Thomas A. Shumaker II ("Tom") represents employees, businesses, federal contractors and organizations across Virginia, assisting them with the full spectrum of their Employment and Labor law needs. Clients value Mr. Shumaker’s exceptionally keen judgment and insight, informed by his combined 29 years of experience in labor and employment litigation and 30+ years of executive-level management, including 13 years serving as a Military officer in the United States Marine Corps. Tom is honored by his peer-review rating of “Preeminent”, the highest possible rating, on Martindale Hubble.
Attorney Shumaker now brings that strategic expertise to his own law firm, Employment Law Virginia, where he assists employees in a wide variety of workplace-related disputes; and counsels business owners on legal and regulatory compliance risk mitigation.
Mr. Shumaker’s vast depth and breadth of experience includes 14 years as in-house council for Norfolk Southern Corporation—a Fortune 500 international corporation with over 30,000 employees across 22 states and Canada, where he managed Employment and Labor law, OSHA practice, and supervised inside and outside counsel litigating hundreds of Labor law, Employment law and personal injury lawsuits. He is recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as a "Top 100" Civil Plaintiff's attorney.
Shumaker’s previous practice with two national Law Firms involved civil litigation trial and appellate work in numerous U.S. District Courts on behalf of large, multi-state employers including Bayer, Proctor & Gamble, University of Pittsburgh Medical System and PNC Bank. Mr. Shumaker has extensive experience in case investigations and discovery, taking and defending depositions, mediation, administrative hearings, valuing cases, and settlement negotiations. His trial work, as the first or second chair and supervising litigation teams, demonstrates a very high success rate.
Mr. Shumaker assists clients seeking to file, resolve and/or prevent violations and claims related to:
Discrimination
Harassment
Whistleblower and Other Retaliation
COVID-19 Workplace & Employment Issues
Disability, Pregnancy, Transgender, and other Workplace Accommodations
Wrongful Discharge
Workplace Safety
Workplace Injury
Entitlement to Employee Benefits
Employee Handbooks
Human Resource Law
Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures
Wage-hour Pay, Classification, and Overtime Violations
Recruitment, Retention, Compensation and Promotion Practices
Family Medical Leave (FMLA)
Downsizing and Severance Agreements
Employment Contracts
Misappropriation of Trade Secrets and Confidential Information
Breach of Contract
Restrictive Covenants (eg.,“non-competes”)
Business Law
Business Litigation
Unfair Competition
NLRA claims and OSHA investigations
OFCCP and EEOC
Military Employee Rights & Violations
Labor Union Disputes
Worker’s Compensation
Civil Litigation
Drug Testing
Employee Health and Incentives Programs
WARN Act
Alternate Dispute Resolution
Other labor and employment-related business matters
Mr. Shumaker’s Labor law experience includes unionization elections, picketing, strikes, Unfair Labor Practices charges, and compliance with the Davis Bacon and Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Acts. He also offers counsel on Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiation strategies.
In addition to litigation, Attorney Shumaker’s labor & employment practice focuses on the analysis and primary prevention of employment and labor relations issues. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” In this role, he counsels Senior Management, Human Resources, and Labor Relations on the application of employment and labor law, and reviews corporate and subsidiary practices for proactive risk mitigation and regulatory compliance. Mr. Shumaker has written numerous policies, procedures and Affirmative Action Plans to ensure compliance with changing EEOC and OFCCP regulations, and has extensive experience in responding to those agencies’ investigations and audits.
Attorney Shumaker regularly assists the military and law enforcement communities with their legal needs.
Following his U.S. Naval Academy education, Tom served active duty in the United States Marine Corps, 2nd Battalion/2nd Marines as an infantry officer. During and following his law school education, his service continued in the U.S.M.C. Reserves, where he served as Executive Officer of the Military Police unit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
“Employment issues are stressful and emotional for all involved parties. If you have a legitimate claim or defense, I can help you. If I don’t believe that you will prevail, I’ll tell you and not waste your time and money. I’m always a phone call away and ready to help.”
—Tom Shumaker, Esq.
Admissions
1994 - Pennsylvania
2005 - Virginia
Education
U.S. Naval Academy, B.S. Mechanical Eng. (1986)
University of Pittsburg, JD (1994)
University of Virginia, Executive Leadership Training
