Laura D. Windsor
Laura Windsor is the chair of Williams Mullen's Labor, Employment and Immigration Section and co-chair of the Trade Secrets, Employee Mobility and Restrictive Covenants Practice. Laura defends businesses in employment and employee benefits litigation matters in state and federal courts across the country. Her employment litigation work includes defending clients in cases alleging discrimination, workplace harassment, breach of employment and non-compete contracts, FMLA or USERRA interference or retaliation, FCRA violations, FLSA wage and hour/overtime disputes, and employment-related business torts. She also advises clients on the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act regarding cases of qualified plant closings and mass layoffs.
Laura represents government contractors on a variety of employment related issues, including the Service Contract Act, the Davis Bacon Act, Executive Order 11246 (EEOC) and related Affirmative Action plan advice, counseling and audit defense.
In addition to her litigation practice, Laura advises businesses, non-profits, educational institutions, and religious-affiliated organizations in all areas of human resources and employment law, including on company policies, internal investigations, terminations and reduction in force plans, medical leave issues, restrictive covenants, executive employment agreements, and employment-related aspects of corporate purchase and sale transactions.
Laura also provides onsite corporate training and is a frequent speaker on employment issues, including federal and state EEO and harassment laws; religious discrimination and the application of federal and state employment laws to religious-affiliated organizations and institutions; federal and state wage and hour laws; medical leaves of absence under the FMLA and ADA; independent contractor laws; and federal contractor compliance laws for employers.
Laura has been recognized by Chambers USA for Labor & Employment Law (2019, 2021-present). She has also been named among Virginia’s “Legal Elite” by Virginia Business (2013-present); listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Labor Law - Management (2015-present), Litigation - Labor & Employment (2016-present), Employment Law - Management, Insurance Law (2018-present); and named a "Labor and Employment Star" by Benchmark Litigation (2018-2023). She was named the Best Lawyers® Richmond "Lawyer of the Year" for Labor Law - Management (2020, 2022-present). She is also listed in Virginia Super Lawyers (2012-present), which has included her in the Top 50: Women in Virginia list (2019-present). Laura was named to the 2021 class of "Influential Women of Law" by Virginia Lawyers Weekly.
Laura is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Virginia Bar Association, and the Metro Richmond Women’s Bar Association. Laura is highly active in her community and is currently the chair of the board of directors for the Richmond SPCA. She has served as past chair of the board of directors for the Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics; served on the board of directors and as chair of the governance committee of the Health Brigade in Richmond; and was previously a board member for ChildSavers. Laura was also an adjunct professor of law at the William & Mary Law School, where she taught a course on Employment Discrimination Law (2018-2024).
Laura is a 2001 graduate of Georgia State University School of Law, where she earned her Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, and she is a 1993 graduate of the University of Michigan, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian and East European Studies.
- Labor, Employment & Immigration
- ERISA - Employee Benefits Litigation
- Complex Business Litigation
- Trade Secrets, Employee Mobility and Restrictive Covenants
- Crisis Management, Internal Investigations and White-Collar Defense
- Government Contracts
- Private Equity and Venture Capital
- Education
- Manufacturing
- Dental Practice Transactions
- Physicians & Physician Groups
- Georgia State University College of Law (J.D.), 2001
- cum laude
- Atlanta Bar Association
- Labor & Employment Student Scholar Award
- Associate Student Writing Editor
- GSU Law Review
- University of Michigan (B.A.), 1993
Professional Affiliations
- Virginia Bar Association
- Metro Richmond Women's Bar Association
- William & Mary Law School – Adjunct Professor (2018-2024)
- Employment Discrimination
Community Involvements
- Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics – Immediate Past Chair, Board of Directors
- Richmond SPCA – Chair of the Board of Directors
- Health Brigade – Former Board Member; Former Chair, Governance Committee
- ChildSavers – Former Board Member; Former Chair, Policy and Evaluation Committee; Former Member, Finance Committee
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation – Foundations Finest Honoree (2011)
Bar Admissions
- State Bar of Georgia
- Virginia State Bar
Court Admissions
- Supreme Court of Georgia
- Supreme Court of Virginia
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
Named to 2021 Class of "Influential Women of Law" by Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Chambers USA – Labor & Employment Law (2019, 2021-present)
Virginia Business – "Legal Elite" (2009, 2011-present)
The Best Lawyers in America® – Labor Law - Management (2015-present), Litigation - Labor & Employment (2016-present), Employment Law - Management, Insurance Law (2018-present)
Best Lawyers® – Richmond "Lawyer of the Year" for Labor Law - Management (2020, 2022-present)
Benchmark Litigation – "Labor & Employment Star" (2018-2023)
Virginia Super Lawyers – Labor and Employment (2014-present); Top 50: Women in Virginia (2019-present), Top 50: Richmond (2021-2024), Top 100: Virginia (2021-2024)
Virginia Super Lawyers Rising Stars – Labor and Employment (2012-2013)
Pro Bono Service Honor Roll – Member (2021)
Virginia Lawyers Weekly - "Go To Lawyer" for Employment Law (2024)
Experience
- Defended a company in a WARN Act class action in which the plaintiffs alleged that they were improperly removed from their COVID-19 patient call center position when the pandemic was declared over, without receiving 60 days’ notice of the termination.
- Represented a governmental entity in a lawsuit filed in Virginia state court alleging retaliation claims under USERRA in which the former employee claimed he was denied promotions due to his military service obligations.
- Defended members of an LLC in a case alleging fraud and breach of fiduciary duty and seeking to bring a shareholder derivative action.
- Represented a seasonal recreational organization in claims that it failed to pay workers overtime under FLSA or at a rate sufficient to meet Virginia minimum wage obligations, as well as claims that it employed youth in impermissible occupations under child labor laws.
- Defended a governmental entity in a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination in violation of Virginia public policy that was brought by a former employee who claimed that he was terminated in retaliation for raising security concerns.
- Represented a large insurance company in an ERISA case in which the plaintiff alleged that our client wrongfully denied her claim for health insurance benefits under a group employer-sponsored benefit plan following an automobile accident and argued that she did not need to first exhaust available benefits under her auto insurance policy.
- Defended a large IT company in a DOL/OSHA complaint and subsequent federal lawsuit alleging whistleblower retaliation under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Environmental Protection Act, the False Claims Act, and various other federal laws, claiming that the former employee was terminated in retaliation for internal complaints about internal computer security systems.
- Defended a large interstate trucking company in an FLSA class/collective action in which employees alleged that their 100% commission-based pay was insufficient to cover all of their time worked and failed to provide them with overtime or, in some cases, sufficient payment to meet Virginia minimum wage obligations.
- Represented a national defense contractor in retaliation claims from a former employee that he was terminated for reporting to his employer that he had concerns that they were not paying proper taxes to a foreign country in violation of the False Claims Act.
- Represented a national healthcare staffing company in alleged tortious interference with contracts and business relationships following the client’s hiring of a former employee of the plaintiff and the client’s receipt of several multi-million accounts previously held by the plaintiff, which the plaintiff alleged were wrongfully taken by our client.
- Represented an international service provider with respect to claims from a former employee that she was terminated because of her national origin and gender, and because she complained about the company’s promotion policies, which she alleged violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Virginia Human Rights Act, and the Virginia Whistleblower Act.
- Represented a health care provider in a lawsuit in which the plaintiff alleged claims under ERISA, as well as state law claims for breach of fiduciary duty, wrongful denial of benefits, fraud, and breach of contract, claiming that he was wrongfully denied access to participate in the employer’s sponsored health insurance policy due to his classification as a part-time employee.
