

Susan L. Swatski
PartnerPrinceton, NJSusan L. Swatski is a partner in the Princeton, N.J. office of Hill Wallack LLP. She is a member of the firm’s Employment and Labor Law Department, which services all of the Firm’s other Departments and Practice Groups.
Ms. Swatski focuses on litigating federal and state employment matters including claims involving allegations of discrimination, whistleblowing, harassment, retaliation, misappropriation of trade secrets and restrictive covenants and wage and hour violations, including class and collective actions. Ms. Swatski has handled matters in state and federal courts, as well as, before various state and federal agencies including the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the United States Department of Labor, the United States Department of Justice, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, the New York Division of Human Rights, New York City Commission on Human Rights and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
In addition to her litigation practice, Ms. Swatski regularly counsels employers of all sizes on an ongoing basis on labor and employment law matters including negotiation and preparation of employment agreements, separation agreements and employee handbooks, counseling regarding employee discharge and discipline, training on other personnel matters including diversity, harassment, workplace sensitivity and family and medical leave issues. With decades of experience litigating employment matters, Ms. Swatski adds an element of reality to her training sessions by using industry specific examples. Ms. Swatski also regularly assists companies with establishing reporting mechanisms, equal pay audits and internal investigations.
Ms. Swatski also represents employees, including high level executives, in connection with reviewing, negotiating and preparing employment contracts and separation agreements.
Most recently, Ms. Swatski has been counseling clients on implementing compliant COVID-19 safety plans, creating flexible workplaces, and providing guidance in connection with the re-entry of employees into the workplace.
Ms. Swatski also counsels employers on the dynamic cannabis laws and how they impact employee and employer rights in the workplace.
Ms. Swatski has represented grocery stores, pharmaceutical companies, medical practice groups, an international waste management service provider, nursing staffing agencies, daycare providers, a national moving company, warehouses, manufacturing facilities, retailers, landscape companies and technology companies in wage and hour disputes, class and collective actions, discrimination and harassment claims, and internal workplace investigations.
Ms. Swatski is admitted to practice in the states of New Jersey (2002), New York (2003), the United States Supreme Court (2017), United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals (2004), United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals (2005), and in the United States District Court of New Jersey (2002), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (2003), and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (2003), and the United States District Court for the Western Districts of New York (2003).
Prior to joining Hill Wallack LLP, Ms. Swatski served as Deputy Press Secretary to United States Senator Arlen Specter and was the Manager of Government Affairs for the Shipbuilders Council of America. She received her J.D. from Seton Hall School of Law and her B.A. from Susquehanna University.
Representative Matters- Serves as national litigation coordinating counsel for an international plumbing supply company
- Employers and employees dealing with claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful discharge, defamation, retaliation and invasion of privacy, as well as, corporate disputes with employees over employment contracts, non-compete clauses, non-disclosures and confidentiality agreements, restrictive covenants and executive compensation
- Representation of insurance companies in Qui Tam False Claims Act litigation
Ms. Swatski also counsels employers on the dynamic cannabis laws and how they impact employee rights in the workplace in terms of whether certain employees are entitled to receive a reasonable accommodation to use cannabis or work under the influence of cannabis and when an employee can require a drug test based on reasonable suspicion and when something more is required. She also drafts employment policies that address drug testing, use of recreational drugs during non-working hours and how the same may impact the workplace. Additionally, she counsels employers employee’s HIPAA privacy rights as they pertain to prescriptions for cannabis.
Ms. Swatski has represented grocery stores, pharmaceutical companies, medical practice groups, an international waste management service provider, a nursing staffing agency, daycare providers, a national moving company, retailers, landscape companies and technology companies in wage and hour disputes, collective actions and internal workplace investigations.
Ms. Swatski provides training for large and small employers in areas including sexual harassment and anti-discrimination and workplace sensitivity.
She also provides defense in products liability mass tort litigation.
Ms. Swatski is admitted to practice in the states of New Jersey (2002), New York (2003), the United States Supreme Court (2017), and in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey (2002), the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (2003), and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern & Western District of New York (2003).
Prior to joining Hill Wallack LLP, Ms. Swatski served as Deputy Press Secretary to United States Senator Arlen Specter and was the Manager of Government Affairs for the Shipbuilders Council of America. She received her J.D. from Seton Hall School of Law and her B.A. cum laude from Susquehanna University.
