and employee handbooks specific to client industry and management needs. Amber routinely advises on employee pay practices, such as compliance with overtime, per diem, pay deduction, and exemption classification requirements. She has experience advising clients on compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) regulations, including the General Duty Clause, Process Safety Management, and a variety of industry or hazard-specific regulations.
Amber devotes a significant portion of her practice to counseling clients in the labor and employment aspects of large merger and acquisition transactions, including diligence, strategizing on employment issues, risk analysis, integrating third-party staffing entities, and drafting relevant provisions of purchase agreements, transition services agreements and other related documents.
In addition to regulatory and employment-law compliance, Amber represents employers in pre-litigation administrative investigation and hearings, settlement negotiations, and federal and state court litigation. Her litigation matters have included a variety of employment-law claims, such as retaliation, wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, enforcement of restrictive covenants and wage and hour issues, as well as general civil litigation matters in the public, private and religious organization employer context. Amber is also experienced in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action litigation, including class certification and notice issues.
Amber served as an intern in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas with the Honorable Lee Yeakel and the Texas First Court of Appeals with Justice Evelyn V. Keyes.