Dean F. Kelley

E-mail: dfk@kclegal.com

Dean F. Kelley joined the firm in 2001. He concentrates his practice in employment law litigation before state and federal courts and administrative agencies throughout the United States.

Dean litigates cases, and counsels employers on legal compliance and dispute avoidance, on a full range of employment law issues under a multitude of state and federal employment and related laws including:

• Federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), and OSHA state plan enforcement agency, regulatory compliance for general industry and construction; development of standard operating procedures for OSHA citation avoidance and inspection protocols, written health and safety compliance programs, workplace safety rules and training materials; as well as OSHA citation and penalty litigation defense before the federal Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission (OSHRC) and OSHA state plan administrative enforcement agencies and commissions;
  
  
• Discrimination, retaliation, hostile work environment harassment, interference and wrongful discharge claims under state and federal laws including the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (under all protected categories including arrest and conviction record discrimination claims); the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, Wisconsin and other state disability discrimination/accommodation laws; the Wisconsin and federal Family and Medical Leave Acts; the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA); Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (under all protected categories including “English-only” and other language usage/proficiency discrimination claims); 42 U.S.C. 1981; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Equal Pay Act, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009; section 11(c) of the OSH Act; the federal Surface Transportation Assistance Act; and the Wisconsin Caregiver and healthcare worker whistleblower protection laws;
  
  
• Wage and hour compliance and litigation defense, including individual employee claims and Rule 23 class actions/ section 216(b) collective actions under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the federal Service Contract Act, Wisconsin and other state overtime, minimum wage and employee classification statutes and regulations;
  
  
• Independent contractor issues, including development of independent contractor agreements, compliance with the various state and federal tests for independent contractor status, as well as litigation defense in employee v. independent contractor misclassification disputes and litigation;
  
  
• Employment contract development and litigation defense; and
  
  
• Restrictive covenant development and litigation, involving non-compete, confidentiality, non-solicitation and invention assignment agreements.
  

In addition to numerous other courts in specific litigation around the Country, Dean is admitted to practice in all Wisconsin State Courts, the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Recent OSHA Programs

“Make No Mistake About It: [OSHA] Is Back In The Enforcement Business” – U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis – Proactive steps for avoiding OSHA citations across the board & under OSHA’s per-employee personal protective equipment / training citation regulations and enforcement policy.

Professional Associations

State Bar of Wisconsin
Milwaukee Bar Association

Education

B.A., 1994, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
                    The Dean's Honor List
                    National Political Science Honor Society
J.D., 1998, Marquette University Law School
                    CALI Academic Excellence Awards