Discrimination and Harassment: Arizona and Federal Laws You Need to Know

Denise M Blommel Related Seminars and Products

Denise M Blommel PLLC

Denise M. Blommel is an attorney in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts of Arizona and Nevada. Her practice centers on the employer-employee relationship.

Denise is a former Field Attorney with the National Labor Relations Board and a former Assistant Chief Counsel of the Industrial Commission of Arizona. She represents employers and employees in employment and labor matters.

Denise belongs to the State Bar of Arizona, State Bar of Nevada (inactive), the American Bar Association, and the Arizona Employment Lawyers Association. She is Past President of the State Bar of Arizona’s Senior Lawyers Division.

Denise was awarded the State Bar of Arizona’s Member of the Year for 1998-1999. She was also awarded the State Bar Employment & Labor Law Section Member of the Year in 2014. Denise is one of the authors of the State Bar’s Arizona Employment Law Handbook and a co-author of articles in the January 2022, January 2021, and December 2013 State Bar’s Arizona Attorney about the State Board of Education’s expanded jurisdiction, COVID-19 in the Workplace, and the Affordable Care Act; and two articles in the April 1994 and April 1998 Arizona Attorney about Workers' Compensation, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family Medical Leave Act. Denise served as Chair of the Employment & Labor Law and Co-Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Law Sections of the State Bar of Arizona.

Denise holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government and Economics, with Highest Distinction (Summa Cum Laude), Honors, Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi, from the University of Arizona. She serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board to the W.A. Franke Honors College at the University of Arizona. Her law degree is from Arizona State University. Denise and her Moot Court teammates placed second in the nation in the National Moot Court competition – team, brief, and speaker.

Denise is a frequent presenter for government, business, educational and community groups. She taught Human Resources Law for the ASU Master of Legal Studies Program in 2014 and 2015 and was active with the former ASU Law Group.

Denise has been a mediator with the U.S. Postal Service for 25 years. She and her husband, Don Doerres, are regular presenters of “Soft Skills for a Hard World,” a seminar to improve workplace communication and resolve conflict. Denise and Don belong to the University of Iowa Alumni Association and Denise is a life member of both the ASU and U of A Alumni Associations.

Denise served on the Board of Directors for 20 years for Girl Scouts – Arizona Cactus-Pine Council. The Girl Scouts awarded Denise the Thanks Badge in 2000; the Thanks Badge II in 2005, and the Impact Award in 2020, their highest volunteer honors. She currently serves as Chair of the Council’s Personnel Committee. Denise and Don live in Scottsdale and are active at St. Patrick Catholic Community.

Denise's website is at www.azlaborlaw.com. Her telephone number is 480-993-3939 and her mailing address is 6945 E. Sahuaro, Suite 125, Scottsdale, AZ 85254. Her email address is denise@azlaborlaw.com.

Mary Jo O'Neill Related Seminars and Products

Regional Attorney

US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Mary Jo O'Neill is the Regional Attorney for the Phoenix District Office of the EEOC, which includes Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. She currently manages a legal staff of approximately 30 employees, litigates employment discrimination cases in federal court in the five states Mary Jo has responsibility for, advising her enforcement colleagues, and is a frequent trainer/speaker for the EEOC, local and national bar associations, employer groups, and community organizations.
She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from the University of Arizona with a B.A. in political science and women’s studies in 1976. Following graduation cum laude from the University of Arizona law school in 1979, Mary Jo clerked for an appellate judge for a year and then represented indigent Native Americans individually and in groups at the Urban Indian Law Project, first as a Reginald Heber Fellow. Mary Jo is the past chair of the labor section of the Arizona State Bar Association and is very active in the Arizona NELA chapter. She is also the current President of the Morris Institute for Justice, a non-profit legal organization which advocates for poor Arizonans in the legislature, within governmental organizations, and in court. In 1986, Mary Jo began working at the EEOC as a trial attorney, then as a supervisory trial attorney, until she was selected as the Regional Attorney in 2002. While at the EEOC, Mary Jo has litigated many cases, conducted jury trials, and has negotiated many complex and difficult nationwide settlements, including the global settlement of the EEOC’s cases filed against Wal-Mart under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the nationwide gender promotion case against Outback. Mary Jo has also been selected to be a frequent trainer for lawyers and OGC staff on skills and substantive subjects, including discovery training, trial skills, deposition skills, new lawyer training and negotiation training.

Abby Susan Areinoff Harbicht Related Seminars and Products

Abby Areinoff Harbicht is an attorney in Prescott, Arizona limiting her practice to employment law and human resources consulting. She is admitted to practice law in both Arizona and California.

Abby belongs to the California and Arizona Bar Associations. In addition, she is a member of the Arizona Employment Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, the Yavapai County Bar Association, and the National Employment Lawyers Association.

Abby graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree, cum laude, from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania where she majored in Human Resources and Labor Relations. She received her Juris Doctorate degree, with honors, from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

Abby’s law career started with Jackson, Lewis, Schnitzler and Krupman (now Jackson Lewis) in both their Los Angeles and New York offices. Following that, she spent the majority of her career working within corporations. In these corporate positions, she held dual responsibility for human resources and employment law, overseeing all matters related to employee rights and employer responsibilities. Her positions included serving as Chief Human Resources Officer, or equivalent, for AECOM Technology Corporation, Sony Pictures, The Disney Stores Worldwide, Charles Pankow Builders, Ltd., The National Childhood Cancer Foundation, Fox Broadcasting Company, Pacific Sunwear, and Wet Seal. Abby applies her prior experience representing management to now primarily protecting the rights of employees and supporting non-profits, focusing her practice in all areas of employment law including discrimination, retaliation, and wrongful discharge.

Abby has been a selected speaker for the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA), the National Human Resources Association (NHRA), and the Prescott Area Human Resources Association (PAHRA). She is a recipient of the NHRA Award for Outstanding Strategic Leadership.

Abby teaches Management and Business Law as an Adjunct Professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s School of Business. She volunteers as a SCORE mentor, providing support and consulting to small and emerging businesses. Abby serves as General Counsel for several non-profit organizations and is a founding member and Vice President of Large Animal Shelters and Emergency Readiness (LASER), a volunteer organization that works with Yavapai County Emergency Management to provide safe sheltering for barn animals during emergency evacuations.

Abby’s website is at www.areinoffharbichtlaw.com. Her telephone number is 626-590-1337 and email address is abby@areinoffharbichtlaw.com.