Employee Rights

Deena R. Merlen is a Partner at the firm. She serves clients at both our New York and Stamford offices and heads the Connecticut practice. Her practice areas include intellectual property, employment and labor law, media and entertainment, general business law, commercial transactions and dispute resolution. In her employment practice, Ms. Merlen is a trusted “go to” problem solver and counsel to individuals, established name brand companies and startups alike. She has extensive experience representing clients in matters including general counseling, discrimination actions, mediations and dispute resolution, investigations by federal or state agencies, as well as wage and hour claims and other labor law matters. She also advises on and regularly negotiates employment and separation agreements, independent contractor arrangements and other services-related arrangements. Ms. Merlen also counsels clients on employment and business matters in response to a crisis or other unexpected business impact, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting business closures, including continuity plans, employee furloughs, reductions in force and other critical measures. In her intellectual property practice, Ms. Merlen helps her clients with the development, acquisition and protection of their valuable brands and other vital intellectual property assets. She manages and grows trademark portfolios in the U.S. and internationally; negotiates licensing, assignment, distribution and branding agreements; prosecutes trademark and copyright registrations; enforces intellectual property rights; and provides strategic counsel to safeguard brand platforms and expand the value of her clients’ intellectual property assets. Ms. Merlen’s media practice encompasses the development and protection of creative works in the fields of music, film, television, theatre, publishing, literary arts, performing arts, design and technology. She ran her own business in the entertainment industry for over a decade and brings that business experience and acumen to her legal practice. In addition, Ms. Merlen provides general business counsel and represents clients in company and transactional matters such as partnerships, joint ventures, licensing arrangements, the purchase or sale of businesses, and a wide range of other corporate matters, including company formation, capitalization and governance, compliance and contracts. Representative clients include technology companies, schools and other academic institutions, personal care and beauty companies, fashion and design companies, media, arts and entertainment companies, wholesalers, retailers and more. Prior to her work with RPJ, Ms. Merlen served as Law Clerk to The Honorable Roger J. Miner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, after which she joined Debevoise & Plimpton, where she practiced for over five years in the areas of corporate law and intellectual property. Ms. Merlen is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York.

The Devadoss Law Firm, P.L.L.C. is committed to ensuring governmental employees are afforded proper representation in employment arbitration and employment mediation. As federal employees, you may encounter various types of adverse actions, disputes, and grievances. Having an experienced lawyer from our firm to represent you during these proceedings can ensure your rights are protected. Are you a federal employee requiring employment arbitration or mediation? Please call The Devadoss Law Firm, P.L.L.C. at 972-726-7400 to arrange your free case evaluation. We are committed to standing up for the rights of federal employees. Arbitrations often involve labor unions and labor union grievances. But we represent all employees at all pay grades in arbitration. As experienced former federal lawyers, we understand what it takes to successfully represent your interests in employment arbitration. Our firm has a high success rate in mediation. Mediation is considered a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that is less adversarial than litigation and oftentimes administrative proceedings. We believe we are successful in mediation because of our creativity, our negotiation skills, and our strong belief in our clients. We represent federal employees in various arenas of mediation including EEOC, MSPB, Office of Special Counsel, OWCP, and in several administrative forums. If you are a federal employee concerned about any adverse, retaliatory, or disciplinary actions against you, please contact our firm to learn how we can help.

