Randi K. Hyatt

Partner
blank image Randi K. Hyatt

Randi K. Hyatt

Partner
Baltimore T: 410.347.8712 F: 410.339.4015
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Randi K. Hyatt

Randi K. Hyatt

PARTNER
rhyatt@whitefordlaw.com
BALTIMORE
T: 410.347.8712
F: 410.339.4015
Biography
BIOGRAPHY
Ms. Hyatt is a partner in the Labor and Employment Group advising management in employment law concerns and defending against employment litigation claims.  She serves a diverse collection of industries, including healthcare, construction, banking, public sector, non-profits, and educational institutions.  Ms. Hyatt focuses her energies on avoiding litigation whenever possible and is dedicated to zealously advocating for her clients in litigation.  While accurate and timely legal advice is important, Ms. Hyatt makes certain her legal advice is practical and aligns with her client’s needs.

Ms. Hyatt regularly represents employers in state and federal courts and agencies in matters involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour disputes, protected medical leaves, wrongful termination, breach of employment agreements, and related federal and state employment claims.

Beyond advice and counsel and litigation defense, Ms. Hyatt provides workplace training on employment matters, drafts and revises handbooks and policies, creates and refines offer letters, severance agreements, and other necessary employment documents and conducts compliance audits involving wage and hour issues. 

Ms. Hyatt helps clients navigate challenging situations involving high-level officials, employees on leave or in other protected categories, and/or challenging workplace harassment issues that need to be handled sensitively.  In addition to conducting internal investigations for her own clients, Ms. Hyatt is regularly relied upon to conduct investigations for outside law firms looking for a skilled and discreet investigator.
 

Recognitions

  • Maryland Super Lawyers®, Employment Litigation, Employment & Labor (2014–Present)
  • AV Preeminent®: Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™
 

Memberships & Activities

  • Member: American Employment Law Council
  • Member: Maryland State Bar Association
    • Labor and Employment Law Section
  • Member: DC Bar
    • Labor and Employment Law Section
  • Mentor: University of Baltimore School of Law
  • Former Adjunct Faculty: University of Baltimore School of Law (Legal Writing and Employment Law)

Employment Litigation

  • Successfully represented employers in a broad section of industries on claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; wage and hour; family and medical leave; wrongful discharge; failure to accommodate, business torts; and breaches of employment contracts in state and federal courts.
  • Represented clients in the investigation and defense of EEOC, MCCR, DCOHR, DOL, and local government agency claims.
  • Represented and defended multistate employers in DOL audits.
  • Represented employers in various discrimination claims to summary judgment verdict in federal and state courts.
  • Defended employers in federal and state occupational safety and health matters.
  • Mediated EEOC charges against employers in a wide range of industries to successful resolution without litigation.
  • Successfully defended summary judgment verdict on health care worker’s whistleblower claim in favor of large health care system employer through the Supreme Court of Maryland.
 

Employment Counseling

  • Trained and advised employers, managers, and non-managers regarding federal and state employment law compliance, including the FLSA, FMLA, ADA, ADAAA, ADEA, Title VII, Worker’s Compensation, performance management, hybrid work environments, drug testing, diversity equity and inclusion, and unconscious bias.
  • Developed and reviewed employee policies, handbooks, offer letters, employment contracts, separation agreements, reasonable accommodation process forms, internal investigation guidelines, and other related documents for Maryland and multistate employers.
  • Assisted clients in handling difficult termination and discipline issues, as well as sensitive matters involving restrictive covenants and confidential information.
  • Counseled management in various industries in planning and implementing work force reductions including disparate impact analyses.
  • Conducted high-level investigations involving allegations of wrongdoing by C-suite executives.

