Paul Wagner

Paul Wagner grew up in the United States, Canada, Liberia, and Kenya, before returning to the U.S. to attend Cornell University starting in 1982. He then worked at a refugee camp in southern Sudan (now South Sudan) for three summers during college. Since graduating from law school in 1990, Mr. Wagner’s practice has been devoted to labor and employment law, primarily representing hotel and restaurant management companies and owners. His international background gives him a unique and valuable perspective on the hospitality industry, which draws its strength from cultural and ethnic diversity. The practice of labor and employment law in the hospitality industry requires as much sociology and anthropology as it does classic legal training, and Mr. Wagner remains a dedicated student of these disciplines.

Mr. Wagner has extensive experience litigating labor and employment cases in federal and state court, private and public arbitration, and administrative agencies including the EEOC, USDOL, NLRB, and numerous state and municipal agencies. Wage and hour class and collective action litigation represents a growing percentage of this work. Mr. Wagner spends as much time counseling his hospitality clients to avoid litigation as he spends aggressively representing their interests when claims are brought against them, focusing on training, leadership, compliance audits, and organizational design. He designs and implements manager and employee training for clients throughout the United States on the subjects of discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment, retaliation, leadership, and general workplace conduct.