During her 20-plus years with the firm, Donesky has developed a robust employment practice in three distinct areas of employer defense: (1) counseling and litigation related to discrimination and retaliation claims; (2) wage and hour; and (3) non-compete litigation. 

From her time as a summer associate, Donesky began working on matters for one of the firm’s long-standing transportation clients. “I began working on matters for them from the beginning of my career at the firm. Now, James Bertrand and I manage this client relationship, and over the years, my practice evolved with an emphasis on the transportation industry. Now, I am purposeful about engaging young associates so they can obtain good litigation experience. Learning to grow and nurture client relationships was pivotal to my career success, and I strive to provide that experience to others as well.” 

Within her transportation practice, one of Donesky’s niches is defending railroads against retaliation claims under the Federal Railroad Safety Act (FSRA). “It is a two-page statute that has been a substantial part of my practice since 2009, with a lot of industry claims being brought under this statute.” 

Her defense of retaliation claims has resulted in several important appellate victories. In one instance, Donesky obtained a reversal of a plaintiff-favorable decision from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of a Class I railroad, wherein the Eighth Circuit ruled that the lower court committed reversible error by applying the improper legal standard under the FRSA. In another appellate victory, she obtained the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ affirmance of the District Court’s summary judgment in defense of a Class I railroad’s dismissal of an employee who pursued claims of reverse-gender discrimination and FRSA retaliation. Donesky also recently prevailed on a federal district court matter where the court for the first time applied equitable doctrines to preclude a FRSA plaintiff’s opt-out to federal court. 

“I am particularly proud of these outcomes because they made a difference in the development of the law,” she says. Her practice has evolved across industries, as more employers across different industries face these types of claims. “The FRSA statute is one of over a dozen similarly structured whistleblower statutes (the Sarbanes-Oxley Act being one of them) enforced by OSHA, and much of the law applies analogously. When a claim arises under any one of these statutes, we are prepared to handle it.” 

With regard to Donesky’s wage and hour practice, she helped to obtain a notable appellate decision from the Eighth Circuit in a matter involving pizza delivery drivers, which remains precedent. Donesky is also a 12-year member of the Wage and Hour Defense Institute (WHDI), a national network of recognized practitioners in wage and hour litigation with local knowledge covering all 13 federal circuits. Donesky recently completed a three-year term serving as its chair.