Caroline J. Sundbaum

Caroline J. Sundbaum

Associate
Portland, OR
P: 503.294.9222
Overview

About Caroline

Caroline Sundbaum represents companies in employment lawsuits and has experience defending everything from complex wage & hour class actions to sensitive sexual harassment claims. She is an experienced trial attorney and former public defender who looks at the big picture and knows when to aggressively litigate and when to make a case quickly go away.

Clients also rely on Caroline for their day-to-day business needs, be it hiring a new executive, terminating a long-term employee, or training managers on the latest employment laws and trends. Caroline helps lead the firm’s COVID-19 task force, a cross-practice, cross-jurisdictional team dedicated to coordinating guidance for clients impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic. She regularly advises employers on legal issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, including leave laws, ADA issues, and workplace policies regarding employee travel, medical screenings, and temperature checks.

Caroline is an enthusiastic and hands-on attorney who thoroughly enjoys helping her clients through their workplace needs.

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Experience

Experience

Employment Litigation

  • Represented manufacturing client in federal employment discrimination lawsuit brought by applicant who claimed company failed to hire him because of his age. Obtained complete summary judgment, resulting in complete dismissal of plaintiff’s claims.
  • Represented hospitality client in federal wage and hour class action lawsuit and obtained a favorable settlement during mediation.
  • Represented timber client in sexual harassment lawsuit brought by a former employee and obtained a nominal damages verdict following federal jury trial.
  • Represented timber client in federal age discrimination lawsuit brought by a former employee and obtained summary judgment, resulting in complete dismissal of plaintiff’s claims.
  • Represented healthcare client in sexual orientation and disability discrimination lawsuit brought by a current employee and obtained complete dismissal after taking employee’s deposition and obtaining favorable admissions.
  • Represented client in wage and hour case brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act and successfully defeated plaintiff’s motion for collective action certification.

Advice & Counsel

  • Regularly advises on workplace issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including FFCRA leave, ADA issues, vaccinations, and return to work considerations.
  • Successfully defended numerous charges filed with the EEOC, BOLI, and other state agencies against employers in various industries, including healthcare, timber, grocery, and technology.
  • Regularly counsels management on issues related to pay equity, family medical leave, sick leave, and disability law.
  • Regularly conducts management training on sexual harassment, disability accommodations, workplace investigations, leave laws, and equal pay/ pay equity.
  • Regularly provides guidance on employment-related aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions, including wage and hour issues.
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Honors

Honors & Activities

Professional Honors & Activities

  • Member, Oregon State Bar, Labor & Employment Section
  • Member, Oregon Association of Defense Counsel
  • Member, Multnomah County Bar Association
  • Member, Federal Bar Association, Labor & Employment Section
  • Included in Best Lawyers®: Ones to Watch in America (Litigation – Labor and Employment), 2021–2023
  • Listed among Rising Stars (Employment Litigation: Defense), Oregon Super Lawyers®, 2018–2021

Civic Activities

  • Member, Board of Directors, Pathfinders of Oregon
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Insights & Presentations

