Pamela Devata

Ms. Pamela Q. Devata is a partner in the Labor and Employment Practice Group of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. She specializes in all aspects of employment defense including counseling, training, and litigation. She also has extensive experience with employment litigation in administrative agencies. She has conducted employee, manager and executive training for companies in the health care, manufacturing, and retail industries.

Ms. Devata’s employment litigation practice includes state and federal court cases involving allegations of sex, race, and national origin discrimination and harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and state laws, allegations of retaliation, allegations of disability discrimination and reasonable accommodation issues under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state statutes, allegations of age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), allegations of discrimination under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and wage and hour disputes.

In addition to these areas, Ms. Devata has a special emphasis on the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and state laws effecting background screening. She counsels both employers and providers (resellers and consumer reporting agencies) of background information on compliance requirements under the FCRA and related state laws, and has been involved in litigation regarding these issues. Ms. Devata is a past member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners.

Ms. Devata’s training experience includes training with Seyfarth Shaw at Work on employment-related topics, including sexual harassment, race and gender discrimination, compliance with EEO laws, religious discrimination, handling investigations, interviewing and hiring practices, the ADA, the FMLA , and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Ms. Devata has also conducted training for law firm staff and attorneys and various governmental entities. Ms. Devata recently testified in October 2010 at the Public Meeting of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Washington, D.C., about the use of credit checks as a screening tool for job applicants.

She was quoted in numerous media outlets on this topic including the Wall Street Journal, and the Fox Network Program, “Fox & Friends.” Ms. Devata has recently been named, “2011 Most Powerful and Influential Woman of Illinois,” by the National Diversity Council. Ms. Devata has also been an adjunct professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law teaching Legal Writing and Research.

Education:

• J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology (2001)
  • Notes and Comments Editor of Law Review
  • Vice President Moot Court Honor Society
• B.A., Washington University in St. Louis (1998)
• Certified Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt

Affiliations:

• American Bar Association
• Chicago Bar Association
• National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS)
• Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM)