Alyssa N. Lankford

Associate

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  • Overview
  • Experience
  • Honors & Involvement
Bio overview

Alyssa Lankford represents management in all phases of labor and employment law, including individual plaintiff and class/collective litigation in federal and state courts, before regulatory and administrative agencies, and in arbitration matters. Her practice includes counseling and representing clients in a broad range of matters arising out of the employer-employee relationship, including employment discrimination, harassment, approved leave, wage and hour issues, discipline and termination, policies and procedures, drug and alcohol testing, arbitration provisions and programs, and non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements, as well as litigation avoidance and compliance with other federal and state laws.

Alyssa’s achievements have also earned her inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch (labor and employment litigation).

The intersection of advancing technology and employment practices is a specific area of focus for Alyssa. Her work in this burgeoning area of employment law includes representing clients in ADA discrimination litigation related to website accessibility (brought under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act) and providing guidance regarding employers’ use of artificial intelligence (AI) in employment decision-making, including hiring, firing, and evaluating employee performance.

Alyssa is a contributing author to the Oklahoma Employment Law Letter, Midwest Employment Law Letter, EmployerLINC, HRlaws.com, and BenefitsLink.com, and has been a featured guest columnist for The Journal Record. She also provides training and continuing education for employers on a variety of topics, including wage and hour law under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), compliance with Title VII’s prohibition against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, and other day-to-day workplace issues.

In addition to representing and advising employers and management in labor and employment law matters and related litigation, she also devotes a portion of her practice to the resolution of complex business and commercial disputes.

Alyssa’s career experience includes serving as a law clerk to the Honorable Glenn T. Suddaby, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, from 2021–2022, and as a full-time elementary school teacher and part-time elementary content specialist with Teach for America from 2014–2016.

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Experience, Honors, & Awards

Representative Experience

Litigation

  • Obtained summary judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma for a privately owned technology company on all of the plaintiff’s claims, including those brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
  • Served as third chair on a seven-day jury trial in the District Court of Oklahoma County on behalf of a private-client wealth management company, who brought claims against a former employee for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference, conversion, and unjust enrichment.
  • Obtained favorable settlement early in litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma for a health and human services management company after discovering statute of limitations argument to defeat all of plaintiff’s claims.
  • Drafted successful response to a plaintiff’s motion to compel discovery about an employer’s investigation into alleged workplace misconduct. The federal district court denied plaintiff’s motion.
  • Obtained a favorable settlement for a regional airline service after deposing the plaintiff and obtaining key admissions that defeated his ADA and FMLA claims.
  • Drafted response to defendant’s motion to dismiss claims in a lawsuit brought on behalf of an environmental services company against a former employee for breach of a non-solicitation and confidentiality agreement, tortious interference, breach of fiduciary duty, and misappropriation of confidential information. The defendant’s motion was denied by the District Court of Tulsa County.
  • Drafted four arbitration briefs for an Oklahoma municipality regarding grievances brought by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and received favorable rulings in each arbitration.
  • Obtained a favorable settlement early in litigation for an Oklahoma-based retail company in an ADA website accessibility case brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
  • Currently representing an oilfield services company that provides, among other services, flowback and well testing and pressure pumping, in FLSA collective action in which the plaintiffs claim that they were misclassified as exempt under the FLSA and are entitled to overtime.

Employment Counseling

  • Assists clients in drafting and implementing employee policies and procedures, including, but not limited to, the following: drug testing policies, including compliance with the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana and Patient Protection Act; anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation policies, as well as corresponding procedures for employee grievances/complaints; policies related to employee accommodations, including those based on religion, disability, and/or pregnancy; wage and hour policies; and more.
  • Advised and assisted publicly traded life insurance company on policies related to third-party/vendor compliance with the company’s physical and technological safety standards, as well as their employee policies regarding company-owned mobile devices and personal mobile devices used for company business (i.e., “Bring Your Own Device” policies).
  • Advises and assists educational institutions that receive federal funding on Title IX questions prior to the commencement of litigation.
  • Advised clients on COVID-19-related issues and compliance, including review of return-to-work policies.

Professional Organizations and Memberships

  • Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch (labor and employment litigation)
  • Oklahoma Bar Association

Civic Involvement and Leadership

  • Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA volunteer)
  • Oklahoma Children’s Health Foundation (Member and Sponsorship Chair, Innovative Board, March 2023-present)

ATPs display in this column

At The Podium

Website Accessibility and ADA Compliance

Northwest Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce
Warr Acres, OK | September 20, 2023

Do or Do Not, There is No Try: Getting the FLSA Right

EmployerLINC23: HR in Reel Life
Oklahoma City, OK | March 23, 2023

Because of Sex: Gender discrimination claims after Bostock v. Clayton County

EmployerLINC21
Online | March 10, 2021
Attorney Articles

Articles

Businessman writing "Equal pay" on virtual screen with blurred office background.

Pay transparency laws the latest trend in advancing goal of pay equity

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |
Business woman reviewing paperwork outdoors

If non-competes are gone, what’s next?

McAfee & Taft tIPsheet |
Graphic showing a virtual keyboard with a large button reading "accessibility" representing website accessibility with the portrait of Alyssa Lankford over that graphic

Website accessibility and the ADA

The Journal Record |
Business person hand pointing at an AI icon on a map

EEOC targeting discriminatory use of artificial intelligence

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |
Robot arm is choosing a person out of many on a touchscreen

States and cities limit AI use in employment decisions

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

House passes Equality Act as some states head in different direction

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

Court applies Bostock’s “because of… sex” ruling to Title IX case

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

Judge’s dismissal of USWNT’s unequal pay claim provides helpful reminders for employers

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

Employer responsibilities for reinstating employees returning from FFCRA leave

McAfee & Taft LINC |

Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Coachella Valley Water District: A Tribe’s Successful Fight for Federally Reserved Water Rights

American Indian Law Review |
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Industry Groups

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Admissions

  • Oklahoma, 2019
  • U.S. District Courts for the Western and Northern Districts of Oklahoma
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
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Education

  • J.D., with distinction, University of Oklahoma, 2019
    • Editor-in-Chief, American Indian Law Review; National Order of Scribes; Board of Advocates; Organization for Women in the Law; 3 American Jurisprudence Awards
  • B.A. (Transnational Studies and Spanish), magna cum laude, Westminster College, 2014
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