Erinn Rigney is a partner in the firm's Labor, Employment, and Workplace Safety practice. Erinn focuses her practice on advising clients on strategic positions in compliance and transactional matters using a practical approach that balances business objectives with legal risk. She regularly advises clients on a full range of employment issues including managing reasonable accommodations under federal and state law; internal investigations and associated legal issues; development and implementation of policies and agreements that address both regulatory compliance and operational efficiency, restrictive covenant enforcement, and compliance with wage and hours laws. As part of her practice, she regularly counsels clients on the lifecycle of the employment relationship, from recruitment and hiring to separation and post-employment matters all while minimizing risk and managing associated employee relations concerns. Erinn also regularly develops and conducts workplace trainings and management coaching, partnering with employers to deliver effective and legally-compliant training tailored to their industry and workforce. Additionally, Erinn partners with the firm's Corporate practice to manage employment due diligence and advise clients on post-closing integration issues in conjunction with mergers and acquisitions.
As part of her practice, Erinn represents clients in state and federal court and before local and federal anti-discrimination boards defending public and private employers against claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as well as state and local laws. Erinn has also successfully negotiated numerous favorable settlements for her clients.
While she regularly works across the higher education, logistics, and financial services industries, Erinn has significant experience addressing the various employment issues that arise in the healthcare, sector, including the interpretation and application of employment laws in conjunction with healthcare regulations; drafting master services agreements for large and small healthcare systems; implementing policies on the protection of proprietary information and trade secrets; and advising on employment compliance issues arising in mergers and acquisitions for hospitals and biotechnology companies. Erinn also devotes a substantial part of her practice to advising public and private employers across industries on emerging issues in employment law, including but not limited to the changing nature of work, mental health in the workplace, pay transparency, and issues stemming from the impact of COVID-19 in the workplace.
Prior to joining the firm, Erinn was a lawyer in the employment and labor practice group in the Chicago office of another global law firm and taught high school government in Silver Spring, Maryland.
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® "Ones to Watch" 2023 for work in Litigation - Labor and Employment and Labor and Employment Law - Management
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® "Ones to Watch" 2022 for work in Litigation - Labor and Employment
- Named to Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Stars list (2019-2023)
- Member, Chicago Bar Foundation, Young Professionals Board (2018-2021)
- Notre Dame Law School Mentorship Program (2015-2019)
- Notre Dame Attorney Networking Committee of Chicago (2014-2016)
- Girls on the Run Michiana, Co-Chair of Fundraising Committee (2010) South Bend, Indiana Grant Writer (2011)
- The Chicago Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section, The Current Landscape of Non-Compete Agreements in Illinois and Across the US, 19 September 2024
- Presenter, “I'll Be Watching You! Workplace Surveillance and Employee Monitoring,” K&L Gates “Under the Wire” CLE Seminar, February 2024
- The Chicago Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, YLS Women in the Law Committee, “State of the Law: How Dobbs Affects Illinois Practitioners” webinar, 29 September 2022
- The Chicago Bar Association, “COVID-19 Best Practices for Bar Associations: Contracts and Liabilities” webinar, 1 October 2021
- Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce, “Managing What’s Next: Key Considerations on the Return to the Workplace and Vaccine Landscape for Employers” webinar, 4 May 2021
- American Health Law Association, “COVID-19 Vaccines: Employment Law Considerations for Health Care Employers” webinar, 24 March 2021
- Presenter, “COVID-19 Legal Update”, K&L Gates “Under the Wire” CLE Seminar, February 2021
- “Biometrics: Cultural, Social, and Legal Considerations,” Suffolk University School of Law Journal of High Technology Law Symposium 2021, 3 February 2021
- “Practice Basics: Handling Claims of Sexual Harassment” presented at the Chicago Bar Association, 1 June 2018
- “General Counsel University - Sexual Harassment and Social Media in the Workplace,” presented at K&L Gates Pittsburgh, 22 May 2018
- “General Counsel University - Trade Secret Protection, Enforcement, and Risk Management in a Cyberworld” presented at K&L Gates Chicago, 4 April 2018
- “General Counsel University - Like This: How to Assess & Manage Your Social Media Risk” presented at K&L Gates Chicago, 25 October 2017
- Presenter, “Ready for 2017? Changing Employment Regulations in a New Political Landscape”, K&L Gates “Under the Wire” CLE Seminar, February 2017
- National Business Institute, “Buying and Selling a Business” Start-to-Finish” presented in Raleigh, North Carolina, 12 December 2016
- National Business Institute, “Employment Law: 2016 Comprehensive Guide” presented in Raleigh, North Carolina, 19 October 2016
- “Chicago Expands Paid Sick Leave Ordinance to Mandate Additional Paid General Leave for Employees,” Employee Benefit Plan Review, June 2024
- “Silicon Valley Bank Collapse: Implications for Employers,” LexisNexis, 2023
- “An Invisible Epidemic: Navigating Mental Health Issues in the Employment Relationship,” American Health Law Association, 2022
- “Employers Can Use COVID Models To Address Monkeypox,” Law360, 2 August 2022
- OFCCP and Federal Contractors Are Significant Focus of Recent Executive Branch Actions, Pratt’s Government Contracting Law Report, June 2022
- President Biden Targets Private Employers and Federal Employees and Contractors in His “Path Out of The Pandemic, Pratt’s Government Contracting Law Report, November 2021
- How Health Care Cos. Can Untangle Web Of Vaccine Mandates, Law360, 13 October 2021
- How Employers and Employees Can Work Together to Tackle Cyber Harassment in the Workplace, CARPLS, 29 September 2021
- “The Social Media Epidemic: Managing the Side Effects in the Workplace,” American Health Law Association Labor and Employment Practice Group Bulletin, 17 March 2021
- "Pandemic Pandemonium: Navigating Employment Considerations in the Face of COVID-19," Benefits Law Journal, Summer 2020
- “New Jersey Eyes Regulation of Biometric Data,” New Jersey Law Journal, 27 June 2019
- “Disciplining Employees for Social Media Use,” Wolters Kluwer, December 2018
- “It Takes Two: Outsourcing & Joint Employer Status,” co-author, Practising Law Institute, 2014
- “Doctor’s Orders: A New Prescription for ADHD Medication Abuse,” Notre Dame Law Review, 2012
- “Supreme Court Won’t Hear Disability Accommodation Case Against UPS,” SHRM, 6 December 2023.
- “EEOC's Proposed Pregnant Worker Rules Could Lead to More Claims, Employment Lawyers Say,” The National Law Journal, 30 August 2023.
- “Feds Continue Developing Workplace Regulations to Prevent Heat Illness,” SHRM, 21 August 2023.
- “Requiring a COVID-19 vaccine is likely legal, but many Pa. employers are stopping short of a mandate,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 25 January 2021.
