Gordon M. Berger

Shareholder

Phone: 404.835.5221

Employment Law
Regularly advising businesses in a multitude of employment law matters, including EEO, wage & hour, restrictive covenants, employment agreements and day-to-day employment law issues. Expertise in advising alternative staffing organizations or administrative services organizations (ASOs), professional employer organizations (PEOs) and staffing companies. Other services include:

Employment law audits
Responding to EEOC charges and DOL inquiries
Contract drafting and review
Draft employment agreements and noncompetes
Serve as employment law counsel
Litigation defense
Employee handbook
Employment law training

Corporate Law
Regularly provides small and mid-sized business clients with practical and preventative legal counsel to help them form or acquire new businesses, manage their business for success, and avoid litigation. When litigation is required, he brings 19 years of courtroom experience to his client’s side.

Starting a new business
Regulatory and Licensing
Mergers and acquisitions
Business planning
Corporate governance and corporate compliance

BAR & COURT ADMISSIONS

Georgia, 1991
Georgia Court of Appeals
Georgia Supreme Court
U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia
U.S. District Court Middle District of Georgia
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan

PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP

Organizations

Atlanta Bar Association
- Member
Cobb County Bar Association
- Member
American Bar Association
- Member
Federal Bar Association, 1991 – 1999
- Member, Atlanta Chapter
State Bar of Georgia
- Member
National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO)
- Associate Member
- Member, Legal Advisory Council

Articles and Publications

Frequent Contributor, PEO Insider
Former Columnist, ProEmp Journal (now defunct publication)
Contributing Editor, ProEmp Journal, 2001
PEO Insider, Getting Your Ducks in a Row: Immigration (November 2010)
PEO Insider, No-Match Rule Update: Correct Employer Response Still Unclear (August 2010)
PEO Insider, Developing and Enforcing Social Networking Rules (December 2009/January 2010)
PEO Insider, Regulatory Changes Necessitate Handbook Changes (June/July 2009)
NAPEO Legal Review Volume 6, Number 4 The ADEA: Age, Layoffs, Waivers, and the PEO, (December 2008)
PEO Insider, Helping Clients Avoid Compliance Potholes (October 2008)
PEO Insider, Harassment Hazards Managing the Risks (June/July 2008)
PEO Insider, Leave and Alternate Work Arrangements (February 2008)
PEO Insider, New Electronic Discovery Rules Affect PEO Policies (June/July 2007)
PEO Insider, Protecting HR Data (March 2007)
PEO Insider, Sexual Harassment Reporting Procedure, Indemnification Provision Protect PEO from Client Actions (Dec 2006/Jan 2007)
NAPEO Legal Review, Volume 4, Issue 7 Sarbanes-Oxley and Workplace Ethics Training (September 2006)
PEO Insider, Information Destruction (November 2005)
PEO Insider, The Ins and Outs of MEWA Audits (June/July 2005)
PEO Insider, I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, Records, & Responsibilities (February 2005)
PEO Insider, Mission: Client HR Compliance, Checking Social Security Numbers: Still Required, Fines (September 2004)
Perfecting PEO Performance, Operational Requirement 7, Maintaining Workers’ Compensation Coverage (August 2004)
NAPEO Legal Review Volume 2, Number 3 The ADEA: Employees, Social Security Numbers, and PEOs (April 2004)
Outsourcing Employment Services: Welcome to the PEO Arrangement, PEOs and Background Checks (February 2004)
PEO Insider, BE PREPARED! With a Solid Client Service Agreement Are PEOs Practicing Law? (November 2003)
Workplace Compliance Made Simple, 479 Things You Need to Know, Military Leave: Knowing Laws Can Save a PEO from Headaches Later (May 2003)
Responding to SSA ‘No-Match’ Letters (March 2003)
Factual content provider, “Seminars At The Office”, CD ROM, Knowles Publishing (January 2000)
Article, “Employer Classification: Hot, hot, hot ”, ProEmp Journal (February 1999)
Article, “Waiving Workers’ Comp”, ProEmp Journal (January 1999)
Article, “EEOC To End The Use Of Job Testers“, ProEmp Journal (December 1998)
Article, “Is Your Employee Handbook The Basis For A Contract”, ProEmp Journal (November 1998)
Article, “Tax Case May Impact H.R. 1891 Debate”, ProEmp Journal (August 1998)
Article, “The Pitfalls of Marketing PEO Services“, ProEmp Journal (June 1998)
Article, “Court Rules On Employees’ Right to Sue After Receiving Disability“, ProEmp Journal (May 1998)
Article, “Beware of Clients Bearing Severance Gifts to Employees”, ProEmp Journal (April 1998)
Article/Feature In, Dossier Magazine, “Atlanta Law: Do you Know the Best and the Brightest?” (May/June 1997)
Article/Interview In, Atlanta Business Chronicle, “Professional Employer Organizations.” (May 1997)

