Bass Berry Author Biography

Tim K. Garrett
Ogletree Deakins

Tim has been a Member of the firm since 1992 and is Chairperson of the Labor and Employment Practice Area. Tim has extensive experience representing employers in the middle Tennessee region (including southern Kentucky and northern Alabama) in all aspects of employment discrimination and traditional labor law, including union avoidance, responding to unfair labor practices, grievance and arbitration matters and contract interpretation. His litigation experience spans nationwide and includes the following:

  • Successful defense of numerous employment termination cases under Title VII, ADEA, ADA and FMLA.
  • Successful defense of local community bank in employment discrimination case.
  • Successful defense of major health care provider in gender discrimination/retaliation cases in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
  • Successful "informational campaign" for local automotive parts manufacturer against UAW representation attempt.
  • Successful defense of major producer of aluminum casting alloys in numerous union arbitrations.
  • Successful defense of large local employer in a seminal LLC/breach of fiduciary duty matter.
  • Successful defense of major health care providers in FMLA/wrongful discharge cases in Tennessee and Missouri.
  • Successful defense of large local employer in a sexual harassment/retaliation lawsuit.
  • Representation of textile manufacturer in first FMLA lawsuit filed in Tennessee.
  • Successful defense of Tennessee employers under state wrongful discharge claims.
  • Successful management of anti-union campaigns for employers in Tennessee, Ohio, Missouri and Alabama against unions such as the Teamsters, the Steelworkers, the Bakery, Confectionary and Tobacco Workers Union and others.
  • Successful defense of wage and hour claims, including collective actions, under the FLSA.
  • Successful defense of Plans and/or administrators in various ERISA litigation.
  • Successful defense and/or prosecution of cases involving non-competition agreements.

Tim is a summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of The University of the South, also known as "Sewanee," in Sewanee, Tennessee. Tim received his law degree in 1986 from Vanderbilt University, where he was Order of the Coif, associate editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review and published a Note on attorneys' fees under Section 1988 of the Civil Rights Act. Tim is a frequent lecturer for clients and for business associations in the areas of supervisory training, hiring and firing, sexual harassment, conducting effective internal investigations and other relevant employment law topics. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® and has been named one of Tennessee's leading labor and employment lawyers since 2003 by Chambers USA .

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