2024 Employment Law

Yakima SHRM is proud to present our speaker Erik Laiho from Fisher Phillips, who will be covering employment law updates. About Our Speaker: Erik Laiho advises a range of private and public sector employers in optimizing their labor relations functions. He has extensive experience helping employers deal with union organizing campaigns, respond to unlawful labor practice charges, and in labor arbitrations stemming from collective bargaining agreements.

Erik appreciates that, in many instances, intentional, strategic actions can prevent issues before they arise. He knows that the legal landscape around labor relations is more fluid than other aspects of the law, and that each client engagement is unique. Erik thrives in environments where clients’ particular business objectives can be used to design and deploy creative solutions that satisfy both management and employees.

When preventative measures are not enough, Erik’s understanding of the interplay between leave laws, employee benefits, bargaining, discipline, discharge, and litigation creates leverage that powers successful outcomes. He has more than 13 years of experience in state and federal courts, arbitrations, administrative agency proceedings and before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Beyond his labor relations practice, Erik defends large corporations, local businesses and individuals against allegations of employee misclassification, wage and hour violations, breach of non-competition agreements, safety violations, discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination. He also has experience handling benefits claims, leave law issues, and employee disciplinary matters.

Before joining Fisher Phillips, Erik was a partner in the Seattle office of a management-side labor and employment law firm serving the Pacific Northwest.