Speaking Engagements

Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Legal & Legislative Conference, “Authorized Worker Compliance: I-9s, E-Verify, Visas, No Match” (May 2009)
Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Annual Conference, “Cases from the Courtroom: Immigration and Beyond” (September, 2008)
Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Legal & Legislative Conference “Lawfully Managing Employee Leave in 2007″ (October 2007)
Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Legal & Legislative Conference “Sarbanes-Oxley Isn’t Just for Public Companies — Corporate Training and Ethical Requirements for Attorneys, PEOs, and Clients” (May 2007)
Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Legal & Legislative Conference, “Ask an Expert Panel” (May 2006)
Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Annual Conference, “Privacy Issues in Your PEO”(September 2006)
Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Annual Conference, “Wage & Hour Audits”(September 2005)
Seminar Speaker for Sterling Education Services; Hiring And Firing (September 2003)
Seminar Speaker, at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Legal & Legislative Conference, “The Dilemma of Faulty Social Security Numbers – What’s an Employer to Do?” (May 2003)
Seminar Speaker, “Human Resource Fundamentals”, June 18, 2002, Atlanta, Georgia, Lorman Education Services (June 2002)
Seminar Speaker for Sterling Education “Recent Developments in Employment Law” (November 2002)
Seminar Speaker at National Association of Professional Employer Organizations Legal & Legislative Conference, “Panel Discussion: Advising PEOs on Regulatory Compliance Program” (May 2002)
Seminar Speaker, “Strategies For Effective Employee Recordkeeping”, December 14, 2001, Atlanta, Georgia, Lorman Education Services (December 2001)
Seminar Speaker, “Employee Handbooks”, Atlanta, Georgia, Lorman Education Services (August 2001)
Seminar Speaker, “Effective Human Resource Management”, Atlanta, Georgia, Lorman Education Services (September 2001)
Seminar Speaker, “Employment Law Update”, Athens, Georgia, Lorman Education Services (May 2001)
Seminar Speaker, “Personnel Law”, Atlanta, Georgia, Lorman Education Services (March 2001)
Seminar Speaker, Employee Privacy Georgia Association of Professional Employer Organizations (April 2000)
Seminar Speaker, Sexual Harassment Seminar Cobb County Chamber of Commerce (January 2000)
Seminar Speaker, The PEO Regulation & Compliance Institute, “FMLA In The PEO Industry: Whose Job Is It Anyway?” (January 1999)
Seminar Speaker, PEO Primer, “Recent Developments in Employment Law that Your PEO Should Know About,” (June 1998)
Speaker, “Some of the Lesser Known Facts Concerning Employer/Employee Rights”, Marketing Insurance Claims Association (February 1998)
Seminar Speaker, “Risk Management Through the Use of Employee Handbooks.” (September 1997)
Speaker, “Americans With Disabilities Act”, Fibromylagia Support Group, Piedmont Hospital (March 1997)
Speaker, “Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996”, American Society of Women Accountants l (February 1997)

HONORS & RECOGNITIONS

AV rating by Martindale-Hubbell

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP

Manager, East Cobb Reds baseball team, 2008-present
Evaluator, Georgia High School Mock Trial Competition, 1996, 2008, 2009
Member, Board of Directors, New Kent Homeowners Association, 2003-2006
Law Day, Pro Bono Lawyer, 1993-2000
Faculty Advisor, Entertainment & Sports Law Society, John Marshall Law School, 1996 – 1997
Adviser/Coach, Moot Court Society, Emory School of Law, 1995 Competition
Panelist, Career Day, Georgia State University, February 17, 1997
Adviser/Coach, Moot Court Society, Emory School of Law, 1995 Competition
Mentor, Emory School of Law Career Day, 1995-1998

EDUCATION

Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, Georgia, May, 1991, J.D.
University of Rochester, 1988. B.A.
- Honors: Cum Laude
- Major: History
- Major: Political Science