Christopher P. Hampton is a Partner in the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group and heads the firm’s Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Compliance Practice. Overall, Chris devotes his practice to representing employers and management in variety of labor and employment matters, and litigates matters before administrative agencies, as well as the federal, state and appellate courts.
As the Head of the firm’s OSHA Practice, Chris has specialized expertise in all areas of Safety and Health compliance. Chris has extensive experience in assisting clients to respond to informal citations from OSHA as well as preparing for OSHA investigations. Additionally, Chris performs pre-citation inspections and walkthroughs, as well as assists in resolving potential OSHA regulatory issues prior to any citation. Finally, Chris also has extensive experience in navigating formal OSHA investigations and citations, including defending clients through formal litigation, and including pre-notice of contest disputes, post-notice of contests litigations and trials, and effectuation of OSHA conciliation agreements. Chris’ OSHA experience runs the gamut of the Construction, Hospitality (hotel and restaurants) and Healthcare (assisted living facilities and hospitals) industries. Chris has been asked to teach OSHA requirements and compliance before both national institutes and industries, including performing Continuing Legal Education seminars to the profession.
With regard to Non-OSHA matters, Chris concentrates his practice on: (i) employment discrimination matters (both compliance and litigation), including sex, race, national origin, disability, religious and other discrimination, and including both formal litigation and government investigations; (ii) wage-and-hour matters (both compliance and litigation), including wage theft, prevailing wage, public works; and (iii) other employment regulatory and compliance matters, including benefits and application issues.
Chris has served as lead trial counsel for numerous class-and-collective-action employment litigations involving more than 1000 employees. He drafts court documents, attends court appearances and conducts oral arguments. Outside of the courtroom, Chris leads mediations and settlement conferences; drafts settlement agreements, addresses agency complaints, drafts position statements and conducts administrative hearings.
He also has a breadth of experience handling general commercial litigation suits, including breach of contract actions, claims of fraud, and other business tort actions. This dual experience has led Chris to have a particular understanding of how a client’s business outlook and “bottom line” can potentially impact its litigation and compliance needs.
Additionally, Chris performs a wide array of day-to-day legal services for his labor and employment clients. These include drafting and revising conciliation agreements, advising on employment policies such as hiring and applicant screening; discipline and termination; employee compensation and benefits; employment, severance, and separation agreements; and handbooks. Chris also drafts management side policies.
Specialized Expertise
• Wage-and-Hour Laws (Fair Labor Standards Act; New York Labor Law; Prevailing Wage, etc.)
• Discrimination Laws (Title II, Title VII, New York Human Rights Law, etc.)
• Occupational Safety and Health Act
• Background/Criminal Record Check Laws (Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Chance Act, etc.)
• Leave Laws (Family Medical Leave Act, Earned Sick Time Act, etc.)
Prior to joining the firm, Chris served as a summer judicial intern with the Honorable Sandra J. Feuerstein, District Judge, Eastern District of New York while attending the Maurice A. Dean School of Law at Hofstra University. He received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University.
Chris lives in Mineola with his wife Cascille, children Jack and Lana, and dogs Shea and Maggie. The dedication and passion he brings to his work extends to his personal and family life. He is an avid softball player, voracious reader, and a diehard Mets fan.