Pragmatic, collaborative and results-oriented employment counsel

Sean Scullen is a no-nonsense legal professional with a wide array of experience and particular strengths advising on wage and hour issues and mounting solid defenses against class actions. Having deep experience working with employers in the higher education, health care, manufacturing and financial services industries, Sean focuses on:

• Employment law counseling
• Employment litigation and litigation prevention

As a friendly competitor says, Sean impresses both clients and peers as a “lawyer with buckets of common sense.” He works smart and controls costs, develops options and gives clear recommendations, always placing the highest priority on delivering solutions aligned with a client’s business objectives.

Sean is national co-chair of the Quarles Labor & Employment Practice Group.

Bar Admissions

• Wisconsin

Education

• Santa Clara University (B.S., magna cum laude, 1994)
  • Honors Program
  • Phi Beta Kappa

• University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business (Certificate of Executive Management, 2013)

• University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1999)
  • ABA/BNA Award for Outstanding Study in Labor and Employment Law (1999)
  • Order of The Coif

• "Ahead of the Curve. A Look at Business & Legal Trends"
• "COVID-19: Return-to-Work Considerations and Practices"
• "Labor Department Dramatically Changes Interpretation of Independent Contractor Classification"
• "Pausing to Look at the Recent Executive Order on Vaccinations"
• "To Catch a Thief (or Liar): the Nuts and Bolts of Background Checks Under New EEOC Guidance and Existing Wisconsin Law"
• "Unpaid internships are risky business for employers"
• 21 States And More Than 50 Business Groups Seek To Block DOL Overtime Rule
• Epic Fallout: The Future of Arbitration Agreements in the Workplace
• Copying Your Attorney Isn’t Enough to Protect an Email from Disclosure
• Court Finds That Traditional Limits on Restrictive Covenants Do Not Apply to Employee Stock Option Agreement
• Court of Appeals Recognizes Potential "Bad Faith" Claim Arising Out of At-Will Employee Termination
• Data Security and Ransomware Attacks - How It Impacts Employees and Operations
• Department of Labor Proposes Compensation Increases for Overtime Exemption Tests, Including $50,440 Minimum Salary Basis
• Department of Labor's Recent Interpretation Dramatically Changes the Independent Contractor Classification
• DOL Overtime Rule Changes Blocked By Federal Judge
• DOL Overtime Rule Officially Struck Down, What To Expect Next
• DOL's First FAQs on Families First Coronavirus Response Act Answers Some Questions but Leaves Others Open
• Employers Must Disclose Pay Ranges in Job Postings in California
• FMLA Understood – Frequent Mistakes to Legally Avoid
• Governor Doyle Signs Law, Expanding Remedies Under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act to Include Compensatory and Punitive Damages
• Governor Evers Issues Statewide Face Covering Mandate; Legal Challenges Expected
• Guidance for Employers During the Evolving COVID-19 Pandemic
• Hot Topics in Wage and Hour Law
• Immediate Action Required for Employers Seeking Relief From Unemployment Insurance Benefits Charged to Their Accounts Due to COVID-19
• Legislation Poised to Allow Employees to Recover Up to $300,000 in Compensatory and Punitive Damages Under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act
• New DOL Overtime Rules Announced, Minimum Salary of $47,476
• New Federal Leave Requirements: Families First Coronavirus Response Act
• Silent Wisconsin Law Provides Basis for Overtime Claim Despite Federal Exemption
• Supreme Court Decision Gives Businesses A Powerful Tool Against Employee Class Actions
• Sweeping Changes Proposed To Wisconsin Law Governing The Enforceability of Non-Competition Agreements
• The Department of Labor is at it Again: DOL's New Interpretation Makes Joint Employment "As Broad As Possible" Under FLSA
• The DOL Changes Clothes: New Interpretation Affects "Protective Equipment" and Expands Compensable Activities
• The DTSA Becomes Law: Impact on Employee Confidentiality Agreements
• Time Off From Work For Voting Under Wisconsin Law
• Time Off From Work For Voting Under Wisconsin Law
• U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Class Action Waivers in Arbitration Agreements Are Enforceable
• Update on Timing of Department of Labor’s Final Overtime Rules
• We're Not in Fairyland Anymore - Recent Ruling Gives Life to the DOL's Home Care Rule
• Wisconsin Business Closing Law Amendments Require Additional Information to Affected Employees
• “2018 Hot Topics in Wage and Hour Law”
• “Epic Victory: Arbitration Agreements in the Workplace”
• “Avoiding and Defending Class Actions Part Two: Employment and Wage and Hour Collective and Class Actions”
• “Best Workplace Practices and Policies to Address Harassment”
• “From FLSA to CAFA and SLUSA: The ABCs and Ethics in Defending Mass, Collective and Class Actions”
• “Here’s the recipe for a safe office holiday party”
• “Social Media: HR Issues in the Blogosphere”
• “Wage and Hour Compliance and Class Action Considerations”
• “Wage and Hour Hot Topics: Independent Contractors (what are they?); Fluctuating Work Week (the new DOL Position); Pre and Post Shift Work – Including Donning & Doffing Claims; and the Dukes Impact on Wage and Hour Class/Collective Actions”
• “Wisconsin Labor & Employment Symposium”

Seminar

• 2017 Annual Legal Ethics Seminar
• Epic Victory: Arbitration Agreements in the Workplace
• Annual Labor & Employment Law Symposium - Listen. Execute. Succeed.
• Annual Labor & Employment Symposium
• Annual Labor & Employment Symposium - Get the Big Picture
• Best Practices When Your Employee is Hired by (or from) a Competitor
• BREAKING - New DOL Overtime Rules Announced, Minimum Salary Of $47,476, What You Need To Know To Be Compliant
• Business Law Training: Are You Ready for 2023? U.S. Data Privacy Developments and Your Employee Data
• COVID-19: Return-to-Work Considerations and Practices
• Data Security and Ransomware Attacks - How It Impacts Employees and Operations
• Developing In-House Skills: Pathways to Success at Every Level
• End of The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency 
• EXTRA WEBINAR ADDED – New DOL Overtime Rules Announced, Minimum Salary Of $47,476, What You Need To Know To Be Compliant
• FMLA Understood - Frequent Mistakes to Legally Avoid
• Guidance for Employers During the Evolving COVID-19 Pandemic
• Hot Topics in Wage and Hour Law
• Is the ETS a Stay or Will It Go? Understanding OSHA's Vaccination Mandate
• Pausing to Look at the Recent Executive Order on Vaccinations
• Video Replay | 2017 Annual Legal Ethics Seminar
• Wage and Hour Issues in Healthcare
• What’s Next in LGBTQ+ Rights: Bostock and Beyond