Insights & Presentations

  • Regularly contributes to the Stoel Rives World of Employment blog
  • Presenter, “Oregon Paid Family Medical Leave—Are You Prepared?” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, October 2022
  • Presenter, “The Delta Variant: What Do Employers Do Now?” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, August 2021
  • Presenter, “Returning to In-Person Work,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, May 2021
  • Presenter, “Mastering the Fundamentals: The ADA and the Interactive Process,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, April 2021
  • Presenter, “The Leave Law Jigsaw Puzzle,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 19th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 2021
  • Presenter, “COVID Vaccines: Implications and Considerations for Employers,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, January 2021
  • Presenter, “Webinar — Oregon COVID-Related OSHA Rules Update,” Stoel Rives LLP, November 2020
  • Presenter, “Managing the COVID-Era Workplace: Back-to-School Challenges,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, August 2020
  • Presenter, “Managing the COVID-Era Workplace Part 1: The ADA, Wage and Hour Laws, and Other Considerations,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, June 2020
  • Presenter, “Taming the COVID-19 Chaos: What Employers Need to Know Part 6,” Stoel Rives LLP webinar, April 2020
  • Presenter, “Reasonable Accommodations,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 18th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, February 2020
  • Presenter, “Preventing Workplace Harassment & Conducting Effective Workplace Investigations,” Client Presentation, September 2019
  • Presenter, “Drug Testing and New Employment Laws for 2020,” Oregon Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association’s Winter Workshop, January 2020
  • Presenter, “The Bermuda Triangle of Leave Laws,” Lower Columbia Human Resource Management Association, May 2019
  • Presenter, “Oregon’s New Equal Pay Act,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 17th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, February 2019
  • Co-author, “Ten Things Oregon Employers Should Do Regarding Pay Equity,” Portland Business Journal, January 2019
  • Presenter, “Labor & Employment Seminar – Oregon’s Pay Equity Law: It’s Here – Are You Ready?” Stoel Rives LLP, January 2019
  • Presenter, “Employment Law Updates,” Agricultural Law, The Seminar Group, July 2018
  • Presenter, “Understanding, Implementing, & Monitoring The 2017 Equal Pay Act,” Labor and Employment Relations Association, June 2018
  • Presenter, “Lightning Round: Staying Anchored with Your Top 10 Legal Updates,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 16th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, February 2018
  • Presenter, “The Bermuda Triangle of FMLA, ADA, and Sick Leave,” SHRM/Stoel Rives 16th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, February 2018
  • Presenter, “A Jigsaw Puzzle of Leave Laws,” client presentation, May 2017
  • Presenter, “Working with Veterans: From Recruitment to Employment,” Oregon Southwest Washington Industry Liaison Group, March 2017
  • Presenter, “Oregon Sick Leave,” SHRM/ Stoel Rives 15th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 2017
  • Presenter, “Legal Updates,” SHRM/ Stoel Rives 15th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 2017
  • Presenter, “Privacy in the Workplace; Handling Employee Medical Information and Personal Data,” Stoel Rives Seminar, April 2016
  • Presenter, “Best Practices in Hiring/ Onboarding New Employees,” SHRM/ Stoel Rives 14th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference, March 2016
  • Co-author, “Looking Beyond Marriage Equality: Expanding LGBT Workplace Protections,” Oregon Civil Rights Newsletter, December 2015



Related News & Publications

Do Employees Still Have to Wear a Mask? - 4/14/2021
FFCRA Update: What the March 2021 Federal Stimulus Bill Means for COVID-19-Related Leave - 3/11/2021
EEOC Publishes New Guidance Regarding COVID-19 Vaccines - 12/17/2020
Oregon OSHA Issues Sample Materials for Required Employee Training and Releases Delayed Enforcement Memorandum - 12/8/2020
Oregon Issues New COVID-19 Guidance for Employers, Including Updated Face Covering Requirements - 11/19/2020
Oregon Orders a Statewide “Freeze” Due to COVID-19 Surge, Closing Some Businesses, Restricting Bars and Restaurants to Takeout, and Further Limiting Social Gatherings - 11/13/2020
BOLI Permanently Expands OFLA for Eligible Working Parents Impacted by COVID-19 - 9/15/2020
FFCRA Update: DOL Issues New Guidance Regarding Childcare Leave - 8/31/2020
Oregon Now Requires Face Coverings in Public and Private Offices - 8/20/2020
Face Coverings Are Now Required for Employees of Select Oregon Businesses - 6/16/2020
Oregon Employers in Counties Entering Phase II May Begin Limited Return to Office Work; Remote Work Is Still Recommended - 6/8/2020
Oregon Issues New COVID-19 Guidance for Employers as Most Counties Enter Phase 2 - 6/5/2020
Face Coverings Are Now Required for Employees of Select Oregon Businesses - 5/18/2020
COVID-19 Update: FFCRA Leave for Childcare Closures May Extend Beyond the End of the School Year - 4/29/2020
COVID-19: Updates on State Plans to Reopen - 4/24/2020
Navigating ADA Issues in the Time of COVID-19: Four Situations Employers Should Be Prepared For - 4/15/2020
FFCRA Eligibility and Employee Leave Requests - 4/6/2020
UPDATE: Congress Passes Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act - 3/27/2020
Oregon Governor Announces “Stay Home” Order - 3/23/2020
COVID-19 – Information Updates - 3/13/2020
Workplace Issues Related to COVID-19 - 3/10/2020
Pay, Leave, and Scheduling Issues Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) - 3/4/2020
Oregon Supreme Court Affirms That Employers Can Be Liable for Post-Employment Retaliation - 9/16/2019
Pay Equity Update: Oregon Legislature Amends Equal Pay Law - 8/14/2019
PBJ How Oregon Works: Ten Things Oregon Employers Should Do Regarding Pay Equity - 5/22/2019
Oregon's Secure Scheduling Law Goes into Effect July 1: Are You Ready? - 6/15/2018
Remember to Advise Your Employees About the Earned Income Tax Credit - 4/9/2018

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