Fiona Ong

Practice Groups:

Employment Law

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Compliance

Leaves of Absence/Reasonable Accommodation

Multistate Advice and Counseling

RIF/WARN

Wage and Hour

Workplace Investigations and Organizational Assessments

Industry Groups:

Financial Services

Healthcare

Hospitality

Manufacturing

Retail

Sports and Entertainment

Fiona W. Ong partners with business leaders and human resources teams to balance organizational objectives with employee rights, enabling practical, compliant solutions that drive business success. She defends employers against claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful discharge and related torts, and wage-and-hour violations before federal and state agencies and in mediation. Fiona regularly advises on complex leave and accommodation issues, performance management and separations, reductions in force, and the negotiation of executive employment and separation agreements. She develops and delivers training for managers and employees on discrimination, harassment, accommodation, and other compliance topics, and she drafts and updates employee handbooks, personnel policies, and employment agreements. Fiona also conducts sensitive, high-stakes internal investigations into wide-ranging employee complaints and alleged misconduct, including matters involving C-suite executives.

As General Counsel to the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and long-time co-chair of its Labor & Employment Committee, Fiona ensures the employer perspective is heard by state officials and the Maryland General Assembly. Each legislative session, she reviews labor and employment proposals, recommends positions and revisions, and has testified before the General Assembly on behalf of the Chamber and the broader employer community.

A recognized writer and speaker, Fiona’s work has appeared in Law360, the ABA TIPS publication “The Brief,” the Maryland State Bar Association Journal, the Matthew Bender Labor and Employment Law Bulletin, SHRM Online, and other industry outlets. She has authored comprehensive U.S. and Maryland employment law overviews for Chambers USA, The Legal 500, and Lexology. For many years, she served as revisions editor for Matthew Bender’s “The Employment Law Deskbook” and “Labor and Employment Law, Volume 10: General Employment Issues,” and she edited the “Maryland Human Resources Manual,” published by the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and HRSimple.com. Fiona has presented at national and international conferences, including programs for the American Employment Law Council, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the Fashion Law Institute, and the Maryland State Bar Association, and she has led webinars for the Federal Bar Association, HR Simple, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, and the Employment Law Alliance. She has been a guest legal commentator on the Dan Abrams Show and on Baltimore-area news programs, and her insights have been quoted by the Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg News, Law360, and other media.

Fiona is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers—among the profession’s highest distinctions—and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She is recognized by Chambers USA, Best Lawyers, and Super Lawyers; named to the Daily Record’s 2024 Employment Law Power List; honored as an Acritas Star; and selected as one of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Best Under 40. She has also been recognized by Lexology as its “Legal Influencer” in U.S. Labor and Employment.

Maryland Chamber of Commerce (General Counsel and Executive Committee Member; Co-Chair, Employment Issues Committee)

Maryland Chamber of Commerce Foundation (General Counsel and Executive Committee Member)

American Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section)

Maryland State Bar Association (Section of Labor and Employment)

National Asian-Pacific American Bar Association

Society for Human Resources Management

Primary author, Chambers, USA Regional Practice Guide – Employment – Maryland, Legal 500’s Country Comparative Guides: United States Employment & Labour Law, and Lexology’s Employment: North America Digital Edition - USA – Maryland. Editor, Maryland Human Resources Manual. Primary author/editor, laboremploymentreport.com. Author, Shawe Rosenthal monthly E-Update. Formerly editor for Matthew Bender’s "The Employment Law Deskbook" and “Labor and Employment Law, Volume 10.”

Education: Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1992; Princeton University, A.B., 1989. Honors: Acritas Star. Lexology’s “Legal Influencer” in U.S. Labor and Employment. NAPABA’s “Best Under 40.”