Joel S. Allen

Joel focuses exclusively on employment litigation defense. He defends employers in connection with a wide array of claims including those under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Title VII, state discrimination laws, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and state tort law. In recent years, Joel first-chaired two trials where the defense won both verdicts, and he was second chair in a collective action trial, where he helped secure a decertification of the class after one week. More recently, Joel has secured more than 20 summary judgments on the executive exemption as applied to retail store managers in federal courts located in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th and 10th U. S. Circuit Courts of Appeals. He has a wealth of experience defending wage-and-hour collective actions and has represented clients to wins at the certification stage on four occasions in the last two years. The claims in these class and collective actions have included claims of misclassification of managers; compensable time claims, including failure to pay for meal breaks; and final wage claims. Joel also has experience in defending employers in connection with U. S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) complaints, and investigations brought by the Chemical Safety Board (CSB). For example, he advised a national chain restaurant being investigated in an accidental death, a chemical company in connection with a PSM audit and a petrochemical company in connection with a CSB and OSHA investigation of a refinery explosion. He also helps employers enforce employment, noncompete and confidentiality agreements. Joel frequently speaks before professional associations such as the University of Houstons Continuing Education program, ACI and The Credit Law Institute, and he is a member of several U. S. bar associations. He has been certified in labor employment by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1997. Events Speaker, Criminal Background Checks: Legal Developments and Recent Trends, The HRSouthwest Conference, October 11, 2021 Insights Author, Ubers Challenge to Non-Individual PAGA Standing Crashes at the California Supreme Court, McGuire Woods Legal Alert, July 18, 2023 Author, Ninth Circuit Holds Federal Arbitration Act Preempts California Law Prohibiting Forced Arbitration, McGuire Woods Legal Alert, February 21, 2023 Author, Employers Face Six-Year Statute of Limitations for Criminal Background Check Claims, McGuire Woods Legal Alert, February 1, 2023 Author, California Enacts New Law Targeting Warehouse Distribution Center Production Quotas, McGuire Woods Legal Alert, September 29, 2021 Author, Texas Expands Employee Sexual Harassment Protections Beyond Federal Title VII, McGuire Woods Legal Alert, September 2, 2021 Author, Hyper-Technical Interpretation: 9th Circuit Increases FCRA Reach, McGuire Woods Legal Alert, February 1, 2019 Author, EEOCs Revised Annual Collection of Pay Data on EEO-1 Forms, McGuire Woods Legal Alert, July 15, 2016 Author, EEOC Proposes Burdensome Annual Collection of Pay Data on EEO-1 Forms, McGuire Woods Legal Alert, February 2, 2016 Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2026 Selected for inclusion Leading Lawyers for Business, Labor & Employment, Texas, Chambers USA, 2024, 2025 Named a Texas Super Lawyer, Texas Monthly 2003, 2012-2014