Johnson, Derren S.

NANCY E. JOERG, managing shareholder and senior attorney of the St. Charles, Illinois office of Wessels Sherman Joerg Liszka Laverty Seneczko P.C., has been practicing employment law with the firm since 1989. She is a member of the firm's Executive Committee.

Providing strategic advice and counseling to employers on all aspects of employment law, Ms. Joerg assists clients where possible with dispute resolution prior to litigation. She regularly represents employers in administrative actions and audits before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the Illinois Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of Labor. She represents employers in all types of discrimination charges, unemployment insurance hearings, IDES audits, employee termination issues, and wage & hour issues (including exempt/non-exempt status for overtime, deductions from wages, and state and federal wage claims). Nancy Joerg effectively counsels and advises clients concerning preventive efforts such as the preparation and review of employee handbooks and personnel policies, anti-harassment training, and the development of strategies to help ensure exemptions from overtime.

As a nationally recognized successful advocate and leading consultant in the area of independent contractor vs. employee status and other contingent workforce issues, Ms. Joerg aggressively represents a wide range of companies who use independent contractors [including numerous trucking companies who use independent contractor owner-operators] before the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the Illinois Department of Labor (with matters arising under the Illinois Employee Classification Act), and the Internal Revenue Service. She also works with a broad array of companies nationwide in drafting effective independent contractor agreements and strengthening independent contractor status to help lower liability.

Ms. Joerg speaks and writes nationally on a number of employment matters. She is the author of hundreds of published articles and a book published for Commerce Clearing House entitled Welcome to the World of Independent Contractors and Other Contingent Workers. Ms. Joerg is also the speaker on several employment law CDs presented by Wessels Sherman.

Nancy Joerg has been honored by her peers as a "Leading Lawyer," a distinction earned by fewer than five percent of lawyers who are licensed to practice in the State of Illinois.

Nancy Joerg has also been recognized in the National Law Journal for "excellence and achievements by the legal community." She was honored as one of "Chicago's Top Attorneys of 2012."