The Layoff Decision Before the Lawsuit: Planning and Implementing a Reduction in Force, Including Severance and Releases

Erik received his J.D. magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School in 2013 and his B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 2010. He clerked for the Hon. Lois Conroy of Minnesota’s Fourth Judicial District Court from 2013 to 2015. He is admitted to practice in Minnesota and Colorado, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, and in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

Chambers USA has ranked Erik in Colorado Labor & Employment for 2025 and 2026. His pro bono work has earned him places on the Faegre Drinker Pro Bono Honor Roll in 2021 and 2025 and on the Faegre Baker Daniels Pro Bono Honor Roll in 2017 and 2018.

Erik follows state and federal employment legislation and agency enforcement priorities and writes often on Colorado employment law, including “New Year, New Rules for Colorado Employers” in Law Week Colorado (December 2023) and a two-part series on Colorado employee protection and rights in the workplace in HR Legal & Compliance Excellence (2023). His restrictive covenant writing includes “Top 10 Noncompete Developments of 2024,” republished in Law360 in January 2025, and “A Year of Contrasts and Crackdowns in Noncompete Agreements,” republished in Employee Benefit Plan Review in March 2026. He delivers legal trainings to HR and business leaders, belongs to the Colorado Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Law Section, contributes to the firm’s LaborSphere blog, and handles pro bono matters through the Volunteer Lawyers Network and for local nonprofit organizations.

Erik’s employee relations counseling covers reorganizations and reductions in force, separations, discipline, internal investigations, leaves and accommodations, wage and hour issues, state and local compliance, and employment matters in corporate transactions. His litigation and mediation experience lets him show clients how an employment decision would be presented and defended if challenged, and he has represented employers in state and federal courts, in arbitration, and before the EEOC, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, and the Colorado Civil Rights Division.

Earlier in his career, Erik served as counsel to an international public mountain resort company, advising HR, senior leadership, and executives on U.S. and Canadian labor and employment matters, and before that he was an associate at legacy Faegre Baker Daniels, with secondments at private and public employers. He also handles grievance arbitrations, NLRB unfair labor practice proceedings, responses to union organizing, and restrictive covenant matters for multi-state employers. During law school, he prosecuted for the Minneapolis City Attorney’s Office, worked with the NLRB’s Region 18 office, represented individuals in unemployment hearings, and clerked for a first responders’ labor union.