Kevin Koronka

Kevin focuses his practice on labor and employment. Frequently working with healthcare systems and providers, Kevin advises and defends employers on a wide range of issues, including high level investigations, leave and accommodation concerns, discrimination and harassment matters, non-competition agreements, reductions in force and sensitive terminations.

Firm/Organization: Husch Blackwell LLP

Blogs: Byte Back, Healthcare Law Insights, Labor Relations Law Insider, Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation Industry Insider

Latest Articles

Healthcare Law Insights

Fifth Circuit Rules Harassment By Patients In The Healthcare Industry Deserves Special Consideration, But Employer May Still Be Liable

By Kevin Koronka & Leslie Basque on February 19, 2019

Courts recognize the complication that exists when determining what constitutes actionable harassment where a healthcare employee is a caretaker for a patient with diminished capacity. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reviewed this issue in a Title VII case that highlights the risks posed to employers in the healthcare and social assistance industries by patient harassment and violence: Gardner v. CLC of Pascagoula, LLC, No. 17-60072 (February 6, 2019). In Gardner, the Fifth…

Healthcare Law Insights

Judgment Entered in Equal Pay Case for Female Physician

By Kevin Koronka & Leslie Basque on November 1, 2018

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Denton County Public Health Department resolved a lawsuit brought against the county over alleged pay discrimination through a final judgment issued on October 24, 2018.…

Healthcare Law Insights

Austin City Council to Consider Mandatory Paid Sick Leave

By Kevin Koronka & Leslie Basque on February 14, 2018

The Austin City Council is scheduled to vote Thursday, February 15 on a proposed city ordinance which would require all private businesses in the city to offer employees at least 8 paid sick days (or 64 sick leave hours) annually. Under the proposed ordinance, employees would accrue 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, with the ability to start using the sick leave as soon as it is earned. If passed,…

Healthcare Law Insights

Department of Labor Announces Stricter “Primary Beneficiary” Test for Interns

By Kevin Koronka & Leslie Basque on January 9, 2018

As is par for the course with the start of a new presidential administration, many changes to employment laws are anticipated, with several already underway. The most recent of which is the test used to determine whether interns must be classified as employees for purposes of the Federal Labor Standards Act. The question of when a person stops being an intern and starts being an actual employee has long been a gray area. On January 5,…

Healthcare Law Insights

Fifth Circuit decision finds new exception to at-will employment: employee gun rights

By W. Stephen Cockerham, Kevin Koronka & Leslie Basque on August 11, 2016

Recently, Husch Blackwell partners Stephen Cockerham and Kevin Koronka presented a webinar to Texas employers concerning the impact legislation concerning gun rights may have on employers. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal appellate court with jurisdiction over Texas federal district courts, recently released a decision concerning employee gun rights of which employers, particularly those with Mississippi employees, should take note.…

Healthcare Law Insights

Austin becomes first Texas city to “Ban the Box”

By Kevin Koronka & Joel Bagby on April 13, 2016

A new ordinance went into effect April 4, 2016, which prohibits many employers in Austin from asking job applicants about their criminal histories until they’re well into the hiring process. The Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance, colloquially known as the “Ban the Box” measure, will forbid most employers from considering an applicant’s criminal record until after making a conditional offer of employment. Thus, Austin employers must evaluate whether the ordinance will affect their operations and, if so,…

Byte Back

Cat’s away, mice will play: Workplace video surveillance

By Kevin Koronka & Joel Bagby on May 5, 2015

Employers commonly use video surveillance for safety, security, loss prevention, and employee productivity monitoring. But employers’ legitimate business interests in protecting assets and safeguarding the workplace must be carefully balanced with employees’ reasonable expectations of privacy. As the definition of workplace privacy continues to develop, employers must be conscious of the evolving legal risks of workplace monitoring.…

Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation Industry Insider

High Court Blows the Whistle on Private Employers

By Kevin Koronka on March 10, 2014

The U.S. Supreme Court extended the whistle-blower protections provided in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to include employees of privately held companies that are contractors or subcontractors of a public company. The high court’s ruling in Lawson v. FMR LLC, marks a significant expansion of the statute and opens the door for claims of a new class of workers from roughly 5,000 public companies to potentially 6 million private ones, including even the smallest “Mom and…

Technology, Manufacturing & Transportation Industry Insider

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished – Unpaid Internships Can Be Very Costly

By Kevin Koronka on December 20, 2013

The New Year is fast approaching and with it comes droves of college students seeking to trade their upcoming summer break for valuable on-the-job training. This rite of passage has traditionally afforded prized experience and training for a student or recent grad, while allowing the employer to review the temperament and talents of the student to determine if she would be a cultural fit for possible future employment opportunities, and all-the-while, promoting the employer’s brand…

Labor Relations Law Insider

Senate Confirms Griffin as New NLRB General Counsel

By Kevin Koronka on November 6, 2013

A divided U.S. Senate confirmed President Obama’s nomination of Richard Griffin, Jr., to serve as the NLRB’s General Counsel, positioning the former union lawyer with the power to decide when to investigate and prosecute companies charged with unfair labor practices. The Senate approved Griffin mainly along party lines by a vote of 55-44, highlighting the political division resulting from his nomination. Indeed, Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee revealed his disappointment stating “I’m concerned about…

Kevin Koronka

Fifth Circuit Rules Harassment By Patients In The Healthcare Industry Deserves Special Consideration, But Employer May Still Be Liable

Judgment Entered in Equal Pay Case for Female Physician

Austin City Council to Consider Mandatory Paid Sick Leave

Department of Labor Announces Stricter “Primary Beneficiary” Test for Interns

Fifth Circuit decision finds new exception to at-will employment: employee gun rights

Austin becomes first Texas city to “Ban the Box”

Cat’s away, mice will play: Workplace video surveillance

High Court Blows the Whistle on Private Employers

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished – Unpaid Internships Can Be Very Costly

Senate Confirms Griffin as New NLRB General Counsel

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