Christa Johnson Email & Phone Number

Columbus, Ohio Area

• Provide day-to-day advice and consultation to human resources and management in the U.S. and Caribbean regarding issues in all areas of employment law, including, but not limited to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the National Labor Relations Act, OSHA and numerous state laws. • Lead, direct and conduct investigations concerning various employment and compliance related issues, including complaints of discrimination, harassment and retaliation, and violations of company compliance and code of conduct policies. • Review investigation reports and findings to advise on appropriate action and next steps to take, and to respond to demand letters and complaints filed with state and federal human rights agencies.• Develop and conduct training for the human resources and labor relations teams on a wide range of employment law topics, including how to conduct effective investigations. • Member of project teams to implement an investigation repository for HR-related investigations, a reasonable accommodation program (team leader), and an employment policy compliance review. • Draft employment-related policies and procedures.• Supervise and direct the work of two paralegals.• Draft, review and revise vendor contracts, employment contracts, and separation/severance, nondisclosure, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements. • Draft responses to charges of discrimination and attorney demand letters and negotiate pre-litigation settlements.• Assist in the development and management of legal projects.

Westerville, Ohio

• Provide day-to-day advice and consultation to human resources and management regarding issues in all areas of employment law, including, but not limited to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the National Labor Relations Act, OSHA and numerous state laws. • Legal Department Subject Matter Expert on the Americans With Disability Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act• Legal Department representative on project team to implement a reasonable accommodation program either through a software program or third party administrator (Sedgwick)• Assisted HR in developing a pregnancy accommodation policy and paid pregnancy disability and parental leave policy• Provide advice and counsel to human resources and management concerning terminations, reductions-in-force, reasonable accommodations, leaves of absence issues, complaints and investigations of discrimination, harassment and/or retaliation, and interpretation of company policies.• Review and revise company policies and company employee handbooks. • Draft, review and revise vendor contracts, employment contracts, and separation/severance, nondisclosure, non-competition and non-solicitation agreements. • Supervise outside counsel on employment-related litigation, ranging from single plaintiff to class action lawsuits in both federal and state court, which includes reviewing motions, pleadings, discovery requests and responses, and making settlement recommendations.• Draft responses to charges of discrimination and attorney demand letters and negotiate pre-litigation settlements.• Represent company at mediations, fact-finding conferences and unemployment compensation appeals.• Conduct training for human resources team on a wide range of employment law topics. • Assist in the development and management of legal projects, including the outside counsel budgeting project.

Westerville, Ohio

Provided legal support and counsel with respect to employment and labor law matters throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada to several global companies involved in the shipping, transportation and contract logistics industries.Accomplishments include:Reduced legal fees and settlements by 21% in 2007 and 52% in 2008.Improved results from 2007 to 2008 in Business Partner Satisfaction Survey for North American Legal Team by 4% in overall satisfaction, 10% in intimacy (understanding of the business/establishing close partnerships), and 11% in ease of use (availability and responsiveness), and improved overall satisfaction for North American Employment Legal Team by 7%, the largest improvement of any region. Additional duties and responsibilities include:Provided day-to-day advice and consultation to human resources and management regarding issues in all areas of employment law, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act, the National Labor Relations Act, OSHA and numerous state laws. Provided advice and counsel to the human resources and labor relations teams concerning disciplinary actions and terminations of union members, as well as, responses to unfair labor practice charges.Supervised outside counsel on employment-related litigation, ranging from single plaintiff to class action lawsuits in both federal and state court.Drafted responses to attorney letters and negotiated pre-litigation settlements.Represented the Company at mediations, fact-finding conferences and unemployment compensation appeals.Conducted the Company's legal training on employment law issues for management personnel throughout the United States, which included oversight of the Company's rollout of a new training on conducting investigations.

Researched and drafted legal memoranda addressing a wide variety of labor and employment law issues.Assisted chief legal negotiator concerning issues that arose prior to and during the collective bargaining process.Drafted responses to unfair labor practice charges.Drafted pleadings, interrogatories, document requests, position statements responding to EEOC and state agency complaints, opinion letters, and other litigation-related motions.Counseled clients regarding state and federal employment laws, and the effective use of employment policies and procedures.Performed due diligence and draft reports analyzing employment-related issues impacting mergers and acquisitions.Reviewed documents and responded to discovery requests.Prepared deposition outlines and exhibits.Interviewed witnesses and participated in client meetings.

Drafted labor arbitration hearing briefs, position statements, and other litigation-related pleadings and motions.Researched and drafted legal memoranda addressing a wide variety of legal issues in the areas of employment, labor, insurance coverage, environmental and other commercial litigation.Reviewed documents and prepared privilege logs in response to discovery requests in single plaintiff and class action litigationReviewed and drafted employee handbooks and similar employment-related policies.Represented clients in unemployment compensation appeals, arbitration proceedings and protection from abuse hearings.Interviewed witnesses, attended and defended depositions, and participated in client meetings.

Ensured compliance with all state and federal employment laws and regulations.Counseled managers and staff regarding compliance with state and federal employment laws, and employment policies and procedures.Facilitated employee orientation and staff and manager training in the areas of customer service and preventing sexual harassment.Assisted in the administration of workers' compensation and unemployment claims.

Juris Doctor

Activities and Societies: Magna Cum Laude Law Review Order of the Coif

Master Of Arts, Higher Education Administration

Bachelor Of Science, Hotel Administration/Human Resources Management