Business-Minded Approaches to Employment Issues
Bracewell has one of the most highly regarded labor and employment practices in the nation. Our team advises clients in multiple industries on a range of matters, which has earned us the reputation as a top practice in Chambers USA and Legal 500 US.
We represent public and private employers across a wide breadth of industries, such as energy, hospitality, manufacturing, education, financial services, healthcare, staffing, media and technology. We also handle industry-specific issues regarding employment and labor matters in the energy sector, including security clearance and NERC background checks.
Our team brings a business-minded approach to employment-related issues, which enables us to obtain favorable settlements and avoid lengthy trials. We help clients on substantial matters nationwide involving class actions, wage and hour issues, age discrimination and race discrimination. We also handle whistleblower cases, as well as ERISA- and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)-related litigation, collective bargain and union organizing.
Our lawyers regularly advise clients on compliance with state and federal regulations. We work with clients to development response to emerging issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as developments in the law.
In addition, we work alongside other practices within the firm to provide a full spectrum of services to our clients, from major M&A transactions to criminal proceedings involving labor and employment issues.
Areas of Focus
Agreements
We help employers balance the need to attract and retain key employees with the protection of valuable proprietary information and intellectual property. Our lawyers identify risks relating to information, customers, employees and contractors and to recommend strategies to secure the greatest protections possible.
When former employees or contractors violate the terms of these agreements or policies, we institute litigation and take swift action to minimize potential losses through a variety of legal options, including assertions of rights, demand letters, cease and desist instructions, temporary restraining orders, and preliminary and permanent injunctions.
Meet the teamClass Actions and Collective Actions
Our lawyers have years of experience in employment class and collective actions and multiple-plaintiff litigation, including:
- wage and hour, discrimination and other workplace-related disputes, including class claims for lost benefits under ERISA
- discrimination claims based on race, gender and national origin
- stock drop cases under employee stock plans
- wage and hour collective actions
We efficiently manage the discovery and data management challenges presented by class or collective actions with resources that often provide significant savings for our clients. We routinely defeat motions for class certification, obtain judgments against named plaintiffs and obtain dismissals of class and collective actions.
Meet the teamImmigration
We provide advice on immigration issues across an array of industries, including energy, utilities, medical devices, technology, bio-medical, religious organizations, and healthcare. We offer comprehensive legal guidance on:
- non-immigrant and immigrant visas for foreign employees
- audits, inquiries and investigations by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL)
- US labor and immigration laws in the hiring, retention and management of domestic workforces
- compliance with US and foreign labor and immigration laws in the transfer of employees between domestic and international subsidiaries
- E-2 and EB-5 investor options for raising capital and obtaining lawful permanent residence
OSHA
Our lawyers assist employers in responding to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections and other inquiries. We represent employers in contested citation proceedings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and its administrative law judges. We assist with occupational safety and health self-auditing, including both compliance and best practices auditing, and provide day-to-day advice concerning compliance questions that arise.
Our team has experience dealing with a wide variety of OSHA standards as well as many General Duty Clause, and has been involved in more than a dozen fatality or multiple fatality OSHA cases at either the inspection or contested citation stage.
Meet the teamUnions
Union workforces present unique challenges for employers. Bracewell’s labor and employment team has the depth and experience to assist clients with a multitude of potential issues pertaining to union avoidance, campaigns and elections, unfair labor practice conflicts and collective bargaining.
Our lawyers have a deep understanding of state and federal regulations dealing with traditional labor issues and those governed by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We regularly create effective employment contracts with enforceable non-compete covenants, anti-raiding provisions, arbitration clauses and confidentiality agreements.
Meet the teamWe help employers balance the need to attract and retain key employees with the protection of valuable proprietary information and intellectual property. Our lawyers identify risks relating to information, customers, employees and contractors and to recommend strategies to secure the greatest protections possible.
When former employees or contractors violate the terms of these agreements or policies, we institute litigation and take swift action to minimize potential losses through a variety of legal options, including assertions of rights, demand letters, cease and desist instructions, temporary restraining orders, and preliminary and permanent injunctions.
