Doug Sergent concentrates his practice on employment litigation, employment counseling and matters involving the building trades. He regularly gives speeches on various employment matters and is the Chairman for the Labor & Employment Section of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. He also serves on the Board of Directors for a local nonprofit organization operating 17 Head Start centers within the Cleveland area.

With over ten years of non-law-related work experience, including five years of management-level experience in the retail industry, Mr. Sergent brings a practical “hands on” approach to his work. This experience has enabled him to successfully defend employers against claims of discrimination and harassment (including sex, race, age, national origin, and disability), retaliation, breach of contract, wrongful discharge and other work-related tort claims. Mr. Sergent has litigated matters in state and federal courts, and has extensive experience defending employers before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and various state civil rights agencies.

Mr. Sergent is an experienced employment counselor. He regularly advises employers on employment issues, including hiring and termination practices, pay policies and practices, employee discipline, corporate investigations and related issues. He has counseled employers on all aspects of federal and state employment law, including matters involving the OFCCP, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) and various state law provisions.

Mr. Sergent also practices in the labor relations area, handling unfair labor practice cases and representing clients during the negotiation of bargaining agreements and plant shutdown agreements. He also counsels clients on matters including the National Labor Relations Act, the Davis-Bacon Act and similar state law provisions.

In addition, Mr. Sergent has been involved in providing advice to a wide-ranging group of building trade multiemployer pension funds and performs litigation services under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act on behalf of these pension funds.