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 Denner is an experienced management-side litigator and a trusted counselor and resource for companies throughout the country. Keya's primary goal is to help his clients avoid litigation through sound company policies and counsel them in fine tuning those policies as laws evolve. He frequently provides dynamic and interactive 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.
As Co-Chair of the Firm's Cannabis Law Practice, Keya has extensive experience helping multi-state employers navigate the new and evolving laws and regulations throughout the country related to medical and recreational marijuana. He provides regular counsel to employers faced with marijuana-related employment issues, including advising on accommodation concerns for employees who use medical marijuana, 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.
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 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.