Speakers: Vicki Hart Wilmarth
Professional Experience:
Vicki Hart Wilmarth is an employment lawyer with 20 years experience in Amarillo, Texas. She represents businesses in employment-related disputes, including defending them in discrimination, harassment and other types of wrongful termination cases. She advises employers on personnel policies and employment practices and trains managers in appropriate hiring, discipline and firing techniques. She provides in-house and community training on employment law issues, such as violence in the workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Furthermore, she has audited the personnel practices of businesses to discern areas where future employment law problems could arise.
Because so many businesses rely on her for legal advice, Ms. Wilmarth's practice also includes business litigation and commercial defense cases. Occasionally, Ms. Wilmarth has also represented employees in age, gender and racial discrimination cases as well as wrongful termination matters.
Ms. Wilmarth is the author of the monthly Employer's Advocate column in the Amarillo Business Journal. She has served as president of the Panhandle Human Resources Association, which educates business owners and supervisors about personnel issues. She is also a member of the national organization for personnel managers, the Society for Human Resources Management.
Ms. Wilmarth was licensed to practice law in all the courts in the State of Texas by the Texas Supreme Court in May 1987. She is also licensed before the federal district courts of the Northern District of Texas, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
Education:
- Baylor University (B.A., 1983) National Merit Scholar; Journalism/Sociology Degree
- South Texas College of Law (J.D., 1986) Judge John R. Brown Award; Law Review, Executive Editor
Presentations:
- Employer’s Guide to Preventing Lawsuits – WorkSource of the South Plains (2001-present); WorkSource of the Coastal Bend (2006); Amarillo College Business & Industry Center's Workforce Development Training (2000 - 2005)
- Leadership Training Courses for Managers in Employee Discipline, Violence in the Workplace, Sexual Harassment, and Hiring and Firing - Amarillo College Business & Industry Center (1999 - present)
- Texas Workforce Center's Employer Forum - various topics for employers (2000 - present)
- Personnel Manuals in Texas - Small Business Development Conference (1999)
- Mistakes Panhandle Employers Make - West Texas A&M University (1998)
- Workplace Violence Prevention - Amarillo College Business & Industry Center (1998)
- Ten Things You May Not Know about Human Resources, But Should - Industry Conference, Panhandle Human Resources Association (1996)
- Questions Most Frequently Asked of an Employment Lawyer - Panhandle Human Resources Association (1995)
- Joint and Several Liability - Advanced Civil Trial Course, State Bar of Texas (1995)
- How to Use the Deceptive Trade Practices Act in Personal Injury Practice - Advanced Personal Injury Course, State Bar of Texas (1993)
- Family and Medical Leave Act and Update on Other Areas of Employment Law - Industry Conference, Panhandle Chapter of the Texas Society of CPAs (1993)
- Tips on Avoiding Employee Litigation: Industry Conference, Panhandle Chapter of the Texas Society of CPAs (1992)
Memberships and Activites:
- Panhandle Human Resources Association, President, 1998; Member 1995 - present
- Member, State Bar of Texas, 1987 - present
- Director, Amarillo Bar Association, 1996 - 1998
- Member, Amarillo Bar Association, 1987 - present
- Member, Society for Human Resource Management, 1997 - present
- President, Panhandle Plains Council of Camp Fire, 1995, Board Member 1990-1996
- Trustee, Amarillo Camp Fire Foundation, 1997-2003
- Trustee, Presbyterian Home for Children, 2000-present, Chair of Personnel Committee, 2002-present
- Member, First Presbyterian Church of Amarillo, 1994 - present