Christina K. McDonald

Christy McDonald is an employment lawyer and litigator. She is passionate about working with employers on their legal challenges and opportunities. She provides daily counseling for employers on all aspects of employment law and provides proactive advice on litigation avoidance and risk management. As a seasoned trial advocate, Christy has significant experience achieving favorable results for clients in employment and commercial cases.

• Lead trial counsel in lawsuits pending in Michigan federal and state courts with an emphasis on employment and commercial disputes
• Serve as general employment counselor to diverse multinational and regional businesses in employment matters and disputes, including ADEA, ADA, discrimination, wage and hour, FMLA, termination, and employment relations issues
• Provide training to clients, industry groups, and lawyers on employment best practices and legal compliance
• Draft, negotiate and enforce non-compete, management, and other employment-related and service agreements
• Represent multiple Fortune 50 companies as lead counsel in complex commercial litigation pending in state and federal courts, with an emphasis on employment, labor, and contract disputes, including restrictive covenant enforcement, discrimination, wage and hour, and statutory protections
• Obtained judgment as second chair trial counsel in bet-the-company shareholder litigation for insurance brokerage
• Obtained favorable published opinions in Sixth Circuit Court of appeals and multiple state courts
• Obtained multi-million dollar judgment as second chair trial counsel in commercial case
• Negotiated favorable settlements, enforce judgments, and pursue collections in employment and commercial disputes

• Moderator, “Judges Panel,” Labor & Employment Law Institute, ICLE, April 2025
• Co-Author, “Last-Minute Changes to Michigan Earned Sick Time and Wage Laws: Effective February 21, 2025,” Dickinson Wright Client Alert, February 2025
• Author, “The Ultimate Holiday Party Planning Guide: HR Edition,” Dickinson Wright HR Blog, November 2024
• Co-Author, “Michigan Employers Must Increase Sick Time and Minimum Wage by February 21, 2025,” Dickinson Wright Client Alert, August 2024
• Author, “Are You Ready? FLSA Salary Thresholds Increase July 1, 2024,” Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, June 2024
• Author, “Is Your HR Department Aware of the Latest EEOC Priorities?” Dickinson Wright All Things HR blog, October 2023
• Author, “Layoffs Require Careful Planning to Avoid Costly Lawsuits,” Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, April 2023
• Co-Author, Co-Author, “Employers are Off the Earned Sick Time Clock,” Dickinson Wright Client Alert, Jan 2023
• Author, “It’s Time to Re-Visit Arbitration Agreements and Waivers Under the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act Of 2021,” Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, March 2022
• Co-Author, “U.S. Supreme Court Splits the Baby as It Stays the Private Employer Vaccine or Test Mandate but Keeps the Healthcare Vaccine Mandate in Place,” Dickinson Wright Industry Alert, January 2022
• Co-Author, “Private Employer Vaccine Mandate Moves Forward as Sixth Circuit Dissolves Fifth Circuit’s OSHA ETS Stay,” Dickinson Wright Industry Alert, December 2021
• Co-Author, “The Private Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate is Here: What Employers Need to Know,” Dickinson Wright Industry Alert, November 2021
• Co-Author, “Loaded Questions: Are Noncompetition and Nonsolicitation Clauses Really Enforceable in Michigan?” Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, Aug 2021
• Co-Presenter, “A Shot in the Arm: Current COVID-19 Workplace Issues,” Middle Tennessee Society for Human Resource Management, April 2021
• Panelist, “Changing Workplace Track: Reimagining the Workplace After COVID-19: The Future Is Now,” 46th Annual ICLE Labor & Employment Law Institute, April 2021
• Christina K. McDonald, Sarah Eklove & Julie Westra, Mental Health Issues in the Workplace, Institute for Continuing Legal Education (2020)
• Employers: Are you Following Michigan’s New Mandatory Employee Safety Requirements?, Dickinson Wright HR Blog (2020)
• Michigan and Ohio Have New Unemployment Rules Related to COVID-19, Dickinson Wright HR Blog (2020)
• Christina K. McDonald, Antoinette Star Porter & Sarah Riley Howard, Mandatory Arbitration of Employment Claims, Institute for Continuing Legal Education (2019)
• Accommodating an Anxious Workforce, Dickinson Wright HR Blog (2019)
• Handbook Compliance: A Multi-State Issue, Dickinson Wright HR Blog (2019)
• Michigan Repeals Prevailing Wage Act, Dickinson Wright HR Blog (2018)
• Timothy H. Howlett, Gail Corber & Christina K. McDonald, Sexual Harassment in the #METOO Era, Dickinson Wright Sunrise Seminar (2018)
• Timothy H. Howlett & Christina K. McDonald, Mandatory Arbitration of Employment Claims, 92 MICH. B.J. 9, 38 (2013).
• Webinar Presenter, Pre-Employment Screening: Criminal Background Checks & Drug Testing, Michigan Chamber of Commerce (2013)
• Sixth Circuit Upholds Wal-Mart’s Termination of Employee for Using Medical Marihuana, State Bar of Michigan, Labor and Employment Lawnotes (2013)
• New Law Affects Employee Leasing Organizations, State Bar of Michigan, Labor and Employment Lawnotes (2012)
• John G. Cameron Jr. & Christina K. McDonald, Real Estate Development in 2012, The Practical Real Estate Lawyer (ALI-ABA March, 2012)
• Charter Schools May Not be Able to Use “EduJobs” Funds, Dickinson Wright Client Alert (September 2010)
• Teleconference Moderator, Responding to Workplace Embezzlement and Asset Misappropriation in the Workplace Michigan Defense Trial Counsel (September 2010)
• Responding to Workplace Embezzlement and Asset Misappropriation – a Legal and Forensic Accounting Guide, Michigan Defense Quarterly (April 2010)
• Abolishing the Discovery Rule in Wrongful Death Cases: A Michigan Plaintiff’s Plight, 2008 Mich. St. L. Rev. 1115 (2008)