Kimberly J. Korando

Kim Korando is recognized as one of North Carolina’s leading employment lawyers by Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers, Law and Politics North Carolina Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers® and Business North Carolina Legal Elite. She founded the firm’s Employment, Labor and Human Resources practice group and served as its inaugural leader.

For more than 30 years, Kim has served as a trusted advisor to public and private companies throughout the U.S. in matters of financial, reputational and operational significance. Her work has led to Chambers’ USA client reviews describing her as “simply outstanding on employment law,” “a diligent top tier attorney,” who does “a first class job” and “has a way of looking at several different sides of a situation to evaluate it clearly,” and “is exceedingly bright, capable and practical, and gives current pragmatic advice.”

As general outside employment and labor and human resources counsel, Kim advises public and private companies in a wide variety of industries including hospitals and healthcare, government contractors, utilities, technology, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, hospitals and healthcare, automotive, semiconductor, paper/cellulose and furniture manufacturers, insurance, banking, retail, hospitality, and food and beverage distribution, as well as municipalities and law firms.

Kim is retained as special counsel to conduct independent internal investigations, workplace compliance audits and workplace culture assessments, including those arising from #Me-Too and Social Justice movements and allegations of hostile and toxic work environments.

A thought leader who frequently speaks and writes on human resources compliance and risk management issues in the business and legal community, Kim regularly collaborates with companies developing in-house training programs and has trained thousands of supervisors, managers and Human Resources professionals in legally compliant employment practices, as well as investigators for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She serves on the Board of Editors for the nation’s leading employment discrimination treatise, and authors a leading North Carolina workplace policies and forms guidebook that is updated annually through the North Carolina Chamber.

Recognition

• Chambers USA: America's Leading Business Lawyers, Labor & Employment (2005-2024)
• The Best Lawyers in America®
  • Employment Law - Management (2007-2025)
  • Labor Law - Management (2007-2025)
  • Best Lawyers® 2024 Employment Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Raleigh
  • Best Lawyers® 2013 and 2021 Labor Law - Management "Lawyer of the Year" in Raleigh
• Business North Carolina Legal Elite, Employment Law (2022)
• North Carolina Super Lawyers (2006-2024)
• Fellow, American Bar Foundation
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rated since 1999
• Oklahoma Law Review, Note Editor

Education

• University of Oklahoma, J.D., with honors, 1986
• University of Oklahoma, B.S., in psychology, 1980

Bar & Court Admissions

• ABA Equal Employment Opportunity Committee 
• American Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section
• American Employment Law Council
• North Carolina Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section

Crossborder

• Regularly advises global companies based outside the U.S. (Japan, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, France, U.K. and Canada) and outside North Carolina with regard to establishing North Carolina workforces and associated compliance with U.S. and North Carolina laws.

Compensation and FLSA

• Conducted enterprise-wide compensation analyses focusing on identifying and correcting pay equity issues.
• Developed discretionary and “unlimited” paid time off programs implemented to replace accrued leave programs.
• Conducted enterprise-wide audits of worker classification and developed strategies for reclassifying misclassified workers and practical solutions for time recording practices (including donning/doffing, automatic clocking/deductions and use of remote devices for work) for manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, distribution, technology and other industry employers.

Affirmative Action, Diversity Initiatives and EEO

• Developed and presented briefings for boards and other governing bodies addressing institutional leadership on these initiatives.
• Successful defense of EEOC investigations and OFCCP compliance audits focusing on allegations of class-wide race, gender and disability discrimination in hiring, promotion, compensation and terminations, including challenges to criminal history, testing and other employee selection criteria.

• Successfully resolved (pre-litigation) allegations of systemic race and gender discrimination, including those made by current employees and supported by national and local civil rights groups, and allegations of harassment against executives and high ranking officials.
• Regularly establishes and annually updates affirmative action plans for defense and other federal contractors (financial, healthcare, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, consulting, distribution, hospitality) with special emphasis on risk management regarding analysis of employment activity, compensation, recruiting and selection procedures.

Whistleblowing/Retaliation

• Strategic advice on managing whistleblowing employees.
• Successfully defended whistleblower and retaliation complaints before the U.S. Department of Labor, EEOC and other agencies, including environmental and financial fraud complaints.

Internal Investigations

• Retained as special counsel to conduct internal investigations into allegations of harassment, discrimination, code of conduct violations, embezzlement and root cause of management failures.

Restructuring and Organizational Changes

• Designed RIFs, lay-offs, furloughs and recovery programs.
• Designed comprehensive workforce restructuring programs, including voluntary separation programs and employee selection and staffing processes that have been successfully defended before the U.S. Court of Appeals.

WorkHealth Initiatives and Risk Management

• Developed and integrated corporate policies for hospitals, banks and pharmaceutical, manufacturing and technology companies to manage leave (FMLA/STD/ADA reasonable accommodation leave/workers’ compensation leave) and mandatory paid sick leave obligations. Developed fitness for duty programs including functional capacity testing for manufacturing, healthcare and distribution worksites.
• Developed mandatory vaccine policies designed to maximize herd immunity while minimizing liability for ADA and Title VII reasonable accommodation violations and served as reviewer of exemption requests.
• Developed drug-testing programs, including random testing programs and programs in medicinal and recreational marijuana and CBD jurisdictions.
• Led interdisciplinary publicly-traded Fortune 500 corporate ADA task force charged with: identifying Title I and Title III compliance issues; reviewing and modifying corporate policies, procedures and practices including medical testing, qualification standards and test administration accommodation.

Crisis Management

• Regularly develops and executes strategies and plans for minimizing liability in high risk terminations.
• Coordinated and managed regulatory, communication and risk management response to high profile workplace crises, including those arising from #Me-Too and Social Justice movements and employee and community social media postings, and industrial accidents.

Labor

• Coordinated responses to union organization campaigns and collective bargaining with USW and IBEW.

Training

• Develops customized content for training programs on establishing and maintaining respectful workplaces (including diversity, inclusion and microaggressions), interviewing and selection, performance management and legal aspects of managing people.
• Developed highly participatory mock trial training experience in which supervisors experience first-hand how their decisions play out in front of a jury which has been customized for employers in a wide range of industries and delivered across the country.
• Developed highly participatory mock trial training experience in which human resources professionals and internal company investigators experience first-hand how their decisions in conducting an investigation play out in front of a jury which has been customized for employers in a wide range of industries and delivered across the country.

Technology and Related Policies

• Advised technology companies developing AI-powered tools for employee selection and assessment. 
• Assisted companies with development of BYOD, remote work, social media and departing employees procedures designed to protect company reputation and assets.

Mergers and Acquisitions

• Advised an international research-oriented healthcare group on employment-related matters in its acquisition of worldwide product rights to a rare disease therapy.