Stacey Smiricky is a partner in the firm's labor and employment group. She focuses her practice on employment litigation and commercial disputes and litigation, as well as counseling clients regarding proper employment practices and risk management.

Stacey has significant experience in employment litigation and other labor matters. She has advised clients on hiring, discipline and termination procedures and assisted with employee dishonesty, sexual harassment and other employment-related investigations. Stacey has also prepared numerous employment documents for clients, including policies and procedures, handbooks, contracts, non-compete agreements and confidentiality agreements. When employers have faced litigation, Stacey has represented them in various matters involving discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, the FMLA, breaches of contract, restrictive covenants and confidential information, trade secret misappropriation, tortious interference, insurance coverage and wrongful discharge. She has prosecuted and defended injunctions based on restrictive covenants in employment contracts. Stacey also handles general litigation matters concerning breaches of fiduciary duty, the Uniform Commercial Code, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and contract disputes.

Stacey has written articles on a variety of topics important to employers, including background checks, employer investigations, sexual harassment, ADA, continuing coverage under COBRA and state law, retaliation issues, FMLA claims, employee classification under wage-hour law, employee handbooks, arbitration provisions and restrictive covenant enforcement. She has also prepared and presented training sessions on topics such as workplace harassment, Fair Labor Standards Act and the application of federal and state discrimination laws in the workplace.

Before joining Faegre Baker Daniels, Stacey was a partner in the employment and labor group of Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon.

Representative Experience

• Represented private employers at state and federal agencies and in federal and state court litigation in all aspects of employment law, including discrimination, sexual harassment, wage and hour claims, whistleblower, wrongful discharge, family leave, equal pay, workers' compensation and employee dishonesty matters
• Represented employers in temporary and preliminary injunction actions against former employees and the employees' new employers
• Represented employers in class and collective actions involving wage and hour disputes under the Fair Labor and Standards Act, the Illinois Minimum Wage Law, and the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act
• Represented employers in breach of contract, discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, UCC and breach of fiduciary duty cases
• Counseled clients regarding proper employment procedures related to hiring, discipline and termination
• Conducted extensive investigations for employers on issues such as employee dishonesty, harassment, discrimination, improper use of company property and misappropriation of confidential information

Honors

• Northern Illinois College of Law — National Competition Trial Advocacy Team

Professional Associations

• Illinois State Bar Association
• Illinois Chamber of Commerce
• Faegre Baker Daniels Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Group

Civic Activities

• Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS) — Board Member
• Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law — Volunteer
• Geneva Chamber of Commerce — Member

Presentations

• Social Media in the Workplace
  Illinois Chamber of Commerce Webinar, April 3, 2013
• Social Media in the Workplace
  Indiana Chamber of Commerce Annual Employment Law Seminar, March 21, 2012
• Demystifying the Female Super Lawyer: Perspectives on Balancing a Career, a Family and Life
  Northern Illinois University, February 25, 2012

Published Articles

• State Employment Law Summaries for Illinois
  Author, XpertHR, ReedElsevier.com, 2012
• Supreme Court Sharpens "Cat's Paw" Liability
  The Corporate Counselor, Volume 26, Number 1, May 2011
• 2009 BNA Supplement for Family Medical Leave Act Treatise
  Contributing Editor, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 2009
• 2008 BNA Supplement for Family Medical Leave Act Treatise
  Contributing Editor, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 2008
• 2007 BNA Supplement for Family Medical Leave Act Treatise
  Contributing Editor, Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., 2007
• Conflict Preemption Bars Application of Illinois Common Fund Doctrine
  Defense Research Institute Life, Health and Disability News, Fall 2003
• 2000-2001 Seventh Circuit Case Synopsis
  National Academy of Arbitrators Committee on Law & Legislation, 2001 (Preparation Assistant to Marvin Hill, Jr.)