Employment & Labor Relations

I represent victims of illegal workplace conduct, whether individuals, groups, or classes. The level of expertise at my firm is unmatched.

• Age Discrimination
• Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Compensation, Benefits, & Pensions
• Disability Discrimination
• Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)
• Employee Rights
• Employment Contracts
• Equal Pay Act (EPA)
• Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)
• Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA)
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)
• Race Discrimination
• Racial Harassment
• Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866
• Severance Packages
• Sex Discrimination
• Sexual Harassment
• Termination
• Wage & Hour Laws
• Whistleblower
• Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification (WARN) Act
• Wrongful Termination

MN, Oct 1988
Bar Number: 195583

U.S. District Court District of Minnesota, 1988
U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit, 1989

Minnesota Bar Association

I fulfill my CLE requirements most frequently by lecturing on employment related matters, and by taking advanced CLE courses in my area of expertise.

* Wage and Hour Case Update, Co-written with David Goldstein for MSBA Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, May, 2006
* Strategies in Age Discrimination Litigation, MSBA Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, May, 2004
* The Surest Ways to Get Sued- Co-authored with Robert Boisvert, Minnesota Institute of Legal Education CLE seminar "Litigating in the Employment Arena", June, 2001
* Class Actions and Multi-Plaintiff Litigation, Annual MSBA Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, May, 2001
* The Art and Practice of Jury Selection, A Plaintiff's Counsel's Perspective, MILE Seminar "Litigating in the Employment Arena", March, 2001
* Demystifying Class Actions, Annual MSBA Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, May, 2000
* Common Obstacles in Proving Age Discrimination Claims, Minnesota Annual Human Rights Commission seminar, November, 1999
* Preparing the Fee Petition: When to File and the Amount to Seek, Annual MSBA Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, May, 1999
* Insights into Eveleth Mines Litigation, MILE CLE Seminar, February, 1999
* Strategies and Considerations in Class Action Employment Discrimination-, Co-authored with Terry Demchek of the Saperstein firm, NELA Chicago Convention, March, 1998
* Maximizing Compensatory Damage Awards- Co-authored with David Borgen of the Saperstein firm., Eighth Annual NELA Convention in Toronto Cananda, June & August 1997
* Is Your Workplace at Risk for a Class Claim of Harassment?, MILE CLE Seminar, January, 1997
* Use of Expert Witnesses in Employment Litigation- A Plaintiff Counsel's Perspective, MSBA Seminar, November, 1996
* Basics of Effectively Preparing Your Case In Minnesota, MILE CLE Seminar, October, 1996
* Federal District Court Case Analysis, Annual MSBA Upper Midwest Employment Law Institute, May, 1996
* Discrimination Update: 1990-91 Federal and State Supreme Court and Appellate Decisions, written with K. Graham & D. Palmquist for MSBA Upper Midwest Employment Institute, May 1992
* Limiting Liability When Discharging Employees, co-written with C. Chalmers for MSBA Upper Midwest Employment Institute, May 1990

Gender and age discrimination class action on behalf of over 3,000 female financial advisors which resulted in a $31 million dollar settlement and significant changes to company practices (Kosen v. American Express Financial Advisors).

First sexual harassment case ever certified as a class action (Jenson v.Eveleth Mines), which was the subject of a book (CLASS ACTION: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case that Changed Sexual Harassment Law), and a 2005 Movie (North Country, starring Charlize Theron).

Race discrimination class action where I successfully directed the prosecution of the claims of over 1,200 African American class members (Aburime v. Northwest Airlines).

ERISA class action on behalf of over 75,000 participants challenging the management of 401(k) funds which settled for $26 million (Franklin v. First Union).

7

Minnesota

Schaefer Law Firm, LLC, aggressively asserts the rights of employees and consumers who have been victimized by illegal corporate conduct. We provide the very highest level of advocacy to our clients. Once we commit to a case, we are prepared to pursue it to judgment. We will not be deterred by the size of the defendant or the tactics often used by defense counsel. The experience, expertise and commitment of the firm's lawyers is unmatched in this field.

I founded the firm in 2006. I have twenty years of experience in representing individual, groups or classes of employees in often groundbreaking litigation throughout the country. I opened the firm to continue this work and to develop a team with the same level of devotion that I bring to this representation. The firm has rapidly grown to seven lawyers, with expertise in every area of employment and consumer law, as well as significant trial experience.

Following law school, I was an associate at Leonard, Street & Deinard from 1988 to 1993, an associate at Sprenger & Lang from 1993-1995, and a partner/owner of Sprenger & Lang from 1995-2005. I was Managing Partner at Sprenger & Lang from 2000-2003. I joined Mansfield, Tanick & Cohen as Of Counsel in September 2005 and also opened my own law practice, the Schaefer Law Firm, in order to be free to pursue any worthwhile class or individual case throughout the country, on my own or through "Co-counsel" relationships with other lawyers.

I have lectured and published extensively in the employment area, training lawyers on all aspects of class action litigation, discrimination developments, jury selection, maximizing damages, sexual harassment and expert witnesses.

I have also been selected for inclusion in the annual publication of Woodward/White's The Best Lawyers in America from 2002 to the present, and have been named a Minnesota Super Lawyer in 2003 and 2004.

Jessica

(612) 436-9019

Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

No

Spanish

I don't offer fixed price fee arrangements.

My hourly rate is $375 for individual work, $475 for class action work.

We do provide a free initial consultation, usually via telephone.

I don't offer fixed price fee arrangements. Typical retainer is contingent fee (at one-third or 40%, depending on the nature of the case and the client's ability to pay costs. There is also usually a modest initial retainer fee to cover costs (amounting to $1,000 - $3,000, depending on the nature of the dispute). Per diem representation is also available, at standard hourly rates.