Rita B. Robertson

Rita is an experienced litigator and trial attorney in Kentucky and North Carolina, defending companies of all sizes in federal and state courts. She also defends employers before administrative agencies in connection with a broad range of employment matters, including those involving discrimination, harassment, wrongful discharge litigation, and failure to accommodate claims. She has successfully defended employers in cases based on gender, sexual orientation, race, age, national origin, disability discrimination allegations, retaliation, and restrictive covenant claims. Rita regularly defends companies in cases brought before the EEOC, Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, North Carolina Department of Labor, claims under the Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA), and matters brought under other federal and state employment laws.

Beyond the courtroom, Rita assists employers with their employment law needs by providing proactive advice to clients on workplace policies and procedures that comply with employment-related laws. She regularly counsels clients on employee discipline, layoffs and other terminations, personnel policies and procedures, and questions raised under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) compliance, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).

Rita handles internal workplace investigations of harassment, policy violations, ethics issues, and other employment related issues in addition to providing training to employers on these and other topics. Rita is a regular speaker and presenter on employment law issues to Human Resource professionals and attorneys.

Previously, Rita served as an Administrative Law Judge at the North Carolina Industrial Commission before transitioning to private practice where she successfully defended workers’ compensation cases in North Carolina and Kentucky. She also served as a Legislative Research Attorney for legislative members of the North Carolina General Assembly.