Wigmore, Amy Kreiger

Karen Whitley litigates employment cases before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) and superior and federal district courts, with a focus on discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims. She has successfully obtained dismissal or voluntary withdrawal of charges before the MCAD and EEOC on behalf of numerous private employers, including a community bank, insurance company, recruiting firm, construction company, cable and television company, food manufacturing company, and pharmaceutical company.

Karen also litigates the enforceability of employment agreements and restrictive covenants, including cases involving the theft of trade secrets and violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Prelitigation, Karen is often retained by employers to conduct investigations into claims of discrimination, harassment, or other inappropriate conduct. She conducts companywide training on workplace harassment prevention. Karen assists companies as they expand and retract their workforces, including negotiation of complex executive and employee severance agreements. Karen regularly counsels employers regarding compliance with state and federal discrimination laws, wage and hour laws, FMLA, the WARN Act, and COBRA. Karen advises corporate clients on a wide range of employment-related legal concerns and ensures that company policies are consistent with current employment law developments.

Karen is a member of the labor & employment sections of the Boston and Massachusetts Bar Associations, Executive Women's Golf Association, Wellesley Lawyers Network, and Boston Business Advisory Group. She has served as president of the Wellesley College Alumnae of Boston, on the advisory board of the Boston chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), and as a board member of the Art beCAUSE Breast Cancer Foundation.