Melinda Kaufmann: Pullman & Comley

Overview

Melinda B. Kaufmann is a knowledgeable advisor who assists employers and educational institutions with understanding and applying the myriad of changing laws that affect their organizations.

Melinda provides counsel to public and private employers across a variety of industries, including education, restaurants and hospitality, and health care, among others. Melinda provides counsel on all steps of the employment relationship, from establishing policies on recruitment and hiring to handling issues arising from separation of employment and everything in between.

While much of Melinda’s practice focuses on minimizing or preventing employment disputes, when necessary, Melinda is a fierce advocate in court and before administrative agencies. Melinda defends employers and their individual officers, agents and employees in federal and state courts and before federal and state agencies regarding various issues including: discrimination, retaliation and harassment claims under Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, whistleblower claims, constitutional claims under Section 1983, First Amendment, Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act and various employment-related tort claims. Melinda routinely negotiates collective bargaining agreements.

Melinda has extensive experience defending companies facing wage and hour claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Connecticut Wage and Hour laws. This includes defense of claims alleging misclassification, failure to pay proper overtime wages to home health aids and restaurant workers and failure to proper handle tips for restaurant employees.

Education Law

Melinda advises public schools, universities, colleges, and independent schools on the full range of educational matters. In addition to her law degree, Melinda has a Master’s Degree in Special Education and taught special education and mathematics for five years, giving her a unique insight into the challenges faced by boards of education. Melinda successfully defended a board of education in the first special education federal jury trial in the country. Boards of education appreciate her extensive experience representing them before state and federal agencies, including the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration, the State Board of Labor Relations, and in arbitrations before American Arbitration Association arbitrators. She also represents boards of education before the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights on discrimination claims including, but not limited to claims of disability, sex and race/national origin discrimination and the Connecticut State Department of Education.

Melinda regularly counsels educational institutions on Title IX. She often conducts Title IX and other civil rights investigations and also acts as the Title IX decision maker for educational institutions. She is certified as a Civil Rights Investigator through ATIXA.

In her labor relations practice, Melinda routinely negotiates collective bargaining agreements on behalf of boards of education. She frequently represents boards of education in labor disputes before administrative agencies and courts.

A sought after speaker and trainer, Melinda frequently provides employee training on topics such as sexual harassment, special education, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, student discipline, discrimination, the ADA, the Family Medical Leave Act, Connecticut Paid Leave and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. She frequently trains school district employees on their roles and responsibilities under Title IX, and hosts the popular Title IX on the Nines webinar series.

Office

Hartford

90 State House Square

Hartford, CT 06103-3702

T: 860.424.4300

Professional Affiliations

Connecticut School Attorneys Council - past president

Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame - former trustee

ATIXA - certified Civil Rights Investigator Three

University of Saint Joseph Women's Leadership Center - Steering Council

Experience

Employment

Defense of employers against claims of employment discrimination based on age, race, national original, pregnancy, disability, gender and gender orientation, before the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Defended public and private employers in federal and state court involving claims of discrimination including age, race, disability, retaliation, First Amendment rights of employees, whistleblower claims, and constitutional claims brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section 1983.
Successfully negotiated favorable settlement of claims of failure to properly pay overtime wages to home health aides.
Successfully negotiated a favorable settlement of claims that a restaurant had improperly paid tips to its servers.
Defense of employers before the Federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
Provided employers with training on preventing sexual harassment in the workplace.
Advised employers on all aspects of the employment relationship including employee discipline, accommodating employees with disabilities, the application of the Family Medical Leave Act.
Defense of employers before the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration and the State Board of Labor Relations.

Education

Prevailed on summary judgment at the Federal District Court when a non-tenured teacher claimed her contract was not renewed because of her ethnicity.
Successfully defended through the Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit a board of education accused of discriminating and retaliating against an administrator in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act when it demoted the administrator.
Successfully defended, through the Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a board of education against a claim of national origin by a teacher who had been terminated for cause.
Successfully defended, through the Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, a board of education against a claim of disability discrimination after it terminated an employee who was found to be under the influence of alcohol during work hours.
Prevailed on summary judgment against a claim by a teacher who alleged her employment was not renewed because of whistleblower activity.
Successfully defended boards of education against grievances brought to arbitration involving employee termination, employee discipline, denials of transfer, lack of employee parking, layoffs, contract interpretation and other conditions of employment.
Successfully defended a board of education in federal court against an appeal of a special education due process complaint.
Collectively bargained contracts with unions representing various non-certified public employees.