Kara E. Shea

Specialization

• Labor and Employment
• Intellectual Property
• Employment Litigation

About Kara's Practice

Kara E. Shea provides practical advice on employment issues and compliance to national, regional, and local employers of all sizes, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses, in a variety of industries. She also represents employers before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and in litigation, including discrimination, retaliatory discharge, whistleblower, and wage and hour cases, including class actions. Ms. Shea has briefed cases presented to both the Tennessee Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. Ms. Shea regularly speaks on employment-related topics and provides supervisory training on topics including FMLA and FLSA compliance, conducting workplace investigations, and implementing employee discipline. She has been a regular columnist for the Nashville City Paper and is the editor of the Tennessee Employment Law Letter. Ms. Shea also practices in the area of intellectual property, including trade secrets, trademarks, and copyright matters.

Education

• Vanderbilt University, J.D., 1996
  - Associate Editor, Vanderbilt Law Review
• Boston University, B.S., summa cum laude, 1991

Major Publications & Speaking Engagements

• Editor, Tennessee Employment Law Letter (since October 2004)
• Quoted, "Supreme Court Rejects One Vax Mandate, But Employers Urged to Stay Tuned," HR Daily Advisor, January 14, 2022
• Contributing Editor, Midsouth Employment Law Letter
• Quoted, "Employers Await More Legal Action as Last Federal Vax Mandate is Put on Hold," HR Daily Advisor, December 8, 2021
• Co-Author, "What to do when employees claim religious exemptions from vaccine mandates," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, November 2021, and HR Daily Advisor, October 21, 2021
• Quoted, "Tips for employers awaiting details on new COVID-19 vaccine rules," HR Daily Advisor, September 10, 2021
• Interviewed, "Working Mothers in Crisis," HR Works Podcast, January 26, 2021
• Co-Author, "What TN employers need to know about new COVID-19 liability law," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, October 2020, and HR Daily Advisor, September 28, 2020
• Quoted, "Congress Scales Down Coronavirus Paid Leave Bill, But Expect More Developments," HR Daily Advisor, March 18, 2020
• Quoted, "Long-Awaited Rule on Overtime Exemption Slated to Take Effect January 1," HR Daily Advisor, September 24, 2019
• Author, "All present and accounted for? If not, you may want to rethink your attendance policy," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, June 2019, and HR Daily Advisor, August 22, 2019
• Author, "Top 10 employment handbook mistakes," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, April 2019, and HR Daily Advisor, June 25, 2019
• Interviewed, "HR Works Special Episode: Making Sense of the Proposed Overtime Regulations," HR Works Podcast, April 18, 2019
• Quoted, "Proposed OT Rule Calls for Fresh Look at Worker Classification," HR Daily Advisor, March 14, 2019
• Author, "Job applicants, employees with criminal charges, convictions: What can employers do?" Tennessee Employment Law Letter, December 2018, and HR Daily Advisor, February 4, 2019
• Author, "Top 10 mistakes to avoid in 2019," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, December 2018, and HR Daily Advisor, January 14, 2019
• Author, "EEOC getting serious about #MeToo," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, November 2018, and HR Daily Advisor, January 9, 2019
• Author, "6th Circuit finds denial of orange juice request violates ADA," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, September 2018, and HR Daily Advisor, November 28, 2018
• Author, "Beware of bonus pitfalls," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, March 2018, and HR Daily Advisor, April 24, 2018
• Quoted, "Employers can play vital role when natural disaster strikes," Human Resources News, September 1, 2017
• Author, "State appeals court: Employee not subjected to unwelcome workplace harassment," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, June 2017, and HR Daily Advisor, July 27, 2017
• Quoted, "Looking for solutions to the talent gap? Don't forget legal concerns," HR Hero Line, June 16, 2017
• Quoted, "Paid time off: Not always as simple as it sounds," HR Hero Line, December 9, 2016
• Quoted, "Movement on overtime rules unlikely before Trump takes office," Human Resources News, December 6, 2016
• Quoted, "The Cost of Compliance," Thrive.BLR.com, July 21, 2016
• Quoted, "New FLSA overtime rule a step closer to reality," Human Resources News, March 16, 2016
• Presenter, "White Collar Exemptions from Overtime Explained" (video), Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, November 2015
• Quoted, "DOL's proposed overtime rules to swell ranks of overtime-eligible employees," Human Resources News, June 30, 2015
• Author, "To dock or not to dock? That is the question," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, September 2014, and HR Hero Line, February 25, 2015
• Author, "Social media in the spotlight," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, October 2014, and Technology for HR, November 24, 2014
• Author, "Satisfying your obligation to accommodate disabled employees," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, December 2013, and Diversity Insight, March 17, 2014
• Author, "Risks of ACA avoidance strategies for employers," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, September 2013, and HR Hero Line, November 1, 2013
• Regular Contributor, Nashville City Paper
• Speaker, SHRM state conference in Chattanooga (2004)
• Frequent speaker at the Tennessee Bankers' Association Human Resources Conference and Lorman Business Seminars

Professional Recognition

• Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Labor and Employment
• Listed in Nashville Business Journal’s 2012 Best of the Bar
• Nashville’s Top 101 Lawyers, Nashville Post Magazine, 2011

Admitted to Practice

Tennessee; numerous U.S. District Courts; U.S. Courts of Appeals, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, and Eleventh Circuits; U.S. Supreme Court