Heather Weine Brochin

Overview

Heather Brochin, chair of the firm's Employment and Labor practice, represents employers in employment and employee benefits litigation and counsels them on day-to-day employment law matters. She represents clients in state and federal courts, as well as before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state human rights commissions, primarily in New York and New Jersey. Heather regularly advises employers with respect to a broad range of personnel issues, including:

Hiring
Termination
Reductions in force
Employment discrimination
Unlawful harassment
Restrictive covenants
Wage and hour issues
Internal investigations
Executive compensation
Personnel policies
Disability
Leave

Heather also has substantial experience negotiating and drafting employment and separation agreements on behalf of both companies and individuals and conducting trainings for employers on various employment law issues. Heather regularly advises clients on the enforceability, meaning and drafting of non-competition, non-solicitation, and non-disclosure provisions and agreements and litigates related issues. In addition, she has handled collection and withdrawal liability disputes between multiemployer plans and employers. Heather has frequently been published and spoken on employment law issues and been cited in several respected business media, including Law360. Heather was formerly the managing partner of the firm’s New Jersey office.

Experience

No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the highest court of any state. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Obtained summary judgment for Fortune 100 company in a lawsuit by three plaintiffs alleging disability and race discrimination and retaliation in federal court

Obtained summary judgment (affirmed on appeal) on behalf of a college in a race and religious discrimination case in New York federal court

Obtained summary judgment (affirmed on appeal) on behalf of a pharmaceutical company in an age discrimination case in New Jersey federal court

Negotiated successful settlements of discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wage and hour claims brought under state and federal law

Counseled employers on implementation of reductions in force, including selection of employees for layoff, legal compliance issues and separation and release agreements

Represented employers and obtained dismissals and findings of "no probable cause" in employment discrimination charges before the EEOC, New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, the New York State Division on Human Rights, and the New York City Commission on Human Rights

Reviewed and revised client personnel policies, employee handbooks, employment agreements, employment applications, offer letters, and independent contractor agreements

Conducted internal investigations on behalf of company involving allegations of harassment and discrimination and provided recommendations for redressing improper behavior

Defended companies against improper assessment of deficient benefit contributions in connection with multi-employer fund audits

Conducted confidential internal investigation on behalf of Board of Directors regarding highly sensitive sexual harassment allegations involving C-suite executive

Led independent fact-finding investigation of senior management at a public utility regarding allegations of widespread sexual harassment and bullying

Negotiated and drafted separation agreement for departing CEO and incoming CEO of international business

Education and Credentials

Education

New York University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 2001, Robert McKay Scholar
University of Pennsylvania, B.A., summa cum laude, 1998, Phi Beta Kappa

Admissions

State of New Jersey, 2001
State of New York, 2002
U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, 2001
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 2002
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, 2005
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2010
U.S. District Court, Western District of New York, 2012
U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York, 2012
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 2015

Affiliations

American Bar Association
New Jersey State Bar Association, Labor and Employment Law Section
New Jersey Women Lawyers Association
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Recognition and Community

No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the highest court of any state. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. See Awards Methodology.

Recognitions

Chosen for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White, Inc.), Employment Law - Management, 2023-2025, Labor and Employment - Litigation, 2023-2025

Selected to the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), Employment Litigation, Employment and Labor, 2017-2024

Selected to the New York Super Lawyers Women's Edition (Thomson Reuters), Employment Litigation, Employment and Labor, 2021

Selected to the list of New York Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), Employment Litigation, Employment and Labor, 2018-2019

Selected to the New York Super Lawyers Women's Edition Rising Stars (Thomson Reuters), Employment Litigation, Employment and Labor, 2017

Selected to the list of New Jersey Super Lawyers Rising Stars (Thomson Reuters), Employment Litigation, Employment and Labor, 2011-2016

Selected to the list of New York Metropolitan Area Super Lawyers Rising Stars (Thomson Reuters), Employment Litigation, Employment and Labor, 2016

Chosen as one of the New Leaders of the Bar by the New Jersey Law Journal (ALM Media Properties, LLC), 2015

Chosen for inclusion in the Chambers USA Legal Directory (Chambers & Partners) of recognized practitioners for Labor and Employment in New Jersey, 2014-2015

Community Involvement

Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel, Board of Trustees, Executive Committee

News & Insights

In The Media

Media Mentions

Companies Urged to be Cautious in Shift Away from Annual Reviews, Bloomberg Law, May 1, 2024
Takeaways from the FTC's Noncompetes Ban, Law360, April 24, 2024
FTC Votes 3-2 on Final Rule to Ban Noncompete Agreements, But Legal Challenges Expected, FIERCE Healthcare, April 23, 2024
FTC Issues Ban on Noncompete Agreements – But Experts Say Rule Will Face Legal Challenges, Variety, April 23, 2024
Travel Tuesdays: Doing Business in New Jersey, Day Pitney Press Release, April 9, 2024
Business Begins Angling To Scale Back FTC's Proposed Limits on Noncompete Agreements, Inside Radio, January 18, 2023
Should You Work 2 Remote Jobs at Once?, U.S. News & World Report, December 30, 2022
Confidentiality Disqualifies Harassment Settlement Tax Deductions, Society for Human Resource Management, February 23, 2018
Close Up: Heather Weine Brochin of Day Pitney LLP, NJBIZ, February 8, 2016
On The Move, The Record, February 1, 2016
Heather Weine Brochin Mentioned in The National Law Journal, The National Law Journal, December 28, 2015
Movers & shakers Dec. 16, The Deal Pipeline, December 16, 2015
Jenner, Day Pitney Name New Managing Partners, Bloomberg Big Law Business, December 15, 2015
Day Pitney's Parsippany Office Gets New Managing Partner, New Jersey Law Journal, December 14, 2015
2015 New Leaders of the Bar: The List, New Jersey Law Journal, July 24, 2015

Speaking Engagements

2025 Employment Law Alliance (ELA) Year in Review: US Employment Law Webinar, January 22, 2025
2023 Annual Employment and Labor Conference, June 7, 2023
Employment Matters - Travel Tuesdays: Doing Business in New Jersey, October 19, 2021
Weathering NJ’s New Employment and Contracting Laws, February 26, 2020
2019: A Year of Dramatic Changes for Mandatory Employment Arbitration?, October 24, 2019
How the Changing Legal Landscape Impacts Your Agreements with Employees, New York, NY, May 29, 2019 and Parsippany, NJ, June 20, 2019
Navigating New Jersey Law When Hiring and Onboarding Employees, May 22, 2019
2019 IWLA Convention and Expo, March 12, 2019
Sexual Harassment Prevention and the #MeToo Movement, New York, NY, June 7, 2018 and Parsippany, NJ, June 28, 2018
Signed, Sealed and Delivered: Agreements Between Employees and Employers, Parsippany, NJ, June 16, 2017 and New York, NY, June 8, 2017
Annual Labor and Employment Conference - NY, June 12, 2012
Employment Agreements and Negotiation Strategies, January 17, 2017
Non-Competes Under Fire- How to Protect Your Company's Interests, Parsippany, NJ, June 9, 2016 and New York, NY, June 2, 2016
FMLA Overview and Tips for Preventing Abuse & Best Practices for Background Checks, New York, NY, June 16, 2015 and Parsippany, NJ, June 4, 2015
Speaker, "New Laws, New Burdens for Employers in NY and NJ - Are You Prepared?" Day Pitney Webinar, April 24, 2014, April 24, 2014
Speaker, FMLA Master Class: An Advanced Interactive Workshop for New Jersey Employers, M.L Smith Publications, Parsippany, NJ, 2010, January 1, 2010

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