Mary E. Pivec

Mary E. Pivec focuses her practice on advising employers in a broad range of workplace and labor relations issues. Ms. Pivec maintains a substantial whistleblower claim defense practice, handling investigations, hearings and appeals of claims brought under the Sarbanes Oxley Act, the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, the Consumer Product Safety Act, the FDA Food Drug Safety Modernization Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the energy and environmental safety whistleblower statutes. She also represents employers in discrimination, wrongful discharge, wage and hour, non-compete and contract litigation in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies.

Mary E. Pivec focuses her practice on advising employers in a broad range of workplace and labor relations issues. Ms. Pivec maintains a substantial whistleblower claim defense practice, handling investigations, hearings and appeals of claims brought under the Sarbanes Oxley Act, the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, the Consumer Product Safety Act, the FDA Food Drug Safety Modernization Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the energy and environmental safety whistleblower statutes. She also represents employers in discrimination, wrongful discharge, wage and hour, non-compete and contract litigation in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies.

In addition, Ms. Pivec has also represented employers in civil and criminal worksite enforcement cases, I-9 compliance counseling and audits, immigration-related discrimination claims litigation and H-1B/LCA investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division.

Ms. Pivec has been involved in investigations, proceedings and complaints brought by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)(a division of the Department of Homeland Security that enforces the nation’s worksite immigration laws), the Office of Special Counsel (OSC)(part of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, which investigates immigration-related discrimination), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (which enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Service Contract Act and the Davis Bacon Act, and the labor condition application requirements of the H-1B program) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)(which enforces the affirmative action requirements contained in federal procurement contracts).

In her practice, she has defended banks, food growers and food processors, manufacturers and assemblers, home builders, construction companies, government contractors, universities, primary and secondary schools, professional staffing and computer staffing companies, and governmental employers in suits brought by disgruntled employees and former employees.

Ms. Pivec was elected to the Board of Governors of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, where she served nine years. Today, she frequently speaks at conferences and events throughout the country on immigration worksite enforcement and employment subjects. Ms. Pivec has been recognized by The Washington Post in its selection of “Baltimore and Washington DC’s Top Attorneys”, was named among the Washington, D.C. “Super Lawyers,” a Thomson Reuters service, in the Labor and Employment field and has been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America since 1990 in the area of immigration law. Martindale Hubbell has ranked Ms. Pivec an AV attorney, its highest rating available.

Ms. Pivec’s published writings include: “Civil RICO Class Action Suits by U.S. Domestic Workers,” The AILA Worksite Enforcement CLE Conference Workbook, 2008; “Employer Immigration Compliance Audit: Checklist of Issues for Review and Risk Assessment,” The AILA Worksite Enforcement CLE Conference Workbook, 2008; “1991 Employer Sanctions Update,” Immigration Briefings, Dec. 1991; and “Handling Immigration-Related Discrimination Claims,” Immigration Briefings, Apr. 1988.

After graduating magna cum laude from Towson State University, Ms. Pivec received her M.L.A. from Johns Hopkins University and earned her J.D. from University of Maryland School of Law.