Nichole D. Atallah

Nichole counsels employers and their compliance professionals on a broad range of labor and employment matters, including employment discrimination, wage and hour, family and medical leave, labor union negotiations and grievances, executive compensation, and reductions in force. Nichole’s primary goal in representing employers is to help guide them through difficult situations, proactively address compliance, and avoid costly disputes. 

Nichole advises clients with Department of Labor compliance audits and investigations and works proactively with clients via educational programs and training sessions to establish and maintain effective human resource policies that discourage employment disputes and lawsuits. She proactively advocates on behalf of clients that have a unionized workforce, assisting them during collective bargaining negotiations, labor-management disputes, and disputes pending before the National Labor Relations Board. Nichole also assists business owners and their management teams in general business matters, such as interpreting and drafting employee compensation and benefit arrangements and confidentiality, non-compete, non-solicitation, and separation agreements.

Government contractors rely on Nichole’s substantial expertise with FAR Part 22 compliance, including the Service Contract Labor Standards (the Service Contract Act), Construction Labor Standards (the Davis-Bacon Act), and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs requirements specific to government contractors. Nichole also offers guidance to tribally owned entities regarding their unique labor and employment issues, including Native American preference, sovereign immunity, and Title VII jurisdiction.

Related Practice Areas

• Labor & Employment
• Litigation & Dispute Resolution
• Audits & Investigations
• Native American Law & Tribal Advocacy
• Employee Incentive and Bonus Plans
• PilieroMazza Labor & Employment Training Modules
• Construction

Representative Experience

Employment law experience:

• Counseling client’s regarding liability exposure when making work force decisions
• Obtaining favorable outcomes in charges before the EEOC
• Negotiating resolutions to employment agreement disputes and non-competition violations
• Obtained settlement of EEOC discrimination charge for mere pennies on the dollar where complainant agreed to dismiss her charge in exchange for a small amount of money she claimed was due to her in back wages
• Advising clients on application of workforce policies and procedures

Labor law experience:

• Successfully negotiated several collective bargaining agreements for successor contractors that inherited an organized bargaining unit from a predecessor contractor
• Obtained early resolution of several unfair labor practice charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board
• Counseled clients during the solicitation process and after award regarding the company’s relationship with the bargaining unit and its obligations
• Assists clients through the grievance and dispute resolution process

Labor law regulatory compliance experience:

• Successfully negotiated Service Contract Act liability with the Department of Labor with respect to misclassification of employees
• Obtaining a substantial reduction in back payment liability for a client that miscalculated benefits owed to employees pursuant to the Davis-Bacon Act
• Negotiated a significant reduction in Service Contract Act Liability for client and assisted the client in defending its performance of work requirements when audited
• Assisted client in working with the Department of Labor and a subcontractor to negotiate a resolution to subcontractor liability for Service Contract Act violations

General litigation experience:

• Achieved favorable pre-trial settlement for a client sued by a former employee under the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Obtained pre-trial dismissal in a breach of contract and unjust enrichment claim by bringing a motion to dismiss based on jurisdiction, revealing the weakness of the plaintiff’s claims and causing the plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit
• Used effective litigation tactics to persuade counsel for plaintiff in employment discrimination suit to voluntarily dismiss the case (unpublished, 2012)
• Achieved pre-trial dismissal of lawsuit and an award of sanctions in favor of our client, a corporate defendant, in a discrimination lawsuit brought by a disgruntled former employee (unpublished, 2012)

General corporate experience:

• Drafting and interpreting employment and separation agreements
• Advising clients in crafting incentive pay and executive compensation arrangements
• Successfully brought and defended claims regarding non-compete and non-solicitation agreements

Articles

• DOL Increases Hourly Minimum Wage to $17.20 for Federal Contractors Starting January 1, 2024, 10.04.23
• Reducing the Negative Impacts of a Government Shutdown for Federal Contractors, PilieroMazza Client Alert, 09.21.23
• Impact of New Health and Welfare Rates on SCA Government Contracts, PilieroMazza Client Alert, 07.31.23
• PilieroMazza Launches New Labor & Employment Podcast for Government Contractors, 06.07.23
• Financial Capital, Human Capital Will Be at a Premium in Indian Country in 2023, The PM Legal Minute Blog, Tribal Advocate, 03.29.23

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Events

• FAR Session 14, Parts 22 & 23, FUN with the FAR℠ Season 2024, 07.10.24
• Nuts and Bolts of the SCA, GovCon 101 – Service Contract Act, 02.26.24
• DBA Basics for Federal Construction Contractors, GovCon 101 – Davis-Bacon Basics, 02.12.24
• VIP START: Labor Rules & Regulations: Federal Market Compliance, Veteran Institute for Procurement (VIP), 10.25.23
• Overhaul of Davis-Bacon Act Increases Wage Requirements and Enforcement for Federal Construction Contractors, PilieroMazza Webinar, 09.14.23

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News

• PilieroMazza Receives Prestigious “Business Partner of the Year” Award from Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, 11.20.23
• PilieroMazza Listed Among Best Law Firms® in Washington, DC, 11.16.23
• The Best Lawyers in America® Recognizes 3 PilieroMazza Attorneys in Its 2024 Edition, 08.17.23
• PilieroMazza Launches New Labor & Employment Podcast for Government Contractors, 06.07.23
• Law360 Quotes Nichole Atallah on the Employment Status of Civil Detainees and Minimum Wage Rules, 03.17.23

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Podcasts

• Clocking in with PilieroMazza: Davis-Bacon Act Classification Requirements for Construction Contractors: Identifying Issues and Mitigating Risks, 10.18.23
• Clocking in with PilieroMazza: New Laws Affect Non-Compete Agreements and Applying Them to Government Contracting Workforce, 09.06.23
• Clocking in with PilieroMazza: The NLRB Strikes Again: Reasons to Revisit Independent Contractor Classifications, 08.24.23
• Clocking in with PilieroMazza: DOL Finalizes Landmark Changes to Davis-Bacon Act: What Federal Construction Contractors Need to Know, 08.11.23
• Clocking in with PilieroMazza: I-9 Physical Inspections Required by August 30, 07.26.23

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Education

• Georgia State University College of Law, J.D., 2010, Magna Cum Laude, Legislative Editor, Georgia State University Law Review
• The George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs, B.A., 2004
• University of California, Berkeley, 2015, Negotiations and Influence Certification

Admissions

• District of Columbia
• Georgia

• District of Columbia Superior Court
• Georgia Court of Appeals
• Georgia Superior Court
• Georgia Supreme Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
• U.S. District Court, District of Columbia
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia

Activities

• Co-Chair, Employment, Labor, and Safety Committee, American Bar Association, 2018
• Vice President, Public Contracts Law Section Employment Safety & Labor Committee, American Bar Association, 2016-2018
• Member, District of Columbia Bar Association
• Teacher, Street Law Inc., providing basic legal education to high school students
• Recipient, Bleckley Inn of Court, 2009-2010
• Recipient, Fulbright Scholar, Indonesia, 2004-2005
• Instructor, Veteran Institute for Procurement (VIP) START Program

Honors