Deena R. Merlen is a Partner at the firm. She serves clients at both our New York and Stamford offices and heads the Connecticut practice. Her practice areas include intellectual property, employment and labor law, media and entertainment, general business law, commercial transactions and dispute resolution. In her employment practice, Ms. Merlen is a trusted “go to” problem solver and counsel to individuals, established name brand companies and startups alike. She has extensive experience representing clients in matters including general counseling, discrimination actions, mediations and dispute resolution, investigations by federal or state agencies, as well as wage and hour claims and other labor law matters. She also advises on and regularly negotiates employment and separation agreements, independent contractor arrangements and other services-related arrangements. Ms. Merlen also counsels clients on employment and business matters in response to a crisis or other unexpected business impact, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting business closures, including continuity plans, employee furloughs, reductions in force and other critical measures. In her intellectual property practice, Ms. Merlen helps her clients with the development, acquisition and protection of their valuable brands and other vital intellectual property assets. She manages and grows trademark portfolios in the U.S. and internationally; negotiates licensing, assignment, distribution and branding agreements; prosecutes trademark and copyright registrations; enforces intellectual property rights; and provides strategic counsel to safeguard brand platforms and expand the value of her clients’ intellectual property assets. Ms. Merlen’s media practice encompasses the development and protection of creative works in the fields of music, film, television, theatre, publishing, literary arts, performing arts, design and technology. She ran her own business in the entertainment industry for over a decade and brings that business experience and acumen to her legal practice. In addition, Ms. Merlen provides general business counsel and represents clients in company and transactional matters such as partnerships, joint ventures, licensing arrangements, the purchase or sale of businesses, and a wide range of other corporate matters, including company formation, capitalization and governance, compliance and contracts. Representative clients include technology companies, schools and other academic institutions, personal care and beauty companies, fashion and design companies, media, arts and entertainment companies, wholesalers, retailers and more. Prior to her work with RPJ, Ms. Merlen served as Law Clerk to The Honorable Roger J. Miner of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, after which she joined Debevoise & Plimpton, where she practiced for over five years in the areas of corporate law and intellectual property. Ms. Merlen is admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York.

Eric L. Siegel has over 30 years of experience dedicating his practice to the litigation and resolution of business, employment, civil rights, disability rights and whistleblower disputes. Eric has tried jury and bench cases in both state and federal courts in numerous jurisdictions, including but not limited to the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, and Mississippi. He formerly served as a trial attorney in the Employment Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division where he enforced Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. In addition, he spent the last decade working part-time in the real estate industry as an owner and developer, working on acquisition, financing, zoning, affordable housing, property management and leasing issues. Consequently, he understands first-hand the challenges facing owners, landlords and developers and approaches legal problems of real estate clients from a broader, results-driven and cost-effective perspective. He works closely with his clients to identify and fully understand their goals. Thinking strategically and creatively on behalf of clients, he uses all available tools to pursue a successful outcome for his clients. Mr. Siegel has been a frequent lecturer and author on a wide array of topics, including employee work eligibility under immigration laws; compliance with wage and hour laws; emerging sexual harassment law issues; English-only rules; arbitrability of jurisdictional disputes in tri-lateral arbitration, ADA case analyses and articles on mental disability, health insurance, pre-employment inquiries under the ADA, which was published in Disability Discrimination in the Workplace (Clark Boardman Callaghan), and medical examinations and reasonable accommodation under the ADA, and litigation tactics to avoid summary judgment, publishing in several employment-related treatises.

With over 15 years of experience in employment litigation, Brian Sudano is a distinguished legal professional who is dedicated to protecting the rights of employees against some of the country’s largest corporations. Mr. Sudano has successfully handled a wide range of employment-related cases, including wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wage disputes. His extensive knowledge of employment laws and regulations allows him to provide strategic guidance and effective representation to clients. Brian Sudano understands the complexities and sensitivities surrounding employment litigation, and approaches each case committed to achieving the best possible outcome. If you are an employee seeking justice for workplace mistreatment, contact us today to schedule a free consultation to discuss your rights under the law.

Peter A. Romero has practiced exclusively in the area of employment law for 16 years. Mr. Romero regularly represents both employers and employees in workplace litigation, including trial and appellate practice, administrative proceedings before the Department of Labor, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and New York State Division of Human Rights. He is highly experienced in complex litigation, including collective and class action lawsuits.

