LAURA A. STEEL
PARTNER: EMPLOYMENT/LABOR
1212 North Eastman Road
P.O. Box 3740
Kingsport, TN 37664
Direct Dial: (423) 378-8814
Direct Fax: (423) 378-8804
E-Mail: lsteel@hsdlaw.com
PRACTICE AREAS:
- Labor and Employment Law
- Education Civil Rights
- Commercial Litigation
EDUCATION:
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville, 1996, Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, cum laude
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville, 1999, Juris Doctorate
BACKGROUND:
- Admitted to practice in Tennessee, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
- Representation of employers and educational institutions before federal and state agencies, including Affirmative Action Plan audits, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigations, and Office For Civil Rights investigations
- Defense of employers in actions for unemployment compensation benefits, discrimination and harassment, Family and Medical Leave Act violations, Fair Labor Standards Act violations, and retaliation
- Performance of supervisor and managerial training and employee awareness training
- Construction and review of personnel policies and procedures manuals
PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC ACTIVITIES:
- American Bar Association
Young Lawyers Division
Business Law Section
Health Law Section
Labor and Employment Section
- Tennessee Bar Association
Young Lawyers Division (Chair, Law School Outreach Committee, 2002 – 2006)
Labor & Employment Law Section
- Kingsport Bar Association
- UT College of Law’s Dean’s Alumni Advisory Council
- Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner Committee
- Co-host of television program, “Kingsport ChamberZone” 2003-Present
AWARDS:
- TBA-YLD President's Distinguished Service Award, 2004
- 40 Under 40, 2002
- YLD Star of the Quarter, 2004 and 2005
- Dean’s Citation for Extraordinary Contributions to the College of Law
- Marquee Magazine’s “List of Laudable Lawyers”, May 2006
SPEECHES AND PUBLICATIONS:
- Lifeguarding 101: Helping Your Company Stay Afloat in the Rough Waters of the ADA and FMLA
- Cutting Edge HR Policies
- Sunblock for the Small Business
- Workforce Demographics and the Impending Bottleneck
- Getting the Most Out of Employee Performance Evaluations
- “SIZE MATTERS: Answers to Employment Law Coverage Questions”, The Business Journal, 2003 (with Julie P. Bennett)
- “Legal Watch: New Overtime Regulations Take Effect”, Johnson City Business Journal, August 2004 (with Stephen M. Darden)
- “Legal Watch: Good News For Employers! Department Of Labor Seeks To Simplify (Gasp!) Exempt Worker Categories”, Johnson City Business Journal, May 2003 (with Stephen M. Darden)
- Various articles in firm newsletter, All Things Legal
LINKS TO PRACTICE AREAS:
