Sean E. Sanders, Esq. brings a rare perspective to employment law for healthcare and life sciences companies: he has sat on both sides of the table. Before rejoining Frier Levitt, Sean served as in-house employment counsel at a multinational Fortune 500 company, advising senior leadership and HR across a complex, multi-site, multi-jurisdictional workforce. He knows what it means to be the client – accountable for decisions, under pressure to move quickly, and operating within business realities that do not always fit neatly into legal frameworks.
As a senior Associate in Frier Levitt’s Labor and Employment Department, Sean represents healthcare companies, life sciences organizations, medical practices, pharmacies, and the professionals who work within them on the employment matters that carry the greatest risk and operational impact.
Sean counsels clients on the full range of day-to-day employment issues before they become disputes: hiring and separation practices, employment agreements, restrictive covenants, workforce reductions, accommodations, leaves of absence, and employment-related immigration. He also advises on the labor and employment aspects of mergers, acquisitions, and other corporate transactions, including the integration of workforces across entities. Sean develops workplace policies and employee handbooks, and delivers targeted training programs for managers and human resources professionals on the issues that most often drive liability, including harassment, discrimination, discipline, and performance management.
Sean also advises clients with unionized workforces on collective bargaining, grievance and arbitration matters, and day-to-day labor relations. Earlier in his career, he represented public entities and boards of education throughout New Jersey in labor, employment, and education law matters, experience that informs his practical approach to the demands of organized labor.
Recognizing the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence in human resources, Sean counsels employers on the legal and practical implications of using these tools in recruitment, screening, performance evaluation, and workforce decisions. He draws directly on his experience developing AI governance programs for a large enterprise workforce – a growing area of risk that most employers are still navigating without a roadmap.
When disputes escalate, Sean represents clients in employment litigation in state and federal court, including claims involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, wage and hour, and breach of restrictive covenants. He regularly conducts internal investigations and represents clients before the EEOC, state civil rights agencies, and departments of labor.
He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Christine A. Farrington, J.S.C., Superior Court of New Jersey, Bergen Vicinage. Sean also served as the Commanding Officer of a logistics unit in the New Jersey Army National Guard.
Sean earned his Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School in Newark, NJ. While in law school, he worked as a clinical law student at the Rutgers Law School Intellectual Property Law Clinic. Sean earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Loyola University Maryland.