Overview

Barbara Rittinger Rigo focuses her practice on representing management in a wide range of labor and employment matters, including:

  • Trials for race, gender, age, disability and national origin discrimination claims
  • Arbitration
  • Mediation
  • Family and Medical Leave Act litigation
  • Wage and hour class actions
  • Trade secret law
  • Workplace investigations

She is an experienced trial attorney and defends clients in all types of industries, including hospitality, pharmaceutical, financial services, health care, energy and transportation, in state and federal courts, as well as before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, the Department of Labor and state and federal departments of labor.

Barbara focuses a large part of her practice on counseling employers on day-to-day compliance with local, state and federal statutes, such as:

  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
  • Title VII
  • The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
  • The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
  • The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
  • Wage payment collection laws
  • Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN)

She is a frequent speaker on those and other topics. She also drafts and reviews employer policies and employment and severance agreements for clients spanning numerous industries. She also regularly performs workplace investigations and prepares reports for employers on compliance, harassment and other workplace matters.

Barbara was one of the inaugural members of the Human Relations Commission for the Township of Haverford, Pennsylvania. She is also a member of various diversity advisory committees and local nonprofit and civic boards. Prior to joining Littler, she was an associate at two large firms in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. In law school, she was a senior editor of the Dickinson Law Review.

Professional & Community Affiliations

Member

Philadelphia Diversity Law Group

Recognition

Named, The Best Lawyers in America®

2018-2025

Woolsack Honor Society

News, Analysis & Press

Mailing of FMLA Notices Insufficient, Third Circuit Rules

Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)

August 18, 2014

She Complained, But I'll Sue: Third-Party Employment Retaliation Claims After Thompson

New Jersey Law Journal

April 18, 2011

Speaking Engagements

2022 Philadelphia Regional Employer Conference

Philadelphia, PA

October 28, 2022

Leave time In Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Bar Institute

March 25, 2021

We’re (Almost) Open: Obligations Employers Will Need to Consider as Businesses Prepare to Resume

May 27, 2020

Between a Rock and a Hard Shelter-in-Place | Challenges Employers Will Face When Returning to Work

May 12, 2020

Leveraging Diversity of Thought

The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia

April 12, 2019

Doggy Dilemmas: Accommodating Service Animals for Employees and Customers

Philadelphia, PA

September 6, 2018

Doggy Dilemmas: Accommodating Service Animals for Employees and Customers

Washington, DC

September 5, 2018

Navigating the Use and Abuse of the FMLA

Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia: July 11, 2017. Mechanicsburg/Simulcast: July 18, 2017

Transgender Bathrooms: A New Security Challenge

ASIS International, Orlando, FL

September 12, 2016

Managing Leaves of Absence: The Interplay of the FMLA and ADA

Philadelphia, PA

June 2, 2015

Medical Inquiries and Exams—An Employer’s Guide

Society for Human Resource Management, Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter (SEPA SHRM), Philadelphia, PA

November 18, 2014

The Trial of a Retaliation Case

20th Annual Employment Law Institute - Pennsylvania Bar Institute

April 25, 2014

Dealing with a Problem Employee

Pennsylvania Bar Institute

September 24, 2013

Family and Medical Leave Update

Pennsylvania Bar Institute

August 2013

Preparing The Groundwork To Enforce Non-competes

Philadelphia, PA

September 13, 2012

UNDER ATTACK! Independent Contractor and Contingent Worker Classifications

Pennsylvania Bar Institute

February 28, 2012

Social Media Grows Up: The Safe, Legal, and Effective Business Use of Social Media

Wharton Council on Employee Relations

February 21, 2012

Dealing with a Problem Employee

Pennsylvania Bar Institute

2011

Religious Accommodation

Pennsylvania Bar Institute

2010

How to Start Your Own Business

Pennsylvania Bar Institute

2010

Education

  • J.D., Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law, 1995
  • B.A., Saint Mary’s College, 1991

Bar Admission

Pennsylvania

Courts

  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania