Roberta B. Fields

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Bio Menu
  • Overview
  • Experience
  • Honors & Involvement
Bio overview

Roberta Browning Fields is a trial lawyer who regularly represents employers in all areas of employment law, including litigation in state and federal courts, in arbitrations, and before regulatory and administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Labor (DOL) and Oklahoma Human Rights Commission. She has successfully handled litigation involving claims of wrongful discharge, harassment, employment discrimination (based on race, age and disability) and ERISA violations, as well as disputes involving wage and hour matters, medical leave, confidentiality and non-compete agreements, employee handbook and company policy violations, and breaches of employment agreements.

A portion of Roberta’s trial practice is devoted to public utility law and commercial litigation. She has successfully represented major railway, electric utility and telephone companies in lawsuits involving claims of negligence, environmental damage, asbestos exposure, wrongful death, and property damage.

As part of her employment practice, Roberta trains and counsels employers on a broad range of matters affecting the workplace, including hiring, discipline, terminations, policies and procedures, drug and alcohol testing, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment, employment contracts and confidentiality agreements, workplace safety, and the National Labor Relations Act. For companies who seek to remain non-unionized, she also provides counseling on union avoidance strategies.

In addition to her active practice, Roberta also chairs the firm’s Associate Committee.

Roberta has been a featured speaker on various legal topics and has twice served on the faculty of the University of Oklahoma College of Trial Advocacy.

Roberta’s achievements have earned her inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (employment law — management; labor and employment litigation) and Oklahoma Super Lawyers, which named her to its list of “Top 25 Women” lawyers in Oklahoma in 2017.

Prior to entering law school, Roberta worked as a correctional officer and as a case worker for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for five years. In addition to her law degree, she holds a bachelor’s degree in social work and a master’s degree in sociology/corrections.

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Experience, Honors, & Awards

Representative Experience

  • Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an electric utility in a Fair Labor Standards Act wage and hour lawsuit in which five former area service linemen claimed that the company violated federal law by failing to compensate them for time spent ‘on-call.’
  • Obtained summary judgment in favor of an information technology staffing company in a lawsuit filed by a former employee alleging disability discrimination based on mental health issues, disparate treatment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
  • Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a non-profit organization and an individual leader in a wrongful discharge case.
  • Obtained summary judgment in the Western District of Oklahoma on behalf of a municipality in an environmental case brought under the Clean Water Act.
  • Obtained defense verdict for a telephone company in a federal court case alleging race discrimination related to a corporate downsizing.
  • Obtained summary judgment in the Eastern District of Oklahoma on behalf of an electric utility where plaintiffs claimed ERISA violations related to a corporate restructure.
  • Obtained summary judgment in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, state court on behalf of an electric utility in a wrongful death case.
  • Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a gas pipeline company in a wrongful discharge drug testing case.
  • Obtained judgment in a non-jury trial for an electric utility accused of employment discrimination based on race.
  • Obtained jury verdict for an electric utility in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, in a wrongful termination and tortious breach of contract case.
  • Successfully represented a railroad company as plaintiff in a Garfield County, Oklahoma, property damage jury trial.
  • Obtained summary judgment for a railway company in an Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, state court action alleging negligence in a crossing accident.
  • Obtained dismissal in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, state court of a malicious prosecution lawsuit brought by a former employee of a railroad company.
  • Obtained summary judgment for an electric utility in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, state court in a wrongful death case which involved allegations of asbestos exposure.
  • Obtained summary judgment for an electric utility in an Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, state court case alleging negligence and claiming personal injury.

 

Honors and Awards

  • Named a “Labor & Employment Star – South” by Benchmark Litigation
  • Selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America (employment law — management; labor and employment litigation)
  • Listed in Oklahoma Super Lawyers
  • Named to Oklahoma Super Lawyers’ list of “Top 25 Women Lawyers”
  • Rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings

Professional Organizations and Memberships

  • Oklahoma County Bar Association
  • Oklahoma Bar Association
  • Oklahoma Bar Foundation (Fellow)
  • American Bar Association

Civic Involvement and Leadership

  • Library Endowment Trust (Trustee)
  • United Way of Central Oklahoma (Board Member)
  • Development Associates International (Board Member)

ATPs display in this column

At The Podium

Navigating the Challenges of Intersecting Employee Leave Laws

EmployerLINC22
Tulsa, OK | March 23, 2022

Navigating the Challenges of Intersecting Employee Leave Laws

EmployerLINC22
Oklahoma City, OK | March 22, 2022

What to Expect from the Biden Administration

EmployerLINC21
Online | March 10, 2021

The Discovery Process: Recipes for Success Panel

OBA 2019 Labor & Employment Law Update CLE
Oklahoma City, OK | October 4, 2019

Some Like It Hot: Ice cold answers for your burning questions

EmployerLINC19
Oklahoma City, OK | April 3, 2019

Sexual Harassment: Court of Public Opinion v. Court of Legal Opinion

Oklahoma Bar Association’s 2018 Women in Law Conference
Oklahoma City, OK | October 19, 2018

