Colin L. Barnacle

Colin Barnacle focuses his practice on labor and employment and litigation. His labor and employment practice is directed toward compliance counseling, corporate governance counseling and investigations, non-compete and trade secret enforcement, and employment litigation. His commercial litigation practice has spanned state and federal courts and arbitrations involving a wide array of areas, ranging from contract disputes, construction litigation and dispute resolution, and intellectual property. He also represents various clients in the hospitality and restaurant sectors involving food law and food safety. Colin has vast experience handling systemic discrimination matters before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). He regularly advises and defends clients in response to EEOC and OFCCP systemic discrimination investigations related to employment practices (pre-employment tests, hiring, promotions, compensation and terminations), and assists clients in responding to EEOC systemic investigations, subpoena requests for employment-related data, and class action litigations. Colin also routinely handles matters involving the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), state workers compensation laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), state wage and hour compliance issues, and Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA) compliance. He provides clients with analysis of statistical adverse impact issues in layoffs and reductions in force, as well as on Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) Act compliance during mass layoffs, and employee-related issues surrounding corporate transactions. Colin has represented employers in all aspects of employment law before state and federal agencies and courts, including FLSA wage and hour collective actions and state law class actions, Title VII discrimination and sexual harassment, ADA, FLSA, FMLA, wrongful termination, non-compete and breach of contract claims. Colin’s construction litigation and dispute resolution experience runs the gamut of representation from owners, contractors, design professionals, subcontractors, as well as manufacturing companies. Most recently, he successfully arbitrated a contract and design dispute on behalf of a food manufacturing company against the design builder. Additionally, he regularly advises clients in connection with employee terminations, disciplinary actions, policy implementation, internal investigations, and assists clients in drafting policies, handbooks, contracts and other employment-related agreements. He has provided in-person legal and practical training programs around the world to company leaders, managers, and employees regarding discrimination, harassment, investigations, documentation skills, as well as practices, ethics, anti-corruption concerns, and other key issues. In a previous role as division general counsel for a major food company, Colin developed well-rounded food law and food safety experience. In this role, he regularly advised his clients regarding regulatory and administrative law, primarily focusing on agriculture and other food products including safety, FSMA and other regulatory requirements, the USDA National Organic Program, recalls, inspections, defense of government investigations, labeling and advertising, organic requirements, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, and continuing product guarantees. Colin represents food companies throughout the supply chain, including growers/shippers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and food service businesses. Colin is a frequent speaker and writer on food law topics.

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