Keya Denner's legal practice is devoted to the counsel and defense of employers in labor and employment law, executive compensation, and cannabis law.
Keya's primary goal in representing his clients is to help them avoid litigation through sound company policies and counsel them in fine tuning those policies as laws evolve. He frequently provides training for his clients' executives, HR managers, front-line managers, and employees on topics like harassment awareness and prevention, the impact of the #metoo movement on business operations, and best workplace practices for managers and supervisors. He is also adept in counseling employers faced with challenging employee leave entitlement issues under both the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
When litigation is unavoidable, Keya is a formidable employment law litigator, representing management in a breadth of employment law issues including defending against claims of violations of statutes related to non-compete and trade secrets protections, discrimination, disability, and wage and hour regulations, under both federal and state laws. He appears on behalf of clients before state and federal courts as well as state and federal human rights agencies in New York and New Jersey.
Keya has extensive experience helping companies navigate the new and evolving laws and regulations related to medical and recreational marijuana and serves as Co-Chair of the firm's Cannabis Law practice group. He provides regular counsel to employers faced with marijuana-related employment issues, including advising on accommodation concerns for employees who use medical marijuana pursuant to the New Jersey Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana Act (CUMMA), and drafting and refining employers' drug testing and enforcement policies. Keya's experience in cannabis law is not limited to employment-related issues, however, as he has advised numerous clients looking to enter the growing cannabis industry on the interplay between federal and state laws regarding both the sale and the marketing of marijuana and industrial hemp. Keya is often asked to speak on these and other related issues and has assisted clients in the licensing process to establish and operate alternative treatment centers under CUMMA.
As a member of FordHarrison's Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation practice group, Keya also has a deep understanding of employment compensation and employee benefits issues. He has handled the successful negotiation of employment and severance agreements for clients involving benefits packages, confidentiality, non-compete, non-solicitation, and employment and post-employment compensation.
In 2017, the New Jersey Law Journal recognized Keya as its "New Leader of the Bar" for his extraordinary accomplishments and potential in the legal profession. Keya is actively involved in several industry and commerce groups and is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association Cannabis Law Committee, the host of the Somerset County Business Partnership’s monthly Human Resources Roundtable, and co-Chair of the Somerset County Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Committee. He also lends his legal skills to several charitable and not-for-profit groups, serving on the Board of the Community Visiting Nurse Association and the personnel committee for the YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge, and South Amboy. Keya is an avid musician and in his earlier years, was an Emmy award-winning child actor.