Joel S. Allen is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Labor and Employment Practice. Mr. Allen focuses his practice on representing employers in defense of claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII, state discrimination law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and state tort law. Over the last three years, Mr. Allen has first-chaired two trials resulting in defense verdicts. He also second-chaired a collective action trial, where he assisted in securing a decertification of the class after one week.
Mr. Allen's wage and hour practice is nationwide. He has appeared in most federal courts in the country and has defended a number of collective actions brought in Alabama, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Mr. Allen has defended all types of wage and hour claims, including misclassification of managers and independent contractors, and compensable time claims, including failure to pay for meal breaks and donning and doffing. In addition, in the last year, he secured four summary judgments on the executive exemption as applied to retail store managers in the Third, Fifth, and Tenth Circuits.
In addition to his wage and hour practice, Mr. Allen continues to defend employers against claims of discrimination and harassment nationwide. Mr. Allen also assists employers in the enforcement of employment, noncompete, and confidentiality agreements and has been lead lawyer on several injunction hearings.
Mr. Allen also assists employers in connection with OSHA complaints and investigations. For example, he assisted a national chain restaurant in connection with an investigation into an accidental death and a petro-chemical company in connection with a Chemical Safety Board and OSHA investigation of an explosion at a refinery. He is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Mr. Allen was an employment partner at a leading international law firm and, prior to that, was a partner at one of the largest national labor and employment firms in the United States.
Mr. Allen frequently speaks before various professional associations, including the University of Houston's Continuing Education program, the Oklahoma Bar Review CLE, and The Credit Law Institute. He is also a member of the American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section; the Texas Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section; the Oklahoma Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section; and the Dallas Bar Association.
Mr. Allen received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 1991 and his B.S., magna cum laude, from Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 1988.
Mr. Allen is admitted to practice in Texas and Oklahoma and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas; the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma; the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado; the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas; the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Central, and Southern Districts of Illinois; the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee; and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. He is also board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
