• B.A., Political Science, Tuskegee University; • J.D., Vanderbilt University.
Me? I am an Atlanta native, born and raised. I grew up on the Westside of Atlanta alongside my teenage mother. I am a first generation high-school, college, and of course, law school graduate. I understood very early in life what my purpose is — to serve others as I have been served.
I am the product of national foundation for at-risk kids, who refused to let my circumstances determine my outcome. A foundation that instilled in me that service to your neighbor is not always glamorous, but it can be so rewarding! I learned from the members, mentors, and directors of the program, what it means to be an advocate, a friend, a helping hand, or just a listening ear.
I attended law school with the goal of finding a how I could use my natural talents to serve others in many of the ways the foundation served me. Of course, now, over two decades after I became a member of the foundation, how befitting it is to serve clients who have made serving others their calling.
Now that who I am is out of the way, how about what I love to do? I love to spend time with my wife and daughter, I love playing basketball or a good workout. I also enjoy gaming, whether it’s an MMORPG or a plot thick single-player game. Overall, I just love a good time.
Department of Homeland Security Ends Covid-19 Temporary Flexibilities and Rolls Out New E-Verify Alternative Verification Procedures
September 21, 2023
Category: Legal Updates
Beginning in March of 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) allowed employers to complete the I-9 process remotely on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 4, 2023, ICE announced that these Covid-19 “flexibilities,” would end on July 31, 2023, and that employers would have until August 30, 2023 to conduct an in-person physical inspection for all employees remotely verified and hired during Covid-19.
On September 30, 2023, Florida will increase its minimum wage to $12.00. The increase in wage is a part of a yearly dollar increase that Florida instituted in 2020 following a voter-approved ballot measure. Florida’s minimum wage is set to increase to $15.00 by 2026. Because Florida’s tipped wage is $3.02, the increased minimum wage will increase the required cash wage for tipped employees to $8.98 in 2023 and presumably, $11.98 by 2026. All Florida employers are required to post the current minimum wage in their place of business where an employee can see it.
NLRB’s Cemex Decision Facilitates Union Recognition Even Without Elections
September 6, 2023
Category: Legal Updates
On August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”) released its long awaited Cemex Construction Materials Pacific (“Cemex”) decision. See NLRB Case No. 28-CA-230115. The crux of the Cemex case revolved around how to hold election procedures when an employer has allegedly committed unfair labor practices during the “critical period” of an election campaign between the filing of the election petition and the election itself. The NLRB responded to that question by instituting a framework that hearkens back to the Joy Silk standard used over 50 years ago, which required employers to bargain with a union unless it had a good-faith doubt of the union’s majority support among employees.