Profile
Allison D. Balus primarily represents management clients in federal and state court employment-related litigation and arbitration. Her litigation experience includes federal court jury and bench trials in Title VII, FMLA, ADA, ADEA, breach of contract, and whistleblower cases. She has represented employers in the retail, food processing, health care, manufacturing, marketing, professional staffing, transportation, and fast-food industries, among others. In addition, Allison defends employers against charges of discrimination before state and federal agencies and counsels and advocates for employers on a range of employment issues, including drafting and enforcing non-compete agreements, compliance with state and federal employment laws, and responding to civil subpoenas.
Allison also has considerable experience defending and counseling clients in class/collective actions, involving claims under the FLSA and other wage and hour laws, the ADA, GINA, the FCRA, the TCPA, and various data privacy claims. Her successes in these class and collective actions have been at the presuit, class certification, trial, and appellate levels.
In 2002, Allison was conferred her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Georgetown University Law Center. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and French from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1999.
Allison is currently recognized by Benchmark Litigation© as a Labor and Employment Star. Since 2019, Allison has been selected by her peers for inclusion in the Best Lawyers In America© for Labor and Employment Litigation. Allison was selected as Best Lawyers’ Omaha Litigation – Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year in 2022. She is included in Great Plains Super Lawyers in the practice area of Employment Litigation. Since 2021, Allison has been named in Chambers USA. In addition, Allison regularly speaks on employment law topics, including recent presentations for the American Bar Association, the Nebraska State Bar Association, and the Nebraska Council of School Attorneys.
Areas of Practice
Education
- Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., cum laude, 2002
- University of Nebraska at Lincoln, B.A., with distinction, English and French, 1999
Professional & Civic Affiliations
- American Bar Association (2002–present), Member of Labor and Employment and Litigation sections, Member of Fair Labor Standards Legislation and Class Action and Derivative Suits Committees, Employer Co-Chair of Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee (2023-2025); Employer Vice Chair of Pro Bono & Community Outreach Committee (2017–2020); FLSA Midwinter Report Co-Editor-in-Chief (2021-2023), Chapter Editor (2019–2020), Contributing editor (2011, 2012, 2016-2018); Leadership Development Program (2019)
- Nebraska State Bar Association (2006–present), Executive Committee for Labor Relations and Employment Law Section Co-Chair (2017-2018); member (2014–2017)
- Member of United States District Court for the District of Nebraska Federal Practice Committee (2019–present); Chair (2022–2023)
- Member of Iowa Federal Practice Committee (2021–present)
- American Employment Law Council (2023–present)
- Wage & Hour Defense Institute (2018–present)
- Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America (2018–2022)
- Ronald McDonald House of Omaha Board of Directors (2020–present)
- Rose Theater Board of Trustees (2011– present), Executive Committee (2018–present)
- Leadership Omaha, Class 38 (2015–2016)
- Women’s Fund Circles Group (2012-2015)
- Girls’ Inc. GirlFRIENDS Guild (2007–2013), President (2011–2013)
- ICAN Influence Program, Graduate (2007–2008)
- Delta Gamma, Kappa Chapter House Corporation Board (2007–2013)
Bar & Court Admissions
- Iowa, 2011
- Nebraska, 2005
- District of Columbia, 2003
- Virginia, 2002
- United States Supreme Court
- United States Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
- United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
- United States District Court for the District of Nebraska
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
- United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
Selected Practice Highlights
Class Action Highlights:
- 8th Circuit reversal of district court’s Rule 23 certification of 7,000+ member class asserting disparate treatment claims under the ADA (2020)
- Order denying class certification under Rule 23 in Iowa state law independent contractor lawsuit (2019)
- Order compelling arbitration and striking Plaintiff’s collective action allegations based on enforcement of arbitration agreement containing a class action waiver (2016)
- Jury and appellate verdicts in favor of employer in FLSA and state wage and hour law collective/class actions (2011–2015)
- Order denying conditional certification of collective action in FLSA case (2009)
Employment Litigation Highlights:
- Order granting summary judgment on age and retaliation claims (2022)
- 9th Circuit order affirming judgment as a matter of law on ADA failure to hire case (2021)
- Order dismissing TCPA and related state law claims under FRCP 12(b)(2) and 12(b)(6) (2020)
- Preliminary injunction to enforce, in part, a former employee’s noncompete covenant (2020)
- Preliminary injunction restricting former employee who had breached his fiduciary duties and duty of loyalty, as well as misappropriated trade secrets, from soliciting customers for one month (2020)
- Order granting motion for summary judgment on employee’s ADA disparate treatment and unlawful medical inquiry claims related to his fitness-for-duty examination (2020)
- Two 8th Circuit appellate decisions affirming summary judgment for employer in cases involving failure to provide reasonable accommodation under the ADA (2019)
- Stipulated injunction with former employee who had violated his duty of loyalty (2018)
- Stipulated injunction with former employee who had violated his noncompete covenant (2018)
- Order granting summary judgment on employer’s classification of two workers as independent contractors under the FLSA (2017)
Selected Recent Publications
- “COVID-19 Conundrums: How Employers’ Compliance With Employment Laws Has Had To Adapt,” The Nebraska Lawyer, November/December 2020
Recent Speaking Engagements
- “Wage and Hour Case Law Rapid Fire Update”, Wage & Hour Litigation Compliance 2024, PLI, New York City, January 2024
- Retaliation Under the FLSA (ABA Annual Labor & Employment Law Conference – 2023)
- Nuts and Bolts of FLSA Collective Actions (NSBA Labor and Employment Section—2023)
- Chat GPT (AI) Lawyer Ethics (Nebraska Council of School Attorneys—2023)
- Modern Models of Success for Women in Law (panel member at Drinks Among Friends—2023)
- FLSA Hot Topics (ABA FLSL Midwinter Meeting—2023)
- FLSA Hot Topics (ABA FLSL Midwinter Meeting—2022)
- Expert Witnesses in Federal Court: Evaluation through Trial (ISBA Federal Practice Seminar—2021)
- FLSA Case Roundup (ABA LEL Annual Meeting—2021)
- FLSA Hot Topics (ABA FLSL Midwinter Virtual Meeting—2021)
- Wage and Hour Mistakes Health Care Employers Often Make (Iowa Hospital Association webinar—2020).
- FLSA Hot Topics (ABA FLSL Midwinter Meeting—2020)