Matthew T. Deffebach

As chair of our OSHA and Workplace Disasters Practice Group, Matthew Deffebach helps clients use preventative measures to minimize claims and reduce exposure to litigation. Matt is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and also serves on the firm’s Board of Directors.

As an employment litigator and former chair of our Labor and Employment Practice Group, Matt has successfully handled hundreds of agency proceedings, arbitrations, and lawsuits in state and federal court concerning ERISA, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, leave and accommodation, ADA public access, wage and hour (including FLSA collective actions), executive compensation, wrongful termination, privacy, social media, and others. Clients also turn to Matt for advice on issues related to employment law, and he is frequently enlisted to conduct workplace investigations based on employee complaints of misconduct. He regularly speaks about employment law compliance and has conducted numerous trainings for clients and appeared at dozens of seminars and conferences.

Matt’s strong national OSHA litigation practice is of particular value to clients such as Home Depot, whom he has served as National OSHA counsel for 16 years. He has represented clients in 30 states across the U.S., and has familiarity with state OSHA programs, particularly in California where he has handled numerous contested cases involving Cal/OSHA. Matt has also successfully defended clients in OSHA administrative trials, including recent trials on PPE in California, powered industrial trucks in Utah, recordkeeping in Iowa, and other regulatory matters in four separate trials in California.

As a general commercial litigator and previous co-chair of the firm’s Litigation Practice Group, Matt handles contract disputes and non-subscriber negligence lawsuits and arbitrations. He also routinely assists clients on misappropriation of trade secret matters and unfair competition claims regarding noncompetition and non-solicitation agreements.