Kevin E. Vance
Partner
Duane Morris LLP
200 South Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 3400
Miami, FL 33131-2318
USA
Phone: +1 305 960 2311
Fax: +1 305 397 2264
Email: kevance@duanemorris.com

Boca Raton Address
Duane Morris LLP
2700 North Military Trail, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33431-1808
Phone: 561.962.2100
Fax: 561.962.2101

Kevin E. Vance is board certified by the Florida Bar in labor and employment law. He focuses his practice on labor and employment litigation and other types of complex civil litigation. Mr. Vance is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Mr. Vance represents businesses in a wide variety of litigation matters, including matters arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), cases alleging employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Florida Civil Rights Act, and cases involving breach of contract, whistleblowing, noncompetition covenants and trade secrets. He has substantial jury trial experience.

In addition to litigation in state and federal courts, Mr. Vance also represents employers before the National Labor Relations Board, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and various state and local agencies, as well as in arbitrations, collective-bargaining negotiations and union representation elections.

In addition, Mr. Vance counsels clients on labor and employment matters, and drafts employee handbooks, employment agreements, releases, settlement agreements and opinion letters. He is also a frequent lecturer on labor and employment law topics.

Mr. Vance is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and of the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

Areas of Practice

• Labor and Employment Law
• Labor Management Relations
• Employment Litigation
• Commercial/Business Litigation

Representative Matters

• Represented a healthcare provider in an Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) action brought by a former high-level finance department employee. The court dismissed the case, with prejudice, on the grounds of res judicata. Kardys v. Leon Medical Centers, Inc. (S.D. Fla. 2012).
• Represented a diagnostic testing provider in a Title VII and Florida Civil Rights Act action. The plaintiff claimed she was terminated in retaliation for her alleged complaints about race discrimination. The court granted summary judgment for the company. Butts v. Ameripath, Inc., 794 F.Supp.2d 1277 (S.D. Fla. 2011).
• Represented a diagnostic-testing provider in an action brought under the Florida Whistleblower's Act by a plaintiff who claimed that he was terminated in retaliation for lodging an OSHA complaint. The court granted summary judgment for the company. Trussell v. Quest Diagnostics, Inc., 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58729 (M.D. Fla. 2010).
• Represented a diagnostic-testing provider in an action brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and various state laws by a plaintiff who alleged that the company failed to reasonably accommodate her disabilities. The court dismissed all but the ADA claim, which was settled for a small sum. Gutman v. Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Inc., 707 F. Supp. 2d 1327 (S.D. Fla. 2010).
• Represented a motorcoach-services provider in a collective action brought by 63 plaintiffs for violations of the overtime and minimum-wage provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, with four of the plaintiffs alleging violations of the Florida Whistleblower Act. On defendant's motion for summary judgment, the court dismissed 62 of the plaintiffs' minimum wage claims, 48 of the overtime claims, and all four of the whistleblower claims. Walters v. American Coach Lines of Miami, 569 F. Supp. 2d 1270 (S.D. Fla. 2008), aff'd, 575 F.3d 1221 (11th Cir. 2009).
• Represented a transportation-services company in a collective action brought initially by 165 bus drivers under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Several plaintiffs withdrew from the action, and the court struck the opt-in notices of 126 plaintiffs who failed to participate in discovery. The company subsequently settled with the remaining 35 plaintiffs. Pluviose v. American Coach Lines of Orlando, Inc. (M.D. Fla. 2009).
• Represented a life insurance company in a breach-of-contract action brought against former employees who had breached their severance agreements by filing employment lawsuits in Brazil. The Florida Third District Court of Appeal reversed the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants and ordered that summary judgment be entered for the company. AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. v. Gelpi, 12 So. 3d 783 (Fla. 3d Dist. Ct. App. 2009).
• Represented a nonprofit organization in an age-discrimination action. The plaintiff and two witnesses testified during depositions that when the chief executive had fired plaintiff, he had told her that he needed someone younger. The district court granted summary judgment for defendant. Mora v. Jackson Memorial Foundation, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104072 (S.D. Fla. 2008).

Professional Activities

• Academy of Florida Management Attorneys
• Human Resource Association of Broward County, Legislative Affairs Director, 2013
• Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Human Resources and Workforce Planning Committee
• Greater Miami Society for Human Resource Management
• The Florida Bar, Labor and Employment Section
• Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce
• Leadership Miami, 2009-2010 Class

Admissions

• Florida
• Supreme Court of the United States
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio

Education

• University of Cincinnati College of Law, J.D., 1998
• Vanderbilt University, B.A., 1995

Honors and Awards

• Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law, The Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell

Selected Publications

• Co-author, "U.S. Supreme Court Endorses Employer Efforts to 'Pick Off' Named Plaintiff in FLSA Collective Action, but Declines to Resolve Circuit Split Regarding Mootness Issue, Duane Morris Alert, April 22, 2013

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, "Social Network, Discovery Issues and Ethical Concerns," The Seminar Group’s Second Annual South Florida Premier Labor and Employment Law Conference, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, September 20, 2012
• Speaker, "Pay Now or Pay Later – FLSA Update," Human Resources Association of Broward County’s Legal Seminar, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, April 27, 2012
• Speaker, "Legal Update," Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s HR Insights 2012 Conference, Miami, Florida, March 29, 2012
• Speaker, "Social Network, Discovery Issues and Ethical Concerns," The Seminar Group's South Florida Premier Labor and Employment Law Conference, Miami, Florida, September 22, 2011
• Speaker, "Social Media-Pitfalls and Opportunities," Greater Miami Society for Human Resource Management Legal Update, Miami, Florida, September 12, 2011