William Hartsfield

Primary mediation practice areas include employment/labor, business torts, business/commercial/contracts, health, insurance, intellectual property, libel/slander/defamation and personal injury. Issues in employment matters include Title VII, FLSA, FMLA, ADA, ADEA, OSHA, ERISA benefits, non-compete agreements, individual employment contracts, tort claims and FLSA collective actions. The FLSA cases generally center on overtime, exempt classification and hours worked. The statutory discrimination claims involve race, sex, religion, color, national origin, age, disability, harassment, retaliation and wrongful discharge. The FMLA claims focus on notice issues, qualification for leave and reinstatement to an equivalent position. The ERISA issues generally involve denial of benefit claims under a health care plan. Employment contract claims usually involve severance pay, non-compete agreements, breach of confidentiality, bonuses and stock options. Employment tort claims include invasion of privacy, defamation, and battery. With respect to commercial matters, the issues involve franchise disputes focusing on breach of contract, termination, royalty payments, non-compete agreements and software disputes involving adequacy of deliverables and breach of specifications. Personal injury claims include coverage issues, negligence claims, automobile collisions as well as claims against non-subscribers to the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act.