Stephanie M. Caffera - Lawyer in Rochester, NY

Stephanie Caffera provides strategic legal advice and counsel exclusively to management in a wide variety of industry sectors. She helps clients navigate the ever-changing tangle of employment-related laws and regulations. When disputes occur, Stephanie represents clients before federal courts and state and federal administrative agencies.

What do you focus on?

My clients include hospitals and health care providers, food and beverage, manufacturing, educational institutions, technology and life sciences companies and nonprofit organizations. I counsel these employers and others on all aspects of labor and employment law, but my practice today has three main focuses:

Preventative Counseling and Training

My primary focus is prevention. I consider my role to be that of a business partner and teacher. I have over 20 years of experience in advising clients on lawful and effective employment practices in all types of employment issues, including workplace harassment, wage and hour, managing leaves of absence and disability accommodation, substance abuse, retaliation and workplace violence. I provide training to managers and human resources professionals to help them do their jobs better. Training topics include supervisory skills, harassment prevention, conducting workplace investigations, wage and hour compliance and reasonable accommodation.

Union Avoidance and Labor Relations

Most employers that are union-free want to remain that way. I work with these clients to develop and maintain union avoidance strategies and positive employee relations. If a union organizing campaign occurs, I represent clients before the National Labor Relations Board and educate managers on their role and responsibilities under the law. For clients with existing union representation, I partner with management in ongoing labor relations activities, including collective bargaining and grievance and arbitration.

Defense of Claims

Sometimes litigation is inevitable?even when the employer does everything right. When clients are faced with administrative claims or federal court litigation, I help them assess the issues and work with them to determine the best approach to achieve their desired result. Each clients culture, approach and risk tolerance is different. I recognize this and work with clients to craft the best possible solution.