Kris D. Meade

Partner | He/Him/His

Overview

Compliance with employment laws and regulations is always a challenge — particularly when an employer’s workforce is highly skilled, mobile and innovation-focused. With an emphasis on technology, consulting, healthcare and other information-driven industries, Kris works with boards of directors and senior corporate leadership to achieve their business goals through development of effective strategies focused on critical areas, including pay equity, the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in making employment decisions, racial equity and civil rights audits, and retention of top talent.

Kris has decades of experience as a trusted advisor to leading multinational corporations and is a highly regarded labor and employment thought leader. With equal facility, he collaborates with senior executives, regulators, employee representatives, labor economists, and industrial and organizational psychologists to help businesses develop, implement and manage forward-thinking, proactive employment policies and initiatives.

Kris recognizes that every organization must address multiple audiences simultaneously: employees, subcontractors and other internal team members, as well as shareholders, regulators, community groups and related external stakeholders. As an advisor who recognizes the importance of listening, Kris synthesizes complex information and multiple points of view to develop and deliver guidance aimed at building consensus and achieving practical results.

Among other issues, Kris counsels clients on racial equity and civil rights audits; gender-, race- and age-based claims of systemic discrimination; environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives; human capital reporting requirements; the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive analytics tools in hiring, training, promotion and other employment processes; privacy standards and frameworks; and legislative advocacy and policy development. He has extensive experience advising clients on corporate management reviews, affirmative action compliance audits and sophisticated statistical analyses in connection with employment class action litigation and investigations by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and other agencies.

Based in Washington, D.C., Kris has developed highly effective relationships with federal and state regulators across the country. Believing that action must be based on information, Kris has authored hundreds of articles, client alerts, and blog posts and speaks frequently before industry and legal groups on labor and employment regulation, compliance, litigation and strategy.

Kris serves as co-chair of Crowell’s Labor & Employment Group.

Career & Education

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    • The George Washington University Law School, J.D., honors
    • University of Michigan, B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
    • The George Washington University Law School, J.D., honors
    • University of Michigan, B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa
    • District of Columbia
    • Maryland
    • District of Columbia
    • Maryland

Kris's Insights

Client Alert | 12 min read | 03.04.24

Implications for Private Employers of the Supreme Court’s Harvard Decision Banning Race-Based Affirmative Action in College Admissions

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court held that it is unconstitutional (under the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, as to public institutions) and a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as applicable to private institutions accepting federal financial assistance) for colleges and universities to consider race as a factor in the admissions process. See Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll., No. 20-1199, 2023 WL 4239254 (U.S. June 29, 2023) (“Harvard”), a summary of which can be found here. This decision upended decades of precedent and has caused employers in the private sector to ask how the decision will impact diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DE&I”) initiatives and employment decisions. This article addresses the impact of Harvard, eight months later....

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Kris's Insights

Client Alert | 12 min read | 03.04.24

Implications for Private Employers of the Supreme Court’s Harvard Decision Banning Race-Based Affirmative Action in College Admissions

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court held that it is unconstitutional (under the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause, as to public institutions) and a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as applicable to private institutions accepting federal financial assistance) for colleges and universities to consider race as a factor in the admissions process. See Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll., No. 20-1199, 2023 WL 4239254 (U.S. June 29, 2023) (“Harvard”), a summary of which can be found here. This decision upended decades of precedent and has caused employers in the private sector to ask how the decision will impact diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DE&I”) initiatives and employment decisions. This article addresses the impact of Harvard, eight months later....