ARTICLES

November 25, 2024

Employment Law Update: Court Strikes Down 2024 Overtime Pay Regulations: What Employers Need To Know

On November 15, 2024, the Eastern District of Texas invalidated the newly established overtime pay regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in 2024. These regulations incrementally increased the minimum salary threshold for workers to qualify as exempt from $35,568 to $58,656 annually, implemented in two phases, and also implemented an “escalator” provision that would increase the minimum salary level every three years.
July 3, 2024

Employment Law Update: Chevron Overboard! In a Case Having Nothing to Do With the Workplace, the Supreme Court Overturns Federal Agency Chevron Deference. What Does This Mean for Employers?

On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decisions in Loper Bright Enters. v. Raimondo, No. 22-451, and Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce, No. 22-1219 (June 28, 2024), two cases involving fishing vessel operators challenging federal regulations regarding fishery management in federal waters. Although these cases are not workplace-related, the decision is expected to significantly impact employers and the workplace given the expanse of federal regulations governing the workplace, and the regularity with which those regulations are challenged in litigation. The list of potentially impacted agencies includes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). These agencies, which are seen by many as having too much power, have potentially had the wind taken out of their proverbial sails. 
May 1, 2024

Employment Law Update: The EEOC’s Final Enforcement Guidance on Workplace Harassment Is Here

On April 29, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its final version of the Enforcement Guidance on Workplace Harassment (the Guidance), to include developments “answering the call” of the #MeToo movement, the landmark Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia (holding Title VII protections include sexual orientation and gender identity) and the realities of digital technology, social media, and harassment and the remote workplace. 
March 19, 2024

Employment Law Update: FAQs Released for Maryland’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program

The Maryland Department of Labor’s Division of Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) has released a detailed FAQ document addressing 59 questions surrounding the new paid family and medical leave system that is (now) slated to launch in 2026. As a refresher, FAMLI will permit workers to take time off from work to care for themselves or a covered family member and be paid up to $1,000 weekly for up to 12 weeks.
December 13, 2023

Combating Healthcare Workplace Violence

Violence against healthcare workers has been a steadily growing concern. The industry is working towards addressing these dangers. 
 
October 19, 2023

Client Alert: EEOC Proposes New Workplace Harassment Guidance

On September 29, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued its 144-page proposed Enforcement Guidance on preventing workplace harassment under the anti-discrimination laws that the EEOC enforces (“Guidance”). The stated purpose of the Guidance is to clarify for the public what the EEOC maintains are legal requirements for preventing unlawful harassment in the workplace. What is concerning, among other things, is the very broad approach to illegal workplace harassment that the EEOC sets forth. While any EEOC Guidance does not have the force of law, it provides insight into the EEOC’s focus and how it will interpret and administer the laws it is charged with enforcing.
 


 
September 27, 2023

An Early Report on How The Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Admissions Policies Decision Is Impacting The Private Sector

In Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, 600 U.S. _ _ _ (June 29, 2023) (SFFA), the United States Supreme Court struck down the legality of affirmative action programs within the university setting, holding that universities may not use race by itself as a “plus factor” in college admissions decisions. Without delving too deeply into the legal nuances of the 237-page decision, the Court’s majority opinion noted the following important points: (1) because of the “zero sum” nature of university admissions, it is not possible for race to be a “plus factor” for some applicants without functioning as a detriment for others; and (2) using race as a plus factor inevitably invokes impermissible race stereotyping. It took only moments before the ripples of this decision were felt across both the public and private sector.

NEWSLETTERS

October 4, 2023

Labor & Employment Newsletter - October 2023

Eleventh Circuit Joins Third, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits in Ruling That USERRA Requires Paid Military Leave When Employer Provides Paid Leave For “Comparable” Absences

Change to Maryland’s Cannabis Laws Raises Questions for Employers

An Early Report on How The Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Admissions Policies Decision Is Impacting The Private Sector

Supreme Court Toughens Standard In Religious Accommodation Cases

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What Employers Should Know

PRESENTATIONS

December 15, 2023 - Honors & Awards

36 Whiteford Attorneys Named Super Lawyers and Rising Stars

Whiteford, Taylor & Preston is pleased to announce that thirty-six of its attorneys are listed among the 2024 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.