Kara is a member and Practice Group Leader for Butler Snow’s Labor and Employment group. She regularly advises clients in a variety of industries on employment law compliance. She has extensive employment litigation and agency experience in Tennessee and around the country.
Overview
Kara is a member and Practice Group Leader for Butler Snow’s Labor and Employment group. She regularly advises clients in a variety of industries on employment law compliance. She has extensive employment litigation and agency experience in Tennessee and around the country.
About
Kara Shea has been practicing law for 25 years, helping clients to develop and implement employment policies, assisting clients in conducting internal audits and investigations, and counseling clients on all aspects of employment law compliance. Kara also has extensive litigation experience, including acting as lead counsel in wage and hour class and collective actions, and briefing a discrimination case to the Supreme Court of the United States.
Kara has conducted numerous independent workplace investigations for clients, as well as conducting supervisory training for clients on a variety of employment law-related topics. Kara frequently writes and speaks on employment law issues, including co-authoring a comprehensive Wage & Hour Compliance manual published by HRHero® and BLR®.
Kara has edited the Tennessee Employment Law Letter (published by BLR®) for 17 years, and has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® for employment law – management and labor law – management; by Super Lawyers® on their lists for Mid-South Super Lawyers (for employment and labor); Top 50 Women: Mid-South Super Lawyers, Top 50: Nashville Super Lawyers; and Top 100: Tennessee Super Lawyers. She was recognized by the Nashville Business Journal’s Best of the Bar in 2020 in the employment law category and has been ranked by Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business for labor and employment in Tennessee for many years.
Kara obtained her J.D. from Vanderbilt University and is admitted to the State Bar of Tennessee, the U.S. Court of Appeals Sixth, Seventh, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Experience
- Extensive employment litigation and agency experience in Tennessee and around the country.
- Briefed cases to Tennessee Supreme Court and United States Supreme Court.
- Acted as lead and co-lead counsel in multiple wage and hour class and collective actions in health care, transportation, agriculture, staffing, insurance, and retail services industries, among others.
- Regularly advises clients in a variety of industries on employment law compliance.
- Has conducted numerous workplace investigations for clients, as well as conducting supervisory training for clients, on a variety of employment law-related topics.
- Has provided FLSA exemption classification, independent contractor classification, and overtime issues analysis to clients in a variety of industries.
- Has assisted clients in a variety of industries with employment issues related to mergers and acquisitions and reductions-in-force.
- Provides guidance and risk assessment relative to employee disciplinary action and termination.
- Provides guidance to clients in a variety of industries on state and federal leave requirements and the ADA interactive process.
- Represented employers in Department of Labor wage and hour investigations resulting in reduction of backpay assessments.
- Drafted sex harassment, overtime, attendance, pandemic, and other employment policies and forms for hundreds of employers in a variety of industries.
- Drafts and assists in enforcement of executive and other employment agreements.
Distinctions
- America’s Top 100 Attorneys®, Lifetime Achievement Selection, 2016
- Nashville Business Journal, Best of the Bar, 2012, 2020
- BL Rankings, The Best Lawyers in America®
- Employment Law - Management, 2013-2025
- Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2024-2025
- Labor Law - Management, 2015-2025
- Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers®
- Mid-South Super Lawyers, Employment & Labor, 2013-2024
- Top 50 Women: Mid-South Super Lawyers, 2014-2016
- Top 50: Nashville Super Lawyers, 2014-2016
- Top 100: Tennessee Super Lawyers, 2014, 2016
- Nashville Post Magazine, Nashville’s Top 101 Lawyers, 2011
- Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business
- Labor & Employment (Tennessee), 2014-2025
- Benchmark Litigation
- Labor & Employment Star, 2021
- Law360, Employment Authority Wage & Hour Editorial Advisory Board, 2022
- Fellow, Nashville Bar Association
- Fellow, American Bar Foundation
Bar Admissions
- Tennessee, 1996
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- 6th Circuit
- 7th Circuit
- 10th Circuit
- 11th Circuit
- U.S. Supreme Court
Education
- Vanderbilt University Law School, J.D., 1996
- Associate Editor, Vanderbilt Law Review
- Boston University, B.S., summa cum laude, 1991
Associations
- American Bar Association
- Nashville Bar Association
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Society of Human Resource Management
- Employers Counsel Network
- Tennessee Representative
- Middle Tennessee Society for Human Resources Management (MT-SHRM)
- Past Board Member
Papers, Presentations & Publications
- Quoted, "Employers Await More Legal Action as Last Federal Vax Mandate is Put on Hold," HR Daily Advisor, December 8, 2021.
- Presenter, "COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Update," Tennessee Association for Home Care, November 30, 2021.
- Panelist, “Clearing the Confusion: What Employers Have to Know,” Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, November 9, 2021.
- Co-Author, "Can your employees claim religious exemption from a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy?" Westlaw Today, September 29, 2021.
- Quoted, "Tips for Employers Awaiting Details on New COVID-19 Vaccine Rules," HR Daily Advisor, September 10, 2021.
- Presenter, "Returning to the Office," AAMVA 2021 Virtual Annual International Conference (AIC), September 2, 2021.
- Presenter, "Welcome Back America! HR Considerations for the 2021 US Workplace," Employment Law Alliance, July 15, 2021.
- Presenter, "A Shot in the Arm for the Workplace: A Look at how COVID-19 Vaccine Policies Can Help (or Potentially Hurt) the Return to In-Person Workforces," Lawyers' Association for Women, Marion Griffin Chapter, March 23, 2021.
- Guest, "Working Mothers in Crisis," HR Works Podcast, January 26, 2021.
