Profile
R.J. (Randy) Stevenson represents private and public employers in all aspects of employment and labor relations law, including matters involving workplace safety and health (OSHA) across the United States. He is one of only a handful of labor and employment lawyers in the region who has been elected a Fellow of “The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers,” the premier peer-selected organization of labor and employment lawyers in North America. Admission is by invitation only, following a rigorous screening process. He is also a peer-elected Fellow of The Nebraska State Bar Foundation and The American Bar Foundation, honorary societies of lawyers and judges who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the profession and service to society. Membership in The American Bar Foundation is strictly limited to not more than one percent (1%) of lawyers and judges in the United States.
Since 2003, Randy has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in the fields of Employment Law and Labor Law, and was previously named that publication’s “Labor Law – Management Lawyer of the Year” for Omaha and its 2017 and 2023 “Employment Law – Management Lawyer of the Year.” He has been listed for many years in Great Plains Super Lawyers®, Chambers USA, America’s Leading Lawyers for Business® (“Band A”), and in Martindale-Hubbell® with an “AV” rating. Additionally, Randy is listed as a “Midwest Star” in Benchmark, America’s Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys®.
Randy served as the Chair of the firm’s Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Law Group from 1996 to 2023. He is a past Chair of the Nebraska State Bar Association’s Labor Relations and Employment Law Section and has served on the boards of numerous community, professional, and civic groups. Randy was also a former Adjunct Faculty member at Creighton University’s School of Law and regularly guest lectures there regarding employment law.
Areas of Practice
Education
- University of Nebraska College of Law, J.D., 1985
- University of Nebraska at Omaha, B.S., Business Administration, 1982
Bar & Court Admissions
- Nebraska, 1985
- Iowa, 1996
Professional & Civic Affiliations
- Fellow of The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
- Fellow of The Nebraska State Bar Foundation
- Former Chair of the Nebraska State Bar Association’s Labor Relations and Employment Law section
- Former Legal Counsel for the University of Nebraska at Omaha Alumni Association
- Recipient, 2021 “Alumni Award for Excellence in Public Service” given by the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s College of Public Affairs and Community Service
- Former Legal Counsel for the Human Resources Association of the Midlands
- Legal Counsel for Better Business Bureau serving Nebraska, South Dakota, the Kansas Plains, and Southwest Iowa
- Legal Counsel for nonprofit Heartland Family Service
- Elder, Dundee Presbyterian Church
- Former board member, Metropolitan Community College Foundation and Westside Community Schools Foundation
Selected Practice Highlights
- Recognized legal authority regarding COVID-19 issues affecting the workplace. Has been interviewed regarding the topic on affiliates for ABC, Fox, and NBC. Has also been interviewed and extensively quoted in local and national newspapers, including the Omaha World-Herald and the Miami Herald, on COVID-19 employment law concerns
- Successfully represented hundreds of employers in OSHA cases in construction, general industry, and agriculture on a national basis, including over 50 cases involving workplace fatalities. Obtained the complete withdrawal of numerous citations and penalties at both the informal conference stage and in litigation
- Effectively represented employers in the labor relations area from union organizing to the successful negotiation of operationally-sound collective bargaining agreements
- Routinely works with employers to avoid litigation by training supervisors, managers, and employees regarding legal compliance and best practices
- Advised and represented numerous employers on EEO matters before numerous state and federal equal employment agencies
- Successfully defending against numerous wage and hour and child labor claims brought by the USDOL’s Wage & Hour Division
Representative Reported Cases
- Lakes Regional Healthcare and Lakes Regional Healthcare Nurses Assn., 13 HO 8430 (Iowa Pub. Emp. Rel. Bd. 2013)
- C & L Industries, Inc. v. Kiviranta, 13 Neb. App. 604 (Neb. Ct. App. 2005)
- Millard Refrigerated Services, Inc. and United Food & Commercial Workers Local Union 230, 345 NLRB No. 95 (2005)
- St. Luke’s Health System, Inc. and United Food and Commercial Workers Local Union 222, 340 NLRB No. 139 (2003)
- Millard Refrigerated Services, Inc. and United Steelworkers of America, AFL–CIO–CLC, 326 NLRB No. 156 (1998)
- Iowa State Bank of Hamburg v. Trail, 234 Neb. 59, 449 N.W.2d 520 (Neb. S. Ct. 1989)
Selected Recent Publications
- “COVID-19 Conundrums: How Employers’ Compliance With Employment Laws Has Had To Adapt,” The Nebraska Lawyer, November/December 2020
- “OSHA Inspections: A Survival Guide, ” USLAW Magazine, Fall/Winter 2013
Recent Speaking Engagements
- Creighton Law Review 2022 Symposium: Once in a Century – Employment Law and the Legal Legacy of COVID-19 (March 2022)
- Nebraska State Bar Association’s Labor Relations and Employment Law Section: The Work Environment After Coronavirus (October 2021)