Susan focuses her practice on labor, employment, and OSHA compliance, defense, and crisis response. Susan’s practice includes comprehensive OSHA representation of employers across all industry sectors. Her OSHA practice includes compliance assistance, training, citation defense, participation in rulemaking, appellate administrative litigation, whistleblower cases, creation/oversight of PSM/RMP and general OSHA audit programs, and fatality/serious injury accident investigations. She has substantial experience guiding organizations through infectious disease outbreak response and related compliance with the myriad of applicable safety, labor, employment, and public health requirements.

Susan has over 30 years of experience representing employers in all other aspects of the employer-employee relationship as well, including discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, tort claims, contract claims, defamation, wrongful discharge, trade secret, covenants not to compete, duty of loyalty, wage/hour, retaliation, FMLA, ADA, and WARN Act. She has particularly broad experience regarding accommodation and leave issues, with a keen understanding of the interplay between federal/state family and medical leave laws, federal/state disability laws, state/local sick pay and paid family leave laws, OSHA, and workers’ compensation. Her experience extends to representation of employers with unionized workforces and includes collective bargaining, labor arbitration, and unfair labor practice matters and advice relating to contract compliance and grievance handling. She has handled numerous large and small reductions in force and voluntary retirement programs.

Susan conducts and oversees investigations following workplace accidents and infectious disease outbreak as part of her OSHA work. She also is a “go-to” lawyer for crises relating to allegations of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation involving senior and executive leadership. She has a significant track record of meticulous and thoughtful investigative work.

Susan is admitted to practice in the Virginia state courts, Eastern and Western Federal District Courts of Virginia, District of Columbia Superior Court, District of Columbia Federal District Court, Federal District Court of Maryland, Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and US Supreme Court. She has represented employers in employment and/or OSHA/MSHA litigation in almost every state in the continental United States.

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, Wake Forest University School of Law, cum laude, 1989

BA, English and Government, The College of William & Mary, 1984

• Develops, implements and audits occupational safety and health compliance programs.
• Files comments on behalf of employers with respect to proposed OSHA regulatory changes.
• Counsels employers regarding OSHA obligations and provides representation in citation contests.
• Represents employers in lawsuits and agency proceedings in cases involving employment discrimination, harassment, whistleblower, employment torts, contract disputes, retaliation, reduction in force, FLSA, FMLA, and wrongful discharge.
• Trains managers and employees on preventative practices to avoid employment litigation.
• Assists companies with the preparation of emergency response plans to address infectious disease outbreaks and other natural and man-made disasters.
• Counsels employers with respect to all facets of the employer/employee relationship, including discrimination and harassment issues, wage and hours issues, safety and health issues, covenants not to compete, and confidentiality agreements.
• Counsels companies regarding access and accommodation obligations under Title III of the ADA
• Reviews and prepares employee handbooks, corporate policies and employment agreements.
• Represents unionized employer with respect to all aspects of collective bargaining relationship, including contract negotiation, contract interpretation, grievances, arbitration and defense of unfair labor practices.
• Represents employers in state law unfair competition, trade secret and business tort cases.
• MSHA advice and representation to mining companies.
• Advice to and representation of federal contractors regarding their anti-discrimination, affirmative action, Davis-Bacon and other legal compliance issues. Preparation of affirmative action plans.
• Preparation, negotiation, and litigation of executive employment agreements.
• Particular focus on emerging issues, such as the role of social media in the workplace.

• Member, American Bar Association

• Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, 2016

• Biden's Nominee to Lead OSHA May Signal Increased Enforcement Scrutiny

  By Susan Wiltsie |April 2021

• OSHA Issues Proposed Rule Regarding Electronic Submission Requirements

  By Susan Wiltsie |August 2018

• Considerations for retail employers before mandating the COVID-19 vaccine, Westlaw Retail YIR
• Getting Hot in Here: Workplace Safety Regulators Address Employee Heat Illnesses, Retail Industry 2022 Year in Review
• Assessing Repeal of OSHA’s Injury Reporting Rule, Law360
• What OSHA ‘Severe Violator’ Updates Mean For Employers, Law360
• OSHA Is Falling For You, Facility Executive
• Davis Bacon Obligations under ARRA, Hunton & Williams Renewable Energy Quarterly
• New Regulation Extends CalOSHA COVID Enforcement into 2025, Society for Human Resource Management
• OSHA Walk-Around Proposal Opens Inspection To Outsiders, Industry Today
• H1N1 Preparation for Virginia Lawyers and Employers, VBA Journal
• Chasing Compliance—A Year of Uncertainty in COVID-19 Workplace Safety Law, Retail Industry 2021 Year in Review
• Legal and Practical Consideration Associated With COVID-19 Vaccine Programs for Electric Cooperative, NRECA Legal Reporting Service, vol. 57 no. 1
• Workplace safety in the time of COVID-19, Thomson Reuters Westlaw
• NLRB and OSHA to Enhance Enforcement Cooperation, Occupational Health & Safety
• OSHA Is Finalizing COVID-19 Rule for Health Care Employers, SHRM
• Balancing Workplace Safety with Employment Protections for Cannabis Use, Risk Management
• Three Key Things in Health Care
• 2020 Retail Industry Year in Review
• 2023 Retail Industry Year in Review