Thad Guyer is based in Seattle, and during the pandemic in Belgrade, Serbia. He has over 30 years of litigation experience representing whistleblowers against governments, international organizations, and Fortune 500 companies. As Adjunct Senior Litigation Counsel for the Government Accountability Project in Washington, DC, he has argued cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts nationwide, and in the tribunals of the United Nations, World Bank, International Labour Organization (Geneva), and Latin American and African Development Banks. He has represented whistleblowers assigned to projects and missions in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, East Asia, and Europe. In addition to CLEs on whistleblower rights and corporate compliance in the U.S., he has been a speaker in Tokyo, Saigon, Beijing, Hong Kong, Rome, Paris and Bratislava. He currently a lecturer on European whistleblower rights at University of Belgrade.

Colleen Van Egmond is an accomplished lawyer that has extensive legal experience in business planning, business litigation, estate planning, estate litigation, probates, employment law, agriculture law, along with accident and injuries. She has worked for such law firms as Thayer Harvey Gregerson Hedberg & Jackson along with Curtis & Arata prior to becoming the managing partner with Arata Swingle Van Egmond & Goodwin. In addition to her legal experience, she is currently active in different associations such as Association of Defense Council, Stanislaus County Bar Association and the Children's Crisis Center. Colleen Van Egmond graduated from the McGeorge School of Law with an honors in taxation and was admitted to the California State Bar in 2005. In addition to her legal degree, Ms. Van Egmond has a B.S. in Managerial Economics and a A.S. in Agriculture Business.

Throughout my 35 plus years of practice, I have represented individuals in all aspects of employment law in order to protect their jobs and families from the arbitrary actions of management who often view their employees as disposable. I have been proud to represent victims of discrimination of all types and effectively prosecuted their claims in either federal or state court. More recently my firm has advocated for an employee who has been harassed on the basis of their sex, age, or race. We have discovered that simply because an employer may have a procedure for reporting such harassment does not mean that the employee is protected or that the claims are fully investigated. The Law Offices of F. Benjamin Riek III has won significant victories for whistleblowers in both administrative and state court actions. We are proud to represent those few individuals who are willing to put aside the fears of retaliation and bring forth the illegal or dangerous actions of their employers -whether it is a pollution violation or misstating financial records. There are strong laws to protect employees in many areas who become aware of illegal activities at work. We are always willing to represent you before the proper agency or in court. In recent years, I have seen a significant increase in the number of cases of retaliation from employers for either reporting discrimination or harassment or cooperating in the company’s investigation of the claim. The employees targeted for retaliation are not just those who were victimized but also the witnesses who saw and heard what happened and told the truth, however inconvenient it might be to management. Don’t let the human resource department or a supervisor intimidate you! It is surprising that even today many companies try to cheat their employees out of the proper earnings through a variety of illegal activities. Some of the more obvious are forcing their workers to work off the clock, either before or after their shift, failing to pay overtime for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week, or telling you that you are an independent contractor when you have no control over your work hours. All of these actions violate the Fair Labor Standards Act which has been enforced since the 1930s. If you are classified as an independent contractor, not only does the company avoid withholding taxes, they also don’t pay their portion of social security and unemployment taxes that could affect you as you near retirement. I have a broad and diverse background representing employees and am always willing to meet with you to discuss your situation.

For over 40 years, Larry has been conducting trials and appeals in both state and federal courts in employment cases including public employee cases, Lemon Law actions, products liability matters, insurance litigation (including environmental matters, toxic tort and consumer fraud), commercial and corporate litigation, franchise matters, breach of warranty, and similar matters. He has also been involved in the defense of several class action suits and has handled a variety of matters before regulatory boards and he has frequently appeared before the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law. Larry has experience drafting, reviewing, and counselling clients regarding employment agreements, separation agreements and employee manuals. Larry also counsels corporate clients in a variety of areas. He has assisted manufacturing clients in product recalls, preparing warnings, warranties, and owner’s manuals for various products. Larry has been involved in representing clients with matters in China and Hong Kong. In addition to his practice, Larry is Vice President and General Counsel of Foreign Tire Sales, Inc. located in Union, New Jersey.