- Presenter, "Can I Require my Employee to Take the COVID-19 Vaccine," Tennessee Association for Home Care, December 17, 2020.
- Presenter, “Navigating the Challenges of ‘COVID-19 Leave’ and Compensation Issues,” Tennessee Bankers Association, HR Hot Topics: Conquering COVID Chaos, November 5, 2020.
- Presenter, “Health, Privacy and Employer Liability Issues,” BLR Reopening the Workplace Virtual Conference: Navigating the New Reality of COVID-19, May 20, 2020.
- Author, “Top tips for effective employment handbooks,” Nashville Business Journal, Memphis Business Journal, September 19, 2019.
- Presenter, “Administering Pay: Compliance Essentials and How to Avoid FLSA Pitfalls,” Business and Legal Resources, December 7, 2018.
- Presenter, “Paid Sick, Parental & Family Leave Hotbed: Multi-State Updates for Mastering Emerging Compliance Obligations,” HR Comply, Las Vegas, Nev., November 15, 2018.
- Presenter, “Time is Money: Preventing & Defending Off the Clock Claims,” Webinar Presented by Butler Snow and Welch Consulting, October 25, 2018.
- Presenter, "Top Ten Wage & Hour Mistakes," 2018 Employment Law Conference, Franklin, Tenn., October 19, 2018.
- Presenter, “Sourcing and Interviewing Do’s and Don’ts to Help You Identify Ideal Candidates While Avoiding Legal Pitfalls,” BLR Events, RecruitCon 2018, Nashville, Tenn., May 11, 2018.
- Speaker, FMLA Master Class: Tennessee – Advanced Skills For Employee Leave Management, Nashville, Tenn., May 16, 2017.
- Keynote Speaker and Presenter, 21st Annual Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, Las Vegas, Nev., November 9-11, 2016.
- Presenter and Panelist, "The New DOL Overtime Regulations: Is Your Workplace prepared?" 2016 MidSouth Employment Law Conference, October 2016.
- Presenter, “Disability and Leaves of Absence: The latest on Who Qualifies as Disabled, “Non-Traditional” Disabilities and Mental Health Claims, What Accommodations Qualify as Reasonable, and a Tactical Tool-Kit for Defending Against ADA & FMLA Claims.” American Conference Institute, July 2016.
- Presenter, "Overtime Exemption Rule: How to Audit White-Collar Classifications Amid Major Changes," HR Webinar, BLR, June 2016.
- Keynote Speaker and Presenter, 20th Annual Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, Las Vegas, Nev., November 4-6, 2015.
- Presenter and Panelist, “Wage and Hour Update: White Collar Worries,” 2015 MidSouth Employment Law Conference, Nashville, Tenn., October 16, 2015.
- Author, "How to Conduct a Wage and Hour Check Up," Law Practice Today, October 2014.
- Presenter, "Overtime Exemption Decisions: HR's Pay Practice Checkup to Find and Fix Costly Errors," HR Webinar, BLR, September 25, 2014.
- Author, "Here We Go Again!" Legal Update on Wage and Hour Law, Cowan Benefit Services Summer Seminar Series, June 2014.
- Author, "Tennessee Passes Guns in Trunks Law," Workplace Vol. 2013 No. 3, April 2013.
- Author, Tennessee Employment Law Letter, BLR/HR Hero, monthly.
- Author, "Overtime," HR Guide to Employment Law, A Practical Reference, BLR, 2010, updated 2013.
- Author, "Top Tennessee Employer Mistakes with their Employees," TN Association for Home Care, March 2013.
- Author, "Wage & Hour - Companionship Exemption," TN Association for Home Care, January 2013.
- Author, Wage & Hour Compliance, Practical Solutions for HR, BLR, 2009, updated 2012.
- Author, "Wage and Hour Master Class," Tennessee Employment Law Letter, December 2012.
- Author, "Addressing Workplace Harassment Issues in Public Entities," TnPRIMA Conference, November 2012.
- Author, "Independent Contractors: Tennessee," Practical Law Company, November 2012.
- Author, "Wage & Hour Update," Middle Tennessee Society for Human Resource Management, October 2012.
- Author, "Conducting Effective Workplace Investigations"---Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, October 2012.
- Author, "FMLA Compliance Virtual Summit," August 14, 2012.
- Author, "Tennessee FMLA Master Class," June 5, 2012.
- Author, "Exempt or Nonexempt: How to Find and Fix Misclassification Mistakes," April 25, 2012.
- Author, "Calculating Overtime: HR's How-To Guide for FLSA Compliance," April 12, 2012.
- Author, "Employee vs. Independent Contractor: How Employers Can Avoid Misclassification and Legal Headaches," December 13, 2011.
- Author, "Weather-Related Absenteeism: Policies, Payroll Adjustments, Telecommuting, and More," August 17, 2011.
- Author, "Weather-Related Absenteeism: Policies, Payroll Adjustments, Telecommuting, and More," March 8, 2011.
- Author, "Independent Contractor or Employee? Avoid the Misclassification Crackdown," October 5, 2010.
- Author, "Legal Update: Wage & Hour Issues For Auto Dealers," Tennessee Automotive Association, November 2010.
- Author, "Hot Topics in Wage & Hour Law," Middle Tennessee Society for Human Resource Management, May 2010.
- Advanced Employment Issues Symposium, HR Law Hero, April 2010.
- Author, "Conducting Workplace Investigations: A Step-by-Step Virtual Summit for HR Leaders," HR Hero, April 2010.
- Author, "Background and Credit Checks: Legal Risks and Workable Solutions," February 17, 2010.
- Regular speaker for programs sponsored by Middle Tennessee Society for Human Resource Management.