Melissa Carrasco

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Melissa Carrasco practices primarily in the following areas:

• Labor & Employment Law & Litigation
• Business Immigration Law

Melissa works with employers, international talent, and global entrepreneurs through all aspects of the U.S. visa process.  By taking the time to understand their business needs, goals, and timeframes, Melissa works with each stakeholder to identify the available options for employment or investment-based visas, understand the cost and timeframes, and then walk through the visa application process from start to finish.

Melissa also enjoys working with human resource professionals to address the variety of situations that arise on a daily basis--helping employers understand and limit their risk of litigation, developing and implementing employment policies and procedures, drafting employment agreements and handbooks, and complying with the myriad of laws that affect the employment relationship. Melissa also represents employers both before and after a lawsuit is filed, in proceedings before the EEOC, NLRB, DOL, and state and federal courts, including enforcing non-competes, wage and hour claims, discrimination and retaliation claims, wrongful termination claims, and whistleblower claims.

A member of a career Navy family, Melissa grew up on or around some of the major Navy bases along the East Coast including Jacksonville, Norfolk, Philadelphia, and Charleston. These early experiences sparked a love of travel that has taken her to Hungary, Romania, Poland, Sweden, Israel, Aruba, and Bolivia.

Business Law: Labor and Employment Law,
Administrative Law
Business Immigration Law

J.D., Summa Cum Laude, University of Tennessee,
College of Law

Tennessee

Eastern District of Tennessee

Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

Managing Editor, Tennessee Law Review

Order of the Coif

Citation for Extraordinary Professional Promise

Melissa writes a monthly column for DICTA, and is a frequent author and speaker on topics related to immigration and human resources issues, including the following:

 Presentations:

 Avoiding Wage & Hour Violations - FLSA Strategies that Work (2016)

 Miranda Warning for Business People: Legal Implications of Business Communications (2016)

Overview of Immigration & Paths to Citizenship (2018)

#NOT YOU TOO – Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (2019-2023)

The Square Root of PII: Common Sense Confidentiality Training  (2019)

Sex, Guns & Social Media: Advanced Employment Policies for the Unpredictable Workplace (KBA CLE 2019)

Revenge of the Sesh – TN Online Notary Act (Smoky Mtn. Paralegal Assoc. July 2019)

Anatomy of an Investigation (Coulter & Justus Annual CPE 2021)

Shot in the Dark, Navigating the Minefield of Vaccination Mandates & Policies (KBA CLE 2020)

 Back to Business: Tips for Tennessee Employers (2020)

 Employee Manual Update (Knoxville Association of Legal Administrators 2020)

 Arbitration, Accommodations & DEI (Co-Presenter, KBA CLE 2020)

COVID-19 Turns 20 – Pandemic Preparedness for the Next Wave (Coulter & Justus Annual CPE 2021)

 Diners, Drive-ins, and Discovery (KBA CLE 2023)

 Welcome to the Danger Zone: Immigration Law Update (KBA CLE 2023)

 The Wild Wild West of Noncompetes (Co-Presenter, TSCPA Annual CPE 2023)

 I Knew you were Trouble when you Walked in – Employee Noncompetes (Coulter & Justus Annual CPE 2023)

 Articles:

 Hiring with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Mind

Knoxville Business Journal (Aug. 2022)

 I’d Love to Tell You, but Then I would have to Kill You – Protecting your Company’s Confidential Information

                             Knoxville Business Journal (June 2016)

 Lectures:

              2021-2023 – Instructor, University of Tennessee Center for Professional Education & Lifelong Learning, From Tattoos to Terminations: an Overview of HR Laws

              Fall 2023 - Adjunct Professor, University of Tennessee, Master of Laws, Regulation of the Workplace (Law 990)