Meet the teamOur lawyers have years of experience in employment class and collective actions and multiple-plaintiff litigation, including:
- wage and hour, discrimination and other workplace-related disputes, including class claims for lost benefits under ERISA
- discrimination claims based on race, gender and national origin
- stock drop cases under employee stock plans
- wage and hour collective actions
We efficiently manage the discovery and data management challenges presented by class or collective actions with resources that often provide significant savings for our clients. We routinely defeat motions for class certification, obtain judgments against named plaintiffs and obtain dismissals of class and collective actions.
Meet the teamWe provide advice on immigration issues across an array of industries, including energy, utilities, medical devices, technology, bio-medical, religious organizations, and healthcare. We offer comprehensive legal guidance on:
- non-immigrant and immigrant visas for foreign employees
- audits, inquiries and investigations by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL)
- US labor and immigration laws in the hiring, retention and management of domestic workforces
- compliance with US and foreign labor and immigration laws in the transfer of employees between domestic and international subsidiaries
- E-2 and EB-5 investor options for raising capital and obtaining lawful permanent residence
Our lawyers assist employers in responding to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspections and other inquiries. We represent employers in contested citation proceedings before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and its administrative law judges. We assist with occupational safety and health self-auditing, including both compliance and best practices auditing, and provide day-to-day advice concerning compliance questions that arise.
Our team has experience dealing with a wide variety of OSHA standards as well as many General Duty Clause, and has been involved in more than a dozen fatality or multiple fatality OSHA cases at either the inspection or contested citation stage.
Meet the teamUnion workforces present unique challenges for employers. Bracewell’s labor and employment team has the depth and experience to assist clients with a multitude of potential issues pertaining to union avoidance, campaigns and elections, unfair labor practice conflicts and collective bargaining.
Our lawyers have a deep understanding of state and federal regulations dealing with traditional labor issues and those governed by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). We regularly create effective employment contracts with enforceable non-compete covenants, anti-raiding provisions, arbitration clauses and confidentiality agreements.
Meet the teamRecognition for Excellence
Our work on behalf of our clients has earned us top recognitions in some of the leading legal publications.
- Chambers USA – Texas Labor & Employment
- Legal 500 US – Immigration
- U.S. News – Best Lawyers – Houston Employment Law: Management (Tier 1); Houston Labor Law: Management; Houston Labor & Employment Litigation (Tier 1); San Antonio Employment Law: Management (Tier 1); San Antonio Immigration Law; San Antonio Labor Law: Management (Tier 1); San Antonio Labor & Employment Litigation (Tier 1)
They often think of issues that have not crossed our minds and are very conscious of the real world and practical demands.
Chambers USA, 2023

Significant Engagements
Our team represents a range of companies across industries on various labor and employment matters.
- Aveda Transportation and Energy Services in a lawsuit involving the alleged poaching of employees and theft of proprietary information from a competitor
- KCI on the preparation of H-1B, L-1A, L-1B, TN and other non-immigrant visas; the preparation of applications for employment and family-based, permanent resident status and citizenship (including permanent resident status based on the EB-1 Outstanding Researcher and EB-1 Multinational Executive categories); and immigration compliance, including the proper completion and retention of Form I-9, E-verify, and DHS I-9 and H-1B audits
- L-3 Communications Corporation regarding employment-related federal, state and municipal laws and regulations, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family Medical Leave Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act and National Labor Relations Act, as well as immigration and non-competition issues
- LifeCell on the preparation of H-1B, L-1A, L-1B, TN and other non-immigrant visas; the preparation of applications for employment and family-based, permanent resident status and citizenship (including permanent resident status based on the EB-1 Outstanding Researcher and EB-1 Multinational Executive categories); and immigration compliance, including the proper completion and retention of Form I-9, E-verify, and DHS I-9 and H-1B audits
- LifeCell in an investigation and audit by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), achieving a significantly reduced fine and preservation of federal contractor status
- Oiltanking Texas City in a nationwide wage and hour collective action for unpaid worktime and overtime claims, achieving a dismissal of the case with project and the defeat of class certification
- REXAM Beverage Can Americas in approximately 50 union grievances, including settlement negotiations and arbitrations in collective bargaining negotiations
- Texas TransEastern in obtaining a successful jury verdict on claims that it discriminated, harassed, failed to accommodate and retaliated against a former employee because of a disability, including an advisory verdict from the jury for attorneys’ fees