Carmen Decot

Carmen N. Decot is a partner and litigation attorney with Foley & Lardner LLP and is a member of the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice and Automotive, Food & Beverage, and Manufacturing Industry Teams.

Ms. Decot represents and counsels employers in all aspects of the employer-employee relationship, including but not limited to, compliance with complex statutory and regulatory requirements under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Executive Order 11246 and other affirmative action laws and regulations; union grievances, National Labor Relations Board charges, and labor arbitrations; employment litigation before federal, state, and local courts and administrative agencies; reductions in force; and various matters related to employee recruitment, hiring, performance, discipline, and discharge.

Ms. Decot also provides clients with practical guidance and proactive counseling regarding best practices designed to help employers avoid labor and employment disputes and comply with the law.

• Provided strategic advice for a manufacturing client in all areas of labor and employment law, including labor arbitrations, wage and hour related issues, and employment litigation matters
• Obtained summary judgment victories for an automotive industry client in religious discrimination and multi-plaintiff gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuits
• Successfully defended a food and beverage industry client in numerous employment litigation and labor matters
• Played a key role in a major restructuring effort for a media client by advising on compliance with federal and state anti-discrimination laws, WARN Act notice requirements, contract compliance, and wage and hour issues and successfully defended the client in multiple post-restructuring employment discrimination lawsuits and administrative agency proceedings
• Provided proactive compliance counseling in the areas of employment discrimination, family and medical leave, and affirmative action compliance to an energy industry client
• Successfully represented a health care industry client in a variety of employment matters, including federal wage and hour litigation, federal and state employment discrimination matters, and a federal Section 1983 lawsuit and appeal

Education :

Ms. Decot earned her law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law (with distinction, 2004), where she was awarded the College of Law’s Dean’s Achievement Award. While in law school, Ms. Decot served as a student writer and articles editor for the Journal of Corporation Law and held officer positions in various student organizations.

Ms. Decot earned her Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (1999).

Admissions and Professional Memberships :

Ms. Decot is licensed to practice in the state of Wisconsin and is admitted to the bars of the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin, the Northern and Southern Districts of Illinois, the Western District of Michigan, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.

She is also a member of the Wisconsin Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Association for Women Lawyers, the Milwaukee Young Lawyers Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association, the Wisconsin Hispanic Lawyers Association, and the Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee.

Ms. Decot currently serves on the board of the Labor & Employment Law Section for the State Bar of Wisconsin.

Representative Matters :

• Provides strategic advice to a Fortune 500 motorcycle manufacturer in all areas of labor and employment law, including labor arbitrations, wage and hour related issues, and supervision of employment litigation matters.
• Represented a Fortune 100 contractor in a religious discrimination litigation in federal court. Won summary judgment on behalf of the company and the case was dismissed.
• Developed complex restructuring plan and implementation strategies for substantial company-wide restructure of Milwaukee, Wisconsin metropolitan area’s major daily newspaper, which resulted in a downsize of approximately 400 employees and the restructuring of the client’s remaining workforce.
• Issues included state and federal anti-discrimination laws (including impact analysis), federal and state WARN Acts and related notice issues, contract compliance, labor and wage and hour analysis, and counseling.
• Served as labor and employment counsel providing on going strategic advice and counseling on employment issues and managed all employment litigation involving the newspaper and its affiliates.