Bridget R. Penick

Bridget is a leading litigator whose practice focuses on employment law. Bridget regularly drafts and litigates restrictive covenants, including noncompetition and nonsolicitation agreements.

Bridget represents employers of all sizes in various state and federal courts and administrative agencies. She drafts and counsels employers in human resources policies and procedures, employment discrimination, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), wage & hour, National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) issues and union avoidance. She also assists employers with employment-related immigration issues.

• Klossner v. Impact MHC Management, LLC, No. 23-134 (Sup Ct. 2023). US Supreme Court denied plaintiff’s petition for writ of certiorari, thus leaving in place the Eighth Circuit’s decision (64 F.4th 349) in this case arising under the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. The Eighth Circuit held that the district court erred in ordering the landlord to accept plaintiff's housing choice voucher, reasoning that while the statute requires a landlord to make reasonable accommodations that directly ameliorate the handicap of a tenant, that duty does not extend to accommodating a tenant's lack of income by accepting a government housing voucher the landlord would otherwise not accept from a low-income tenant.
• Paskert v. Kemna-ASA Auto Plaza Inc., 2020 WL 7132262 (Sup. Ct. 2020). US Supreme Court denied plaintiff’s petition for writ of certiorari, thus leaving in place the Eighth’s Circuit decision (950 F.3d 535) affirming summary judgment in favor of the employer on claims of sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation.
• Haskenhoff v. Homeland Energy Solutions, Case No. LACV003210 (Iowa District Court for Chickasaw County) (2019). Joined trial team for two-week retrial of sexual harassment suit on remand from Iowa Supreme Court. The jury found, upon admission of liability for an underlying hostile work environment, that an ethanol plant’s officers had not constructively discharged a complaining lab manager.

Education

• University of Iowa College of Law, J.D., 1998, with high distinction
• Central College, B.A., 1995, magna cum laude

Admissions

• Illinois, 1998
• Iowa, 2002
• Nebraska, 2016
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 2002
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, 1998 (Trial Bar 2015)
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, 2002
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, 2002
• U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, 2016
• U.S. Supreme Court, 2020

• Fellow, Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers, 2021-present
• Lawyer of the Year in Des Moines for Labor Law - Management, Best Lawyers, 2025
• Best Lawyers in America, Immigration Law, 2010-2025; Employment Law - Management, 2013-2025; Labor Law - Management, 2013-2025; Litigation - Labor and Employment, 2013-2025
• Lawyer of the Year in Des Moines for Employment Law - Management, Best Lawyers, 2022-2024
• Great Plains Super Lawyers, Employment & Labor, 2016-2024
• Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Iowa - Labor & Employment, 2008-2024
• Award of Merit Honoree, Polk County Bar Association, 2023
• Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, Iowa - Labor & Employment: Immigration, 2010-2013, 2015-2021
• Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated
• Lawyer of the Year in Des Moines for Labor Law - Management, Best Lawyers, 2019
• Great Plains Super Lawyers Rising Star, 2013
• Central College Alumni Award for Personal, Civic and Professional Integrity and Accomplishment, 2012
• Participant/Honoree, American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law Section Leadership Development Program, 2011
• Young Lawyers Division Award of Merit Recipient, Iowa State Bar Association, 2011
• 40 Under 40, Des Moines Business Record, 2009

Professional Activities

• American Bar Association, Member, Labor and Employment Law Section
• American Bar Association Labor & Employment Section’s Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee, Management Co-Chair, FMLA Subcommittee, December 2021-present (previously Committee Fellow 2008-2009, Committee member 2010-present)
• American Bar Association, Vice Chair, Young Lawyers Division Labor and Employment Law Committee, 2008-2009
• Iowa State Bar Association, Chair, Scope & Correlation Committee, 2024-present
• Iowa State Bar Association, Member, Ways and Means Committee, 2022-present
• Iowa State Bar Association, Member, Annual Meeting Committee, 2011-present
• Iowa State Bar Association, Council Member, Section of Labor & Employment, 2004-present
• Iowa State Bar Association, Chair, Scope and Correlations Committee, 2024-2025
• Iowa State Bar Association Board of Governors, District 5C Representative, 2017-2023
• Iowa State Bar Association, Vice Chair, Continuing Legal Education Committee, 2006-2010
• Iowa State Bar Association, President, Young Lawyers Division, 2007-2008
• Iowa State Bar Association, District 5C Representative to Executive Council, Young Lawyers Division, 2003-2005
• Iowa State Bar Association, Professional Development Committee Co-Chair, Young Lawyers Division, 2004-2005
• Iowa State Bar Association, Volunteer Mock Trial Judge
• Polk County Bar Association, Past-President, Board of Directors, (previously President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary and Director)
• Polk County Women Attorneys, Member
• Iowa Legal Aid Central Iowa Regional Office Advisory Council, 2014-present
• Faculty, Central Iowa Society for Human Resource Management HR Law Series, 2011-present
• United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, Merit Selection Panel, 2020-2021
• Iowa Supreme Court Grievance Commission, Member, 2006-2018
• Litigation Counsel of America™, Charter Fellow
• Blackstone Inn of Court, Master of the Bench
• Iowa Law Review, Managing Editor, 1997-1998

Community

• Polk County Volunteer Lawyers Project, Volunteer Lawyer
• The Nutcracker Production, Ballet Des Moines, Volunteer
• Ballet Des Moines, Board of Directors, President, 2022-2024; Board Member, 2014-present
• Girls Rock!DSM Board of Directors, Secretary, 2014-2021
• Woodland Creek Reserve Homeowners Association, Secretary, 2014-present