Michaelle L. Baumert

Biography

Michaelle L. Baumert is a principal in the Omaha, Nebraska, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She is a seasoned litigator and has extensive experience in human resources counseling. Michaelle’s practice also has an emphasis on labor and employment issues and concerns in the franchise context. 

Michaelle concentrates her practice on employment law, class action, franchise vicarious liability, and traditional labor. She provides day-to-day preventive counseling and assistance to employers regarding the full spectrum of labor and employment matters, including employment discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, disability leave management, reductions in force, policy drafting, employment contracts and severance agreements, and workplace investigations. Michaelle has represented employers in National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) proceedings and in defending against unfair labor practice charges, in efforts to combat union organizing campaigns, and in negotiating collective-bargaining agreements.

Michaelle frequently presents on a variety of human resources and employment and labor law topics. Her training sessions for executives, management, and supervisors provide valuable preventative advice and proactive and practical approaches to everyday workplace problems, large and small. She also provides engaging and interactive training to employees, business groups, and other attorneys.

Michaelle maintains a strong litigation and trial practice. She has successfully defended employers through summary judgment, bench and jury trials, and appellate work in individual and class and collective actions involving harassment and discrimination claims, wage and hour, and various other employment-related disputes. She also aggressively pursues and defends matters involving non-compete agreements and other restrictive covenants. 

The franchise vicarious liability portion of Michaelle’s practice includes litigation, as well as preventative counseling, training, and drafting of operations manuals and other documentary materials designed to maintain and ensure the independent status of franchisors and franchisees.

Published Works

• "Watch Out for Wage-Hour Minefields," Provider Magazine (February 2020) [Co-Author] 
• “The National Labor Relations Board’s Browning-Ferris Decision and the Expanding Concept of Joint Employment,” The Nebraska Lawyer Magazine (January/February 2016) [Co-Author]
• “Do’s and Don’ts for Franchisors, Franchisees,” Hotel News Now (February 2015) [Author]
• “The ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ of Franchise Employment Law,” Franchising World (August 2014) [Author]

Speeches

• “Dealing with the Problem Employee,” CLE for In-House Counsel – Protecting Corporate Interests from the Inside (Kansas City, MO, June 2016) (presenter)
• “Latest Developments in Franchisor ‘Employer’ Status: What Franchisors and Franchisees Should Know,” (Kansas City, MO, June 2015) (presenter)
• “Accommodating Cognitive Disabilities or Chronic Episodic Conditions in the Workplace,” Nebraska State Bar Association Labor and Employment Seminar (Omaha, NE, June 2015) (presenter)
• “Protecting Your Franchise Business Against New Employment-Related Risk,” IFA Business Network (Kansas City, MO, January 2015) (presenter)
• “Who’s the Boss?  Joint Employment Issues in the Franchise World,” (Kansas City, MO, September 2014) (presenter)