Mistakes Employers Cannot Afford to Make

Life.Church Business Leader Luncheon
Oklahoma City, OK | May 17, 2018

Diversity, Respect and Inclusion

OKC Metro Employer Council
April 17, 2018

Labor & Employment All-Star Q&A Panel

EmployerLINC18: Workplace Issues in the News
Oklahoma City, OK | March 27, 2018

Diversity, Respect and Inclusion

McAfee & Taft Webinar Series
JurisIQ.tv | April 26, 2017

Employee Hiring and Departures: Do’s and don’ts for fair competition

EmployerLINC17: Back to Basics
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | March 22, 2017

Transgender, sexual orientation and stereotyping issues in the workplace

McAfee & Taft Webinar Series
JurisIQ.com | November 18, 2015

Failure to properly structure severance agreements

EmployerLINC 2015: Case studies in costly mistakes
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | April 30, 2015

Failure to properly structure severance agreements

EmployerLINC 2015: Case studies in costly mistakes
Tulsa, OK | April 28, 2015

Introduction to Employment and Labor Laws

OCU Master of Arts in Applied Sociology Nonprofit Leadership Law and Non-Profit Organizations
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | March 18, 2015

Downsizing done right: revisited

EmployerLINC Webinar
Online | February 25, 2015

Lawyers Serving as Directors of Nonprofit Organizations

Oklahoma Bar Association Leadership Academy
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | March 6, 2014

Oklahoma’s new workers’ comp administrative system and arbitration option

EmployerLINC Seminar: Workers' Compensation Overhaul
Tulsa, Oklahoma | June 20, 2013

Oklahoma’s new workers’ comp administrative system and arbitration option

EmployerLINC Seminar: Workers' Compensation Overhaul
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | June 19, 2013

Avoiding the hazards of workplace safety programs

Western Oklahoma Human Resources
Elk City, Oklahoma | June 13, 2013

Misclassifying Independent Contractors

EmployerLINC 2013: 'Government Gone Wild'
Tulsa, Oklahoma | April 26, 2013

Misclassifying Independent Contractors

EmployerLINC 2013: 'Government Gone Wild'
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | April 23, 2013

Social Networking in the Workplace

Risk Management Society Central Oklahoma Chapter Meeting
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | October 2, 2012, 11:45 - 01:30

Avoiding the hazards of workplace safety programs

EmployerLINC Webinar
Online | June 13, 2012
Attorney Articles

Articles

Young woman being harassed by a coworker
Nurse texting on a phone
Three costumed women having fun and making a selfie on Halloween party

Misconduct at off-site party may qualify as workplace harassment

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |
Four men playing roulette at a casino

When is hiring a competitor’s employee ‘racketeering’?

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |
Eastern Airlines

Change in job duties may necessitate change in ADA accommodation

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

Employers may be liable for harassment by a non-employee

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

Employers: Use caution when dealing with prescription drug users

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

ERISA Plans: Part-time employee entitled to disability benefits

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

Recruiting for youthful workforce leads to age discrimination lawsuits

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

Misclassification of workers just got riskier for Oklahoma employers

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC Alert |

Some pre- and post-shift activity not compensable

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

What employers need to know about transgender discrimination

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

Timing of termination creates question of fact in association discrimination case

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

Court rules interactive process should have been triggered by a couple of stray comments

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

Advances in technology require another look at telecommuting as a reasonable accommodation

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC |

Hidden costs of interns

The Journal Record |

EEOC steps up enforcement of genetic information non-discrimination

Oklahoma Employment Law Letter |

Supreme Court declines opportunity to resolve split in the circuits over ADA job reassignment issue

McAfee & Taft EmployerLINC Update |

Firing a TTD employee

The Journal Record |

Taxation: The Tax Benefit Rule and Its Application to Corporate Liquidations

Oklahoma Law Review Vol. 37, No. 3 |
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Admissions

  • Oklahoma, 1984
  • U.S. District Courts for the Western, Northern and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Tax Court
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Education

  • J.D., with distinction, University of Oklahoma, 1984
    • Editor, Oklahoma Law Review
  • M.S. (Sociology/Corrections), Oklahoma State University, 1981
  • B.A. (Social Work), Oral Roberts University, 1977
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In The News

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Oklahoma Super Lawyers honors 93 McAfee & Taft attorneys in 2020 edition

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Prison Bar: Lessons Roberta Fields learned as a corrections officer

Oklahoma Super Lawyers |

EmployerLINC19 draws largest audiences ever in Oklahoma City and Tulsa

Oklahoma Super Lawyers honors 113 McAfee & Taft attorneys in 2018 edition

The Best Lawyers in America names 107 McAfee & Taft attorneys to 2019 edition

‘Workplace Issues in the News’ seminar draws record numbers

Inflexible leave policies violate Americans with Disabilities Act

The Oklahoman |

The Best Lawyers in America names 102 McAfee & Taft attorneys to 2018 edition

McAfee & Taft seminar draws large crowds looking for answers about new administration

Feds achieved favorable resolution in 90 percent of 2016 discrimination court cases

The Oklahoman |

Worker misclassification likely to be even costlier for employers

The Oklahoman |

Raising the bar: Law firm success includes developing talent, not just hiring the best

The Journal Record |

Annual seminar offers employers real-world examples of costly, common mistakes

McAfee & Taft elects eight new shareholders

‘Government Gone Wild’ seminar draws record numbers

Firm hosts webinar on workplace safety programs after OSHA memo discourages safety incentives

Veteran trial lawyer joins McAfee & Taft