Adam is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Adam represents and advises employers in disputes involving wage and hour issues, non-compete and non-solicitation covenants, unfair competition, misappropriation of trade secrets, claims of age, sex, disability, and race discrimination and retaliation, wrongful termination, and breach of employment contracts. Adam serves clients in both federal and state trial courts and various federal and state agencies including the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Labor, and the National Labor Relations Board. Adam is frequently called upon to advise clients on labor and employment issues that arise in the ordinary course of business and counsels clients on how to strategically plan to protect company trade secrets and how to hire in an increasingly competitive and litigious environment.
Adam earned his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center, where he served as an editor of the Houston Journal of International Law. During law school, Adam served as an intern for the Honorable Gray H. Miller in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Arizona.
News
August 19, 2021
Best Lawyers selected 210 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 23 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2022 edition of The Best Lawyers in America.
August 20, 2020
Best Lawyers selected 201 Cozen O’Connor lawyers from 23 of the firm’s nationwide offices for inclusion in the 2021 edition of The Best Lawyers in America© (Copyright 2020 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, SC).
November 01, 2018
Adam Gutmann, an associate of Cozen O'Connor's Labor & Employment department, was quoted in SHRM about how office holiday parties could become a liability.
May 10, 2018
David Barron and Jennifer Williams' argument in Core Laboratories LP et al. v. AmSpec LLC et al. was discussed in a Law360 article covering the case.
Publications
October 14, 2021
Adam Gutmann discusses the Circuit Court's decision in Hewitt v. Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc..
August 26, 2021
Adam Gutmann discusses recent amendments to the Illinois Freedom to Work Act that are set to go into effect, and apply to agreements entered into after, January 1, 2022.
August 09, 2021
Adam Gutmann discusses changes to Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code that go into effect on September 1, 2021.
January 19, 2021
Adam C. Gutmann and David L. Barron discuss the landmark ruling in Swales v. KLLM Transport Servs., LLC, wherein the court did away with the two-step Lusardi framework that most FLSA collective actions have followed for the last 33 years.
November 23, 2020
David Barron, Joseph Quinn, Jake Rubinstein, Di Addy Tang, Peter Ennis, Adam Gutmann, and Anne discuss various state laws that may impact employers.
May 01, 2020
Adam Gutmann explains the changes the Texas Workforce Commission made to the various reasons that workers can give to legitimately turn down available work amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
April 14, 2020
Adam Gutmann discusses the Texas Workforce Commission's updated guidance regarding the availability of unemployment insurance benefits, as supplemented by the federal CARES Act.
April 09, 2020
Adam Gutmann discusses what employers should do when employees strike, participate in sickouts, or request PPE or to work from home due to concerns surrounding COVID-19.
April 01, 2020
Adam Gutmann discusses the preliminary injunction stopping the enforcement of the ordinance enacted by the City of Dallas last year that would have required many Dallas employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees.
March 20, 2020
Adam Gutmann details the changes employers and employees need to know about collecting Texas unemployment benefits.
January 30, 2020
George Voegele and Adam Gutmann discuss the Palmiter v. Commonwealth Health Systems, et al., case and what employers in Pennsylvania need to know.
January 22, 2020
Adam C. Gutmann discusses the decision in Hager v. M & K Constr and the nationwide trend towards broad acknowledgement of the peaceful coexistence of states' medical marijuana law and federal law.
January 15, 2020
Adam Gutmann discusses the differences between vertical and horizontal joint employment as outlined by the DOL's new guidance.
October 28, 2019
Adam Gutmann discusses the Tenth Circuit's decision in Mestas v. Town of Evansville and how employers should react when an employee asks for assistance that could serve as a request for accommodation.
September 30, 2019
Adam Gutmann discusses the update to the regulations setting the thresholds for the EAP employee overtime exemptions.
August 16, 2019
Adam Gutmann and Anna Wermuth discuss what employers should do to comply with the new Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.
July 16, 2019
The Dallas City Council recently joined several other major Texas cities in passing a mandatory paid sick leave ordinance. The new rules (found in Chapter 20 of the Dallas City Code, and summarized in this memorandum from the City) are set to go into effect on August 1, 2019, for employers with 6 or...
April 25, 2019
Adam Gutmann discusses Chief Roberts decision in Lamps Puls, Inc. v. Varela.
March 15, 2019
We have previously posted on HR Headaches about the practical steps employers can take to protect their company’s trade secrets. You can find that post here. With this edition, we dive a bit deeper into the strategies and safeguards companies can deploy to prevent their trade secrets from walking...
March 11, 2019
David Barron and Adam Gutmann discuss the DOL's proposal to increase the threshold at which employers can invoke certain “white collar” exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime requirements to $679 per week ($35,308 per year).
October 19, 2018
October 31st is right around the corner, and in workplaces all across the U.S. employers are contemplating having some kind of Halloween party or inviting employees to dress up. On its face, it seems like a great idea. Halloween can be a fun way to break the monotony of everyday office life (and is...
October 16, 2018
You probably already know that the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) makes available to employers a number of significant remedies, but what you may not know is that several of those remedies are contingent on employers notifying employees of key whistleblower protections provided for in the...
Events & Seminars
Past Events
August 19, 2021
- Webinar
October 23, 2019
- Houston, Texas
February 26, 2019
- Addison, TX
April 27, 2018
- Houston, TX