2026 Employment Law Update: Preparing Your Organization for Compliance

James J. McDonald, Jr., J.D., SHRM-SCP, is a partner in the Irvine, California and Tampa, Florida offices of the labor and employment law firm Fisher & Phillips LLP. His practice involves trials, arbitrations, and appeals of employment law claims. He also has more than 40 years of experience advising employers about all aspects of labor and employment law, strategic human resource issues, and how to avoid employment claims and lawsuits. He is the author of California Employment Law: The SHRM Guide for Employers. He has spoken before many human resource, business, and industry organizations, and he taught labor and employment law in the Human Resources Management Program at the University of California, Irvine for 16 years. He received his undergraduate degree from New College of Florida and his law degree cum laude from Georgetown University. He is a member of the California and Florida Bars.

Hillary Ross represents employers in labor and employment-related litigation in both state and federal courts and in appellate matters. Her experience includes claims involving discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and reasonable accommodation. Hillary also has extensive experience with single plaintiff as well as class and collective actions involving employee classification, wage payment, minimum wage, overtime, and meal and break issues. She has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in both state and federal courts and before administrative agencies including the U.S. EEOC, the Colorado Civil Rights Division, and the Colorado Division of Labor and Employment.

Hillary also provides advice and counsel regarding proper pay practices and wage and hour compliance, and assists employers in auditing wage and hour practices to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local requirements. She also regularly counsels employers regarding reductions in force, terminations, executive agreements, severance agreements, non-compete agreements, and employee handbooks and policies, and assists employers with conducting internal investigations. 

Prior to joining Fisher Phillips, Hillary focused on personal injury claims, employment, consumer claims, and class actions for a West Coast-based litigation law firm and represented employers with respect to all employment issues in various industries, including hospitality, health care and security.

Jessica Huynh Causgrove is a partner in the Chicago office. She handles matters across all facets of labor and employment law, including employment discrimination claims before federal and state courts throughout the country.

Jessica’s practice focuses on providing day-to-day counseling involving internal investigations, workplace accommodations, leave requirements, high-risk terminations, reductions in force, wage and hour issues, and drug/alcohol testing in the workplace. Jessica has litigated significant cases involving sexual harassment, sexual orientation discrimination, age and national origin discrimination, disability discrimination, and a host of other claims, as well as a series of class action cases involving the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). She also has experience with OSHA and Department of Labor investigations and has handled traditional labor matters, including ULPs.

Jessica was selected by Fisher Phillips to be a Fellow on the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity for 2020-2021. She also serves on the firm’s Pay Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and Women’s Initiative Leadership Counsel (WILC) committees.