Who We Are
Rick is a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Labor & Employment Law. He is adept at assisting clients with avoiding costly and time-consuming litigation. This includes review and preparation of employee policies, handbooks, and contracts, development of employee and management training, and day-to-day HR and employment law support.
Our Mission
Our primary goal is to use nearly two decades of employment law experience to help clients avoid time-consuming employment disputes, which in turn, enables clients to focus on the things they do best. Our vision is to offer clients competitive rates for our services, and to conduct those services with expertise, integrity, and vigilance.
Why Choose Blystone Law as your Employment Attorney
Blystone Law’s primary goal is to help clients avoid litigation altogether. Richard V. Blystone, a Board-Certified Labor & Employment attorney, does this by considering clients from a global business perspective. He understands the costs involved in unnecessary employment disputes, some of which are not projected onto a balance sheet. By considering how a client’s policies, procedures, and practices play into the “big picture” of running a successful, profitable business, an effective synergy between ownership, management, and employees can be created.
Areas of Practice
Employment, Non-Compete, Non-Solicitation, and Confidentiality Agreements
These Agreements are intended to help protect a business’s most important assets, its clients, employees, proprietary information, and revenue. These agreements are often drafted haphazardly and in a manner that does not appropriately protect either the employer or the employee. Blystone Law can help!
Preventative Employment Practices
The benefit of preventative employment practices is to reduce the risk of employment disputes and litigation. There are numerous federal, state, and local laws that govern employment, many of which are complex. This factor alone can leave an employer vulnerable to a lawsuit from a disgruntled employee. By helping employers with the implementation of proactive employment policies, handbooks and training, employment disputes can often be avoided.
Workplace Investigations
Conducting workplace investigations is one of the most challenging duties that confront HR professionals. A poorly conducted internal investigation or conducting no internal investigation at all can cost a company financially, damage its reputation, decrease employee morale, and increase turnover. Blystone Law can provide ownership, HR, and management with necessary guidance to conduct proper investigations. In some instances it could also make sense to utilize an experienced employment attorney to investigate on the employer's behalf. This permits the employer to remain independent and is especially useful when there are egregious claims or allegations against a high-level employee.
Day-to-Day Employment Support
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Can I fire this person? Can I take a deduction from this employee's pay because of x, y or z? Does this absence qualify for protection under FMLA? Is that practice or policy discriminatory? Should we investigate? Is this covered under workers' comp? These are the types of questions that come up and if addressed appropriately disputes and costly litigation can often be avoided. Imagine if your HR and management-level professionals had reliable access to an experienced employment attorney BEFORE making decisions that could otherwise expose your business. Concerned about the cost? Check out our Subscription Plans.
Workplace Mediation
Workplace mediation occurs when parties in a dispute at an organization use an external mediator to find a workable resolution. Workplace mediation assists Human Resource professionals and Executives from being unnecessarily bogged down with employee and team conflicts. This frees up staff to focus on their primary duties. Workplace mediation can help prevent lawsuits and decrease turnover. Mediation can occur virtually or in person. The mediator’s job is to explain the process, help the parties feel heard, and to facilitate a workplace resolution.