Kristy L. Albrecht

Kristy is a shareholder in Fargo, ND and a member of the Employment, Labor & Benefits, Litigation and Appellate groups. She advises employers on a variety of employment law issues, including hiring, firing, discipline, employee leave laws, employee handbooks, drug and alcohol policies and separation agreements.

Additionally, Kristy advises and defends motor carriers on Department of Transportation (DOT) issues, particularly focusing on compliance and audit work under the regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. An experienced litigator, she represents clients before state and federal agencies and in state and federal court on various types of claims, such as workers’ compensation (WSI), unemployment insurance, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination and trade secrets violations.

Employment Related Litigation

• Successfully represented client before district court in overturning grant of workers’ compensation benefits by the Workforce Safety & Insurance.
• Successfully represented clients in defending against claims for workers’ compensation benefits.
• Successfully represented clients before the EEOC and the North Dakota Department of Labor on various charges of discrimination and/or retaliation.
• Successfully represented clients before the U.S. District Court on discrimination and retaliation claims, as well as claims alleging violation of the FMLA.
• Successfully represented client in a FINRA arbitration, defending against a multimillion claims under the Equal Pay Act and Title VII, as well as various state contract and common-law theories; all claims were denied.

Training & Counseling

• Advised clients on employment discipline and termination issues, including policy development, documentation, and termination procedures.
• Counseled clients on social media issues.
• Prepared severance and separation agreements.
• Prepared policies and employee handbooks, and counseled clients regarding the same
• Prepared employment agreements.
• Advised clients on enforceability of non-compete agreements, non-solicitation agreements, and trade secrets issues, providing guidance on entering into, complying with, and enforcing such agreements.
• Advised clients on various wage and hour issues, including employee classification and overtime issues.
• Defended clients during wage and hour audits.
• Advised clients on injury, leave, and disability accommodation issues under the ADA, the FMLA, and state workers’ compensation statutes.

Other Litigation

• Secured and successfully defended before the Minnesota Court of Appeals an order dismissing claims brought under the Open Records Law and the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, as well as a claim seeking declaratory judgment regarding authority to purchase land; Vik v. Wild Rice Watershed District, No. 54-CV-08-454 (Minn. Ct. App. Aug. 10, 2010). (unpublished)
• Successfully represented more than 100 individual plaintiffs suffering personal injuries in railroad litigation.
• Secured order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit on behalf of injured plaintiffs, rejecting the defendant’s arguments of preemption under the Federal Railroad Safety Act of 1970, as amended in 2007, as well as various constitutional arguments. Successfully defended against a petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States on the Eighth Circuit decision; Lundeen v. Canadian Pac. Ry. Co., 532 F.3d 682 (8th Cir. 2008), cert. denied 129 S. Ct. 2379 (2009).

Education

• University of Iowa College of Law, J.D., 1995, high honors
• Jamestown College, B.A., Music Education/Piano Performance, 1983, summa cum laude

Admissions

• North Dakota
• Minnesota
• U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota
• U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Clerkships

• Clerk, Honorable David R. Hansen, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 1995-1997

• Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law - Management, 2020-2025
• Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, North Dakota - Labor & Employment 2005-2024
• Great Plains Super Lawyers, Employment & Labor, 2011-2018, 2020-2024
• Lawyer of the Year in Fargo for Employment Law - Management, Best Lawyers, 2021
• North Star Lawyer, Minnesota State Bar Association, 2012, 2016-2018, 2020-2021
• Dorsey & Whitney Scales of Justice Award, 2002 & 2009
• Hancher Finkbine Award for Learning, Leadership and Loyalty, University of Iowa, 1995
• Order of the Coif

Professional Activities

• University of North Dakota School of Law, Adjunct Professor, 2006-2007
• American Bar Association, Member
• Minnesota State Bar Association, Member
• State Bar of North Dakota, Member
• Iowa State Bar Association (inactive), Member
• Cass County Bar Association, Member
• Iowa Law Review, Editor in Chief, 1994-1995; Member, 1993-1995