Peter Murphy counsels private employers and non-profit organizations daily on the full range of issues affecting their workplaces, including:
- wage-and-hour issues;
- employee discipline, termination, and performance management;
- disability accommodations, FMLA compliance, and sick leave;
- contract negotiations, administration, and management;
- compliance with state and federal laws and regulations;
- drafting and updating workplace policies and handbooks.
Peter helps employers mitigate risk and improve workplace conditions by providing preventative trainings on topics such as sexual harassment prevention, professionalism in the workplace, FMLA compliance, navigating leave issues, and legal overviews for supervisors. In addition, he conducts investigations into alleged incidents of discrimination, harassment, and misconduct in the workplace. When employers are sued, Peter provides pragmatic and effective representation before state and federal courts as well as administrative agencies such as the Department of Labor, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and in arbitrations conducted by the American Arbitration Association.
Peter also represents both public and independent schools in education and employment matters, including policy development, compliance with state and federal education laws, student discipline and confidentiality issues, and employee discipline and discharge. He has extensive experience litigating cases for public and independent schools on a variety of issues, including:
- tenure and denial of promotion;
- constitutional claims brought by students and employees;
- discrimination claims brought by current and former employees;
- appeals of awards in administrative hearings under the FOIA, the IDEA, and other educational statutes;
- wrongful termination claims;
- contractual claims made by third parties;
- arbitrations under collectively bargained agreements and appeals of such awards to court.
Peter currently serves as a fact-finder, arbitrator, and attorney trial referee in the Connecticut Superior Court, and as a Contributing Editor for the nationally distributed Litigation News magazine published by the American Bar Association. He is the current chair of the Hartford Hospital Young Leaders Advisory Council, an executive committee member of the Connecticut Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Section, and serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations in the Hartford area. Peter served for several years as an adjunct professor for the first-year Moot Court class at the University of Connecticut School of Law. He was also a member of the Criminal Justice Act panel for the United States District Court in Connecticut. Prior to joining Shipman & Goodwin, Peter served as a law clerk to the Honorable Flemming L. Norcott, Jr., of the Connecticut Supreme Court, and to the Honorable Christopher F. Droney of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.
- Listed as a Connecticut Super Lawyer®: Employment Litigation: Defense (2015-2019)
- Listed as a Connecticut Super Lawyer Rising Star®: Employment Litigation: Defense (2013-2014), Schools & Education (2010-2012)
- ABA Litigation Section Litigation News, Contributing Editor
- 40 Under Forty, Hartford Business Journal (2014)
- O'Connell, Flaherty & Attmore Scholar; First-Year Honors Program
- Sarah N. Cohen and Elizabeth S. Bossler Scholarship
- Class of 1970 Scholar
- Connecticut Law Review, Articles Editor
- University of Connecticut School of Law: Former Adjunct Professor, Moot Court
- American Bar Association: Labor and Employment Law Section; Litigation Section
- Connecticut Bar Association: Labor & Employment Law Section, Executive Committee Member; Young Lawyers Section; Co-Chair, Federal Practice Committee (2008-2009) and Co-Chair, Education Law Committee (2010-2012)
- Hartford County Bar Association
- Human Resources Association of Central Connecticut
- National Association of College and University Attorneys
- Hartford Youth Scholars Foundation: Board Member
- Key Human Services, Inc.: Board Member
- Hartford Hospital Young Leaders Advisory Council: Chair
- Emanuel Lutheran Church (Hartford, CT): Council Member
- West Hartford Youth Hockey: Coach
Defended Against Constitutional Claims
Successfully defended a local board of education before both the trial court and the Connecticut Supreme Court in a challenge brought by parents against the board's use of drug-detecting dogs in the public schools.
Obtained Summary Judgment
Prevailed on a motion for summary judgment in an age discrimination case brought by a former employee against a hospital.