Margaret M. Sheahan

Ms. Sheahan provides legal advice and representation to both private and public sector employers and to individuals in all aspects of their workforce relationships. She gives counsel aimed at preventing the kinds of employer-employee conflicts that lead to litigation or support union organizing efforts. Her lodestar is to ensure that her business clients' employee relations policies and practices comply with all regulatory and other legal requirements, reflect the "best practices" of the employee relations field and give effect to the client's business goals. She has extensive experience in:

Defending workplace discrimination claims before concerned State and federal agencies and courts; Assisting employers in drafting affirmative action plans and defending them during OFCCP and State agency compliance and pre-award audits;Conducting investigations of internal discrimination and harassment complaints and assisting in interactive explorations of accommodation alternatives;Providing workforce-wide anti-harassment and other training as well as individualized managerial coaching on employee selection, evaluation and disciplinary procedures.Assisting employers to achieve and maintain compliance with federal and State compensation mandates by conducting internal audits of pay practices and exempt/non-exempt employee designations as well as defending federal and State government-initiated audits, administrative charges and judicial claims;Helping employers manage federal and State Family & Medical Leave Act obligations through defense of administrative and judicial claims and policy development, education and implementation;Working with employers to maintain an existing union-free status and resist union election campaign drives, to negotiate and implement collective bargaining contracts, to manage the grievance-arbitration process, to face union strike situations and defend unfair labor practice proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations and the courts.Guiding employers in protecting their investments in proprietary information and business development interests by devising, defending and prosecuting non-competition and confidentiality agreements. In assisting our individual clients, Peg provides strong advice and counsel about employment contracts, severance agreements, rights and obligations under State and federal anti-discrimination laws, FMLA matters, pay and benefits rules, sex and other workplace harassment issues and non-competition/confidentiality agreements. She also represents individuals before all concerned federal and State employment-related agencies and in court.

Peg has been a member of the board of the award-winning workforce development organization, The Workplace, Inc., since 2000, and serves on its Executive, Bylaws and Personnel Committees. She also serves on the board of directors and Executive Committee of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, and was twice honored as the BRBC's "Volunteer of the Year." She sits on the Advisory and Regional Boards of the Women's Business Development Council, an entrepreneurial educational organization. Ms. Sheahan also serves on the advisory board of Pacific House f/k/a the Stamford Shelter for the Homeless. She has been appointed by the Town Council to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Stratford Library Association since 2013.