JULIE T. BITTNER

My employment litigation experience includes representing employers and individuals in investigating and defending claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) violations, wage disputes, employment related torts, contract disputes.

I regularly draft and review employee handbooks, conduct audits of company employment practices and policies, consult on workforce reductions, conduct internal investigations, and provide training to executives, managers and other employees regarding employment practices, equal employment opportunity, and diversity. I counsel clients on best practices involving hiring processes, discipline and dismissals, and a variety of other workplace issues. In my general litigation practice, I defend claims involving premises liability, personal injury, wrongful death, products liability, and disputes in the financial services industry.

Before pursuing my legal career, I worked in Southern California in various human resources capacities. Prior to joining MWH Law Group LLP, I was an associate, then partner, at one of the largest minority-owned law firms in the country. There, I worked in the labor and employment group.

1. MWH Law Group LLP, Equity Partner, January 2021 – Present
2. MWH Law Group LLP, Partner, March 2016 – December 2020
3. Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP, Partner, January 2015 – February 2016
4. Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP, Associate Attorney, September 2009 – December 2014

1. Iowa State Bar Association
2. National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) – Labor & Employment Practice Area Committee
3. Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM)

• “New and Emerging Topics in Employment Discrimination Law” presented at the Iowa Civil Rights Commission Civil Rights Symposium – Iowa,
  April 5, 2019
• “Conducting Effective Employee Performance Reviews” presented at the Central Iowa SHRM Legal & Legislative Conference – Iowa, February 5,
  2019
• “Best Practices for Conducting an Effective Workplace Investigation” presented at the Central Iowa SHRM Legal & Legislative Conference – Iowa,
  August 14, 2018
• “Electronic Discovery in Litigation” presented at the Central Iowa SHRM Legal & Legislative Conference – Iowa, March 1, 2018
• “Electronic Discovery in Litigation” presented at NBI, Inc. Advanced Employment Law – Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, July 2017
• “Confused by the Smoke? (Almost) Everything You Wanted to Know about Marihuana in the Workplace but were Afraid to Ask” co-presented CLE
  at NAMWOLF Annual Meeting – Texas, September 2016

1. Landmark decision – Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Updated., June 2020 – MWH Law Group Blog
2. Guidance for Reacting to the COVID-19 Pandemic, March 2020 – MWH Law Group Blog
3. Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace, July 2019 – MWH Law Group Blog
4. Pay Equity Trends and Best Practices, April 2019 – MWH Law Group Blog
5. A Sigh of Relief for Restaurant and Hospitality Employers, November 2018 – MWH Law Group Blog
6. Landmark Labor Decision by United States Supreme Court, June 2018 – MWH Law Group Blog
7. Best Practices in Records Retention and Litigation Holds, May 2017 – MWH Law Group Blog
8. Electronic Submission of Injury and Illness Data Becomes Employers’ New Reality, January 2017 – MWH Law Group Blog
9. Conditions are Ripe for Equal Pay and Pay Discrimination Claims, October 28, 2015 – Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP
10. Rules, Regulations, and Litigation are Shaping the Payroll Landscape, June 24, 2015 – Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP
11. Conducting Executive Employee Performance Reviews, February 26, 2015 – Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP

* List of prior publications available by request