Sherrie Travis

Sherrie Travis is a partner in the Litigation Department of Wildman Harrold. Sherrie counsels clients on an array of employment and labor issues such as affirmative action, employment discrimination, statutory and regulatory compliance, and personnel policies and practices. Her client base consists of for profit businesses such as manufacturers, construction companies, service providers, and financial services organizations as well as not-for-profit health care organizations and cultural institutions. Working as a team with human resources executives and in-house legal departments, Sherrie focuses her practice on comprehensive management counseling with a proactive approach aimed at helping clients avoid time-consuming and costly litigation. Her practice includes developing effective statutory compliance strategies for the workplace, conducting client-tailored management training on topics such as harassment prevention, proper hiring and firing techniques and union avoidance, and drafting and reviewing employee communications such as handbooks and manuals that preserve maximum management flexibility but maintain a legal and positive framework for employee relations. Sherrie also advises federal contractors and subcontractors concerning their affirmative action obligations, and she assists them in drafting affirmative action plans and represents them in the governmental audit process. She works closely with the firm’s corporate group in providing labor and employment advice for clients involved in various business transactions, including negotiation of executive employment and separations agreements, mergers and acquisitions, reductions in force, and restructuring.

Representative Experience:

Serves as the general counsel to the Chicago Metropolitan Industry Liaison Group, a not-for-profit corporation of more than 75 government contractors formed for the purpose of educating the contractor community regarding their affirmative action and equal employment obligations; the group also liaisons with the U.S. Department of Labor to improve communication and promote cooperation between the government enforcement agency and contractors
Advises clients on a daily basis on how to handle complex and emergent employment-related situations in a manner that complies with legal requirements
Assists clients in developing practical, employer-specific strategies for dealing with work-related initiatives such as downsizing and reorganization, discipline and termination, and hiring and recruitment
Drafts, reviews, and revises employee-related documents such as employee handbooks, manuals, policies, confidentiality/non-competition agreements, and executive employment contracts
Develops and presents client-tailored training sessions and seminars on such topics as workplace harassment, the appropriate way to discipline and discharge, and practical methods to comply with the client’s legal obligations
Assisted national automotive parts manufacturer in preparing affirmative action plans for various national locations and represented client during governmental audits of those facilities; was successful in negotiating the non-monetary resolution of a claim for $1 million by the government on behalf of 28 alleged victims of discrimination
Represents numerous clients before federal, state, and local fair employment practices agencies with respect to claims of discrimination
Represents clients before state and federal wage payment authorities in response to claims for unpaid wages, overtime pay, and severance
Assisted client in developing national strategy for conducting a phased in reduction-in-force in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)

Publications And Presentations:

Frequent Speaker, National Industry Liaison Group.
Speaker, National Conference for Women Employment and Labor Law Counsel.
Speaker, World at Work, the Affirmative Action Association of America.
Speaker, Girl Scouts USA.
Regular contributor to the Wildman Harrold Online Labor and Employment Library.

Professional Associations:

Partner in Charge of Professional Development, Wildman Harrold

Chicago Bar Association (Member, Committee on Labor and Employment Law, 1976 – present)

American Bar Association (Member, Labor Law Section, 1980 – present)

Illinois State Bar Association

Advisory Committee for the Chicago Community Trust Fellowship in Arts and Culture Management

Board Member, Community Support Services, Inc.

Bar Admissions:

Illinois, 1976

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

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