Joseph H. (Joe) Hunt

Joseph (Joe) Hunt works closely with clients in all matters related to antidiscrimination statutes, unfair labor practices, accommodations in the workplace, wage and hour issues, and contract disputes, focusing on preventive counsel to limit financial exposure to the company. Where litigation can not be avoided, Joe defends his clients with strong time-proven strategies. He also regularly represents employers in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies, with a strong track record of successful mitigation of complex labor and employment legal matters.

Joe partners with clients to understand their business and help human resources professionals and other business leaders navigate laws and regulations governing all aspects of the employer-employee relationship, including policies and agreements, pay and benefits, hiring, investigations, restrictive covenants and trade secrets, and discipline and terminations. He previously served as corporate counsel for a Fortune 200 telecommunications company, providing him valuable insight and perspective on the issues and challenges his clients often face in the modern workplace.

With his combined legal and business experience, Joe takes a pragmatic approach to counseling managers, supervisors, executives, and human resources personnel to provide practical, strategic, and cost-efficient advice. In addition, he regularly speaks and writes on recent developments in labor and employment law, focusing on Colorado legislation and anti-discrimination statutes.

Highlights of Joe’s experience include:

• Won dismissal of claims for defamation, intentional interference with contract, and civil conspiracy for a banking institution and multiple individual defendants
• Served as trial counsel in a two-week jury trial involving claims of disability discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, achieving out-of-court resolution before the jury reached a verdict
• Represented a large national trucking carrier in class actions concerning alleged violations of state wage and hour laws in two different states involving hundreds of class members
• Successfully negotiated settlements in numerous matters involving sexual harassment and discrimination claims, charges of unfair labor practices, failure to accommodate allegations, and noncompetition disputes
• Represented clients ranging from individuals to small businesses to large corporations in numerous alternative dispute resolution proceedings, achieving successful and reasonable resolutions
• Obtained dozens of “no cause findings” for a client facing discrimination charges by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Colorado Civil Rights Division, and other administrative agencies from across the country
• Successfully defended against a petition to compel arbitration under a collective bargaining agreement in federal court, resulting in the union’s removal of its petition with prejudice

Presentations and Publications

• “No Need to Phone a Friend: What Employers Need to Know about Workplace Drug Testing,” Spencer Fane WorkSmarts Seminar, September 2022
• “Developments in Accommodation Law: Disability and Religion,” Annual Colorado Labor & Employment Law Conference, May 2019
• “Complex Investigations,” Annual Colorado Labor & Employment Law Conference, May 2018
• “Background Checks: Trouble If You Do And Trouble If You Don’t!,” Annual Colorado Labor & Employment Law Conference Agenda, May 2016

Memberships

• Denver Bar Association
• ACCESS Housing, Inc., Board of Directors
• Colorado Bar Association
  • Labor & Employment Section, Executive Council

Distinctions

• Best Lawyers in America, Ones to Watch, Labor and Employment Law–Management; Litigation–Labor and Employment, 2021-2023

Contact Joe Hunt at 303.839.3775 or jhunt@spencerfane.com.