Sheila O'Leary
Sheila O’Leary represents clients in all aspects of labor and employment law, including union disputes, employment disputes, and discrimination and harassment claims.
Sheila regularly practices before state and federal courts and before administrative agencies, such as the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office for Civil Rights and the National Labor Relations Board. She also has tried numerous labor arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association.
She has extensive experience successfully defending employers in discrimination and harassment matters, and also has experience litigating matters related to non-competition, non-solicitation and non-disclosure agreements, as well as related issues of misappropriation of trade secrets.
Sheila regularly advises employers on various employment law matters, including employment contracts, severance agreements, employee handbooks, leave-of-absence issues, discrimination and harassment matters, wage and hour issues, and other workplace matters. She also conducts discrimination and harassment prevention trainings. Her practice also includes advising employers regarding employment issues involved in corporate transactions.
Sheila also represents academic institutions in various matters, including employment and student issues.
Bars and Court Admissions
- Massachusetts
- U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts
- U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
professional / civic involvement
- Women’s Bar Association, Member
- Massachusetts Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section, Member
- Boston Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section, Member
- College of the Holy Cross Alumni Association, Member
- Girls' LEAP, Board of Directors
SPEECHES AND CONFERENCES
- Speaker, FMLA Intermittent Leave: Minimize Fraud and Maximize Compliance, Center for Competitive Management, Summer, 2007
- Speaker, Schmidt Labor Research Center, Labor Arbitration Conference: What is and Is Not Insubordination, Fall 2005
- Speaker, Personnel Law Update, Council on Education in Management, Winter 2004
- Speaker, Sexual Harassment Training, New England Cultural Consortium, Fall 2003
- Speaker, Center for Women and Enterprise, Employment Law Update, Spring 2003
publications