Albert L. Vreeland

Specialization

• Defense of employment litigation
• Strategic planning for corporate restructuring and downsizing
• Public sector / constitutional employment litigation
• Appellate Practice

About Al's Practice

Albert L. Vreeland is a founding member and Managing Shareholder of Lehr Middlebrooks Vreeland & Thompson, P.C. Al has represented employers in the entire range of employment litigation from Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, OSHA and ERISA to claims under the First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, and the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. His cases have ranged from the claims of a single disgruntled employee to statewide, regional, and nationwide attacks on his clients' hiring, promotion, termination, pay and benefits practices. Al also defends his clients before state and federal appellate courts.

In addition to his litigation practice, Al regularly counsels clients on preventive employment measures and on handling risk-laden employment decisions. His counseling practice has an emphasis on issues of corporate restructuring, such as sales, acquisitions and reductions-in-force. Al works with clients to analyze the risks of proposed corporate changes, including the risk of union accretion, employee benefit liability, WARN obligations, and adverse EEO impact.

Born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Al received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University, where he was a teaching assistant in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He received his law degree with honors from the University of Michigan Law School, where he was an editor of the Michigan Law Review. Al is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Alabama and before the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits and the United States Supreme Court.

Education

• University of Michigan Law School, J.D., with honors, 1991
  - Editor, Michigan Law Review
• Cornell University, B.S., 1988
  - Teaching assistant, School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Major Publications & Speaking Engagements

• Editor, Alabama Employment Law Letter (since 1991)
• Contributing Editor, Southeast Employment Law Letter
• Author, "13 questions and answers about OSHA's new COVID-19 vaccination standard," Alabama Employment Law Letter, December 2021, and HR Daily Advisor, November 4, 2021
• Quoted, "Tips for employers awaiting details on new COVID-19 vaccine rules," HR Daily Advisor, September 10, 2021
• Quoted, "Thinking of Requiring COVID-19 Shots? Here's What Employers Need to Know," HR Daily Advisor, August 3, 2021
• Quoted, "OSHA Relaxes COVID-19 Guidance for Fully Vaccinated Workplaces," HR Daily Advisor, June 11, 2021
• Author, "Alabama enacts law to provide immunity from COVID-19 lawsuits," Alabama Employment Law Letter, May 2021, and HR Daily Advisor, March 23, 2021
• Quoted, "PRO Act's Chances in Senate Doubtful, But It Still Airs Labor's 'Wish List'," HR Daily Advisor, March 11, 2021
• Author, "How to keep up with nonexempt teleworkers' time," Alabama Employment Law Letter, November 2020, and HR Daily Advisor, October 23, 2020
• Author, "Alabama Minimum Wage Law Preemption Upheld (For Now)," HR Daily Advisor, December 13, 2019
• Author, "Where's the loyalty? HR's role in the EEOC process," Alabama Employment Law Letter, October 2018, and Diversity Insight, August 12, 2019
• Author, "Snooping employee must pay to clean up his own mess," Alabama Employment Law Letter, March 2017, and Technology for HR Blog, April 20, 2017
• Author, "OSHA discourages blanket postaccident drug testing," Alabama Employment Law Letter, July 2016, and Safety.BLR.com, July 11, 2016
• Author, "Retaliation served lukewarm for former Alabama executive," Alabama Employment Law Letter, May 2016, and HR.BLR.com, June 13, 2016
• Author, "It takes two to accommodate: Alabama employer defeats ADA claims," Alabama Employment Law Letter, April 2016, and HR.BLR.com, May 23, 2016
• Quoted, "DOL poised to release new overtime final rule," Human Resources News, May 17, 2016
• Author, "Birmingham employers may face one-day minimum wage obligation," Human Resources News, February 22, 2016
• Author, "One bad case, two really bad results in age discrimination claim," Alabama Employment Law Letter, December 2015, and HR.BLR.com, January 4, 2016
• Author, "Managing an injured employee," Alabama Employment Law Letter, September 2014, and Diversity Insight, September 20, 2015
• Author, "An FMLA primer: Hindsight is a serious health condition," Alabama Employment Law Letter, August 2015, and HR.BLR.com, September 1, 2015
• Author, "Are FedEx workers independent contractors?" Alabama Employment Law Letter, June 2015, and HR.BLR.com, July 24, 2015
• Author, "When it comes to the interactive process, ADA doesn't require futility," Alabama Employment Law Letter, May 2015, and HR.BLR.com, June 1, 2015
• Author, "Winner, winner, chicken dinner: Race discrimination claim proceeds," Alabama Employment Law Letter, November 2014, and HR.BLR.com, December 22, 2014
• Quoted, "EEOC actions spark employer wrath, scathing report from Senate panel," HR Hero Line, December 5, 2014
• Contributing Editor, Alabama Employer's Desk Manual
• Author, How to Conduct Internal Investigations
  (1999, M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC)
• Author, "The Breath of the Unfee'd Lawyer", 90 University of Michigan Law Review 626 (1991)

Professional Recognition

• Recognized by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business as "a first-rate lawyer, hard working, academic and with a laid back, gentlemanly way of doing things" (2005-08)
• Listed in The Best Lawyers in America

Admitted to Practice

Alabama