About the Author

• Author: Laura M. Franze
• Pages: 8-9

Texas employmenT law F-8

aBo ut th E au th or

Laura M. Franze has been Board Certified in Labor and Employment

Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1984 and is a

graduate of Duke University School of Law. Her experience of over 25

years encompasses significant class-action litigation and litigation in

virtually all substantive areas of labor and employment law, including

discrimination, FLSA, and state wage and hour. She also represents

management in connection with strategic employment decisions;

restructuring; labor union relations; employment investigations; the ADA,

including public accommodations; and employment issues related to

mergers, acquisitions and restructuring. Laura Franze has tried nearly 100

arbitration cases and federal agency cases. Laura is an accomplished trial

lawyer, having represented management to successful verdict in many

employment law cases, including regional and nationwide class actions

filed in Texas, California, New Mexico, Ohio and in a dozen other states.

Laura is particularly experienced in defending management in actions filed

by or involving the government by intervention, including the EEOC, the

Department of Labor, the OFCCP, the Department of Justice, and State Attorney General cases. Samples cases

include:

• Mundy v. Hotels.Com (U.S.D. Hawaii 2005)

• United States v. Cinemark USA, Inc., 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24418 (U.S.D. Ohio)

• EEOC v. Pinnacle Nissan, et al., (Arizona Federal District Court)

• Lara, et al. v. Cinemark USA, Inc., 207 F.3d 783 (5th Cir. 2000)

• OPVA, et al. v. Regal Cinemas, Inc., et al., 142 F. Supp. 2d 1293 (D. OR. 2001)

• EEOC v. Thrift Stores, Inc. (U.S.D.C.)

• Corinne Garcia v. Furr’s, Inc. 105 N.M. 521, 734 P.2d 761 (N.M., Mar. 17, 1987 (class sex))

• Stokes v. Furr’s, Inc., 106 F.3d 396 (5th Cir. 1997)

• Thomas Land v. Furr’s, Inc. (New Mexico Trial, Appellate and New Mexico Supreme Court).

Laura has been elected to the Texas and Dallas Bar Foundations and has been listed in The Best Lawyers

in America, (every edition since 1995), and numerous Who’s Who editions. She also was designated a top

practitioner by Texas Lawyer (February 2001), was twice named as one of the best lawyers in Dallas/Fort Worth

by D Magazine (February 1997 and May 2001), has been repeatedly named one of the top 50 women lawyers

in the state (Texas Monthly), and as a “Super Lawyer” (Texas Monthly, 2003-2010.) Laura was also named as

one of the Nation’s Top 100 Most Powerful Employment Attorneys by Human Resources Executive (May 2009)

and named among California’s Top 50 Labor and Employment Lawyers by the Daily Journal, the state’s largest

legal newspaper.

Laura has been repeatedly named to Chambers USA America’s Leading Lawyers for Business Client

Guide, including the most recent listing in 2008. According to Chambers, peers say Ms. Franze is a

“Superwoman” and a “dynamic” employment litigator. Those interviewed state she is blessed with “a good

manner, proven trial skills, broad-ranging knowledge and intellectual depth,” and clients agree she is an

excellent deal manager. (Chambers USA 2005.)

Laura authored Hot Topics and Commonly Asked Questions; Chapter 1, Employment Relationship

Defined; Chapter 3, Wrongful Discharge; Chapter 13, Internal Investigations; Chapter 14, Arbitration of

Employment Claims; Chapter 19, Sex Discrimination; Chapter 20, Sexual Harassment; Chapter 23, Age

Discrimination; Chapter 26, Retaliation; Chapter 28, Privacy Issues in the Workplace; Chapter 29, Defamation

in the Workplace; Chapter 30, Other Workplace Torts; Chapter 31, Discrimination Claims Under Labor Code

Chapter 451; Chapter 34, Texas Whistleblower Act; and Chapter 37 Ethical Dilemmas. Laura also edited or

contributed to the updates of many other chapters.