Leadership- SERV Behavioral Health Centers, Board of Trustees - present
- New Jersey Supreme Court District Ethics Committee, 2017 – 2019
- Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber
- Chair, Women In Business Alliance (2022)
- Member, Women in Business Alliance Conference Committee
- MIDJersey Chamber of Commerce - Chairwoman, Women in Business Committee
- Named to New Jersey Law Journal’s Leaders of the Bar
Presentations & Publications- Client Alert: Private Businesses With At Least 100 Employees Must Soon Mandate Vaccination Or Weekly Testing, September 22, 2021
- Client Alert: Key Issues Related To The Cobra Subsidy, May 4, 2021
- Presenter: Wage and Hour Compliance In The Time of COVID-19, New Jersey League of Municipalities, November 2020
- Client Alert: COVID-19 Workplace Safety Training, October 6, 2020
- Client Alert: Are Employers Required to Pay for COVID-19 Testing?, October 1, 2020
- Client Alert: ICE Extends Remote I-9 Verification For 60 Days, September 30, 2020
- Client Alert: COVID-19 Commonly Asked Questions by Employers, September 29, 2020
- Client Alert: Notice to Employees of Temporary Social Security Tax Deferral, September 10, 2020
- Client Alert: Tips To Help Businesses Prepare To Re-Open, May 4, 2020
- Client Alert: The Coronavirus Aid, Response, and Economic Security Act "CARES Act", March 30, 2020
- Client Alert: COVID-19 Employment Concerns For Community Associations, March 27, 2020
- Client Alert: DOL Guidance for the FFCRA, March 27, 2020
- Presenter, Trends in Employment Law, New Jersey Recreation & Parks Association, February 2020
- Client Alert: The New Jersey Assembly and Governor Murphy Reached A Deal To Pass Adult Recreational Use Marijuana Legislation Later This Month, March 2019
- Client Alert: New Jersey's Expansion of Family Leave Entitlements, February 26, 2019
- Co-presenter, Leadership Strategies to Address Harrasment & Discrimination, Cobblestone Creek Country Club, June 2018
- Author, New Jersey Enacts Paid Sick Leave Act Effective October 29, 2018, May 2018
- Presenter, Continuing Education Seminar regarding Joint Employment for Taylor Management, December 2017
- Presenter, Wage and Hour Compliance, New Jersey League of Municipalities, November 2017
- Presenter, Hot Topics in Employment Law, New Jersey Recreation & Park Association, October 2016
- Author, Why it Makes Cents for Employers to Evaluate their Performance Review Practices, Community Trends, December, 2015
- Presenter, Wage and Hour Compliance, New Jersey League of Municipalities, November 2015
- Presenter, Common Pitfalls in Employment Law, Hamilton Rotary Club, June 2015
- Presenter, Common Pitfalls in Wage and Hour Compliance, Hill Wallack LLP's Employment Law Series, May 2015
- Presenter, Best Practices for Hiring Minors, Interns & Seasonal Workers, NJ Parks and Recreation Association, April 2015
- Presenter, Ins & Outs of Conducting an Internal Workplace Investigation, National Academy of Continuing Education
- Presenter, Investigating Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace, Community Associations International, Business Partner Seminar
- Presenter, Best Practices for Hiring Employees, Terminating Employment Relationships and Record Keeping, National Academy of Continuing Legal Education
- Presenter, CAI-NJ Inaugural Business Partner Best Practices Roundtable and Networking Reception, June 2014
- Presenter, Best Practices for Hiring Minors, Interns and Volunteers, National Academy of Continuing Legal Education, January 2014
- WDVR, Employment Law Commentator on The Many Faces of Life and Tempus
- Co-Presenter, Employment Law – Employers’ Best Practices seminar, Hill Wallack LLP Seminar Series
- Presenter, Simple and Efficient Strategies for Addressing Human Resources in a Growing Business, Successful Women Connecting Seminar Series
- Co-Author, Finding a Needle in an Electronic Haystack: The Science of Search and Retrieval, published in ABA Mass Torts, Fall/Winter 2009
- Co-Author, Whose Space? Discovery of Social Networking Websites, published in Product Liability Law & Strategy, June 2008
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- News Release: Hill Wallack Employment Law Attorney Susan L. Swatski Appointed to the SERV Centers Board of DirectorsJuly 15, 2020
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In Re ex. Rel. J. Michael Hayes v. Allstate Ins. Co., et al., Docket No. 16-705 (2d Cir. Ct. App. 2017)
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In Re ex. Rel. J. Michael Hayes v. Allstate Ins. Co., et al., Docket No. 12-CV-1015S (WDNY 2016)
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Waste Management of New Jersey, Inc. v. Morris County Mun. Utilities Authority, 433 N.J.Super. 445 (App. Div. 2013)
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In Re ex. Rel. J. Michael Hayes v. Allstate Ins. Co., et al., Docket No. 16-705 (2d Cir. Ct. App. 2017)