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.

Clarence Belnavis is the co-regional managing partner of Fisher Phillips’ Portland and Seattle offices. He is a trial attorney focusing on employment litigation, including disability, racial and gender discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, and wrongful discharge. Clarence also represents employers in wage and hour claims, employment class actions, and traditional labor matters.

In addition to his litigation practice, Clarence proactively advises clients with respect to labor and employment matters, including disability and return to work issues, employee handbooks, termination procedures and litigation avoidance.

Clarence also provides client trainings and educational presentations to industry groups and organizations regarding current and developing employment law issues.

He has been listed in Chambers USA, America's Leading Business Lawyers since 2006 and The Best Lawyers in America since 2009. He is frequently recognized in Oregon Super Lawyers for his work in labor and employment law.

In 2011, Clarence was honored as a "Convocation on Equality Champion" in recognition of the diversity work that he has been engaged in during his career.

Jeff Fritz is a partner in Fisher Phillips’ Boston office. He regularly represents employers in all aspects of employment litigation. 

He has handled numerous matters arising under state and federal anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation statutes, wage and hour statutes, whistleblower statutes, family and medical leave statutes, workers’ compensation statutes, unemployment compensation statutes, and under common law. 

He has successfully represented employers in state and federal courts, arbitrations, and a number of administrative proceedings, including before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) and the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO). 

He also regularly counsels employers on various employment issues. He was included in Super Lawyers - Rising Stars in 2012 and 2013. Before joining the firm, Jeff worked in the labor and employment department of a prestigious regional law firm for almost eight years. 

Before that, Jeff clerked for the Honorable Thomas P. Smith, United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.

David Lichtenberg is a regional managing partner of Fisher Phillips’ New Jersey office and partner in the New York office. His practice focuses on employment litigation and counseling, with a particular emphasis on EPL claims.

David has extensive litigation experience in both state and federal courts and is admitted to practice in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the United States District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, Northern and Western Districts of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. David has also handled a significant number of administrative matters before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and various state agencies.

In addition to his litigation/administrative practice, David regularly counsels clients on employment law matters, with a particular emphasis on disability management. He has dedicated his entire professional career to representing management exclusively in workplace law and related litigation. While David has a wide variety of clients, he has significant and deep experience with clients in the retail, PEO and energy industries.

David is a long time member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and currently serves as the Vice President for Legislation for the Morris County (NJ) Chapter of SHRM.