Matt Perez helps businesses navigate complex labor and employment issues, from day-to-day personnel decisions and workplace compliance to high-stakes discrimination, retaliation and wage-and-hour litigation. He represents employers of all sizes throughout the Carolinas and Florida and across the country, from emerging start-ups to Fortune 50 companies, providing practical, direct counsel grounded in an understanding of each organization's workforce, operations, and goals.
He advises employers at every stage of the employment relationship, including hiring, compensation, discipline, leave management, accommodations and terminations. Matt drafts employee handbooks, employment contracts, workplace policies and separation agreements. He also conducts employment audits covering wage-and-hour practices, worker classification, immigration compliance, HR policies and leave procedures. These audits help businesses identify and address workforce vulnerabilities before they disrupt operations or lead to disputes, and they support due diligence and integration in mergers, acquisitions, and other business transactions.
Matt further advises clients on the strategic use of restrictive covenants, including confidentiality, non-compete and non-solicitation agreements. He drafts customized agreements that meet the legal requirements of each jurisdiction where his clients operate while advancing each company's particular goals. When enforcement becomes necessary, he represents employers in court and in private arbitration, seeking immediate and permanent relief to remedy violations and protect his clients' rights and interests. He also litigates claims involving trade secret misappropriation, employee raiding, and tortious interference, protecting clients' confidential information, customer relationships, and other proprietary business interests from unfair competition.
When workplace disputes arise, Matt defends employers in state and federal courts, in arbitration, and in administrative proceedings. He handles discrimination, harassment, retaliation, leave, wage-and-hour and other employment claims under the major federal employment statutes and their state counterparts, in matters ranging from single-plaintiff cases to class and collective actions. Drawing on a decade of employment law experience, he develops litigation strategies with each client's business objectives in mind and gives candid assessments at every stage.
From pre-suit consultations through trial, Matt is a trusted advocate for employers seeking to resolve disputes efficiently and protect their workforce, reputation and long-term interests.
Experience
- Representation of numerous employers in defense of charges of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Florida Commission on Human Relations, and other state and local enforcement agencies.
- Representation of multiple clients in single-plaintiff EEO lawsuits in federal courts in Florida and other states.
- Representation of a package delivery company in defense of claims of disability discrimination, worker's compensation retaliation, and interference of leave under the FMLA.
- Representation of a national tax preparation services company in race, sex, age, and national origin discrimination cases in Alabama, Texas, Florida, and other jurisdictions throughout the United States.
- Representation of a national clinical laboratory in defense of race and sex discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment claims under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.