Holly L. Cini is a Partner in the Hartford office of Jackson Lewis LLP. Ms. Cini concentrates her practice on employment litigation and preventive counseling. She represents employers in a variety of forums, including state and federal courts, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Ms. Cini has successfully represented employers throughout all stages of litigation, from administrative hearings to trials in state and federal courts through appeals before the Connecticut Appellate Court and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. She litigates claims alleging discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, whistleblower violations and a variety of other statutory and common law claims. She has experience handling class and collective actions alleging violations of state and federal wage and hour laws, including claims involving sales representatives and restaurant workers. In addition to her litigation experience, Ms. Cini advises employers on a wide range of employment-related issues including performance counseling, personnel policies, and termination decisions. She also regularly conducts training on a variety of topics such as harassment prevention, employment investigations and personnel management skills.
She is the author of myriad resource articles, including "Paid Sick Leave: A Law of Unintended Consequences", Connecticut Law Tribune (October 31, 2011); "Step-by-Step Guide to Paid Sick Leave", Hartford Business Journal (December 19, 2011); Gaudio v. Griffin Health Services Ten Years Later: Why Do Claims Based on Employee Handbook Policies Continue to Thrive? Connecticut Law Tribune (July 27, 2009) and “Defending Claims of Retaliatory Discipline”, Connecticut Law Tribune (April 19, 2004).
Prior to joining Jackson Lewis, Ms. Cini held the appointed position of General Counsel to State Comptroller Nancy Wyman, a role in which she oversaw employment and legislative issues for the Comptroller's agency as well as played an active role in the Comptroller's successful campaign for re-election. Prior to that, Ms. Cini was an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the Mayor of Waterbury, CT. Ms. Cini earned a B.A. in economics cum laude from Providence College in 1992 and a J.D. cum laude from Suffolk University Law School in 1995. She is a member of the Connecticut Bar and is admitted to practice before the Connecticut Superior Court, the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Published Works
Articles
“Gaudio v. Griffin Health Services Ten Years Later: Why Do Claims Based on Employee Handbook Policies Continue to Thrive?”, Connecticut Law Tribune (July 2009) [Co-Author]
"Defending Claims of Retaliatory Discipline", Connecticut Law Tribune (April 2004) [Co-Author]
