Karla Grossenbacher

Ms. Karla Grossenbacher is a partner in Seyfarth Shaw’s Washington, D.C. office concentrating in labor and employment law.  She is Chair of the Washington, D.C. Labor & Employment Practice Group and also heads the Firm’s National Workplace Privacy team. In addition, Ms. Grossenbacher serves on the Steering Committee of the Firm’s Global Privacy and Security team and the firm’s national Labor and Employment Steering Committee.

In the workplace privacy area, Ms. Grossenbacher specializes in advising employers on workplace privacy issues, such as monitoring of electronic communications, such as social media, texts, group messaging and personal email accounts, video surveillance, workplace searches and investigations, and preparation of policies that raise workplace privacy issues, such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies, workplace communication policies, electronic communications policies and social media policies.

Ms. Grossenbacher also specializes in advising employers on responding to cybersecurity incidents and data breaches, including preparation of data breach response plans. Ms. Grossenbacher is a frequent presenter, author and blogger on workplace privacy issues. Ms. Grossenbacher is both an experienced litigator and counselor.

She regularly advises employers on compliance with employment laws, both state and federal, and advises in-house counsel and human resources executives on high-risk terminations, employee privacy issues, and layoffs and also conducts policy reviews and audits of employment documents. Ms. Grossenbacher also has significant experience conducting high stakes workplace investigations for clients.

In the litigation arena, Ms. Grossenbacher has extensive experience representing employers across the country in employment-related litigation on federal, state and local levels before courts, arbitration tribunals and administrative agencies. Ms. Grossenbacher’s record in obtaining summary judgment on behalf of her clients is stellar, and she regularly litigates claims concerning discrimination, wage and hour violations (including collective actions), violations of ERISA, enforceability of arbitration agreements in the employment context and covenants not to compete.

Ms. Grossenbacher is well-versed in issues facing non-profit employers, as she represents a number of the largest non-profit organizations in the country. She also represents a number of startups and emerging companies and advises them on the labor and employment issues facing growing companies. Ms. Grossenbacher joined Seyfarth Shaw in 1993 after clerking for the Honorable Mildred M. Edwards of the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.

Education:

• J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, cum laude (1992)
• B.A., Marquette University, with honors (1989)

Affiliations:

• Northern Virginia Society of Human Resources Management (NOVA SHRM) (Co-Vice President, Legislative Affairs)