Camille A.Olson

Partner

For nearly 30 years, Camille has represented public and private organizations nationwide in all areas of litigation, investigative matters, and counseling, with an emphasis on employment discrimination, retaliation, harassment, wage-and-hour matters, and independent contractor status matters.


More About Camille

Camille is a partner at Seyfarth, co-chair of its National Complex Litigation practice group, and national chair of its Complex Discrimination Litigation practice group. She serves on the firm's National Labor and Employment Law Steering Committee, and is the past national chair of the Labor & Employment practice department. Since 2013, Camille has served as Chair of the US Chamber of Commerce's Equal Employment Opportunity Subcommittee. Since 2010, Camille has co-led Seyfarth’s Global Policy Counsel on workplace matters, including amicus briefs, regulatory commentary, and best practices recommendations for human resource professionals on all equal employment opportunity topics.  

In high-profile situations with significant risks, global organizations rely on Camille for counseling, policy thought leadership, external and internal investigations, public relations management, and litigation defense. Camille serves as a trusted advisor, outside investigator, and lead litigation counsel for numerous Fortune 500 companies and organizations on the most pressing current legal risks. She is an invaluable advisor and crisis counselor.

Camille regularly serves as outside counsel and independent counsel to boards of directors and executive team members in connection with internal investigations of highly sensitive matters. These matters at times span multiple jurisdictions and have involved matters of significant public interest. Camille also handles external investigations by government regulatory bodies.

Over the last few years, Camille has co-led a number of investigations, including a global investigation of alleged sexual misconduct that involved a number of countries as well as detailed interviews with a large group of individuals. Her work required navigating multiple legal systems, cultural nuances, and cross-border regulations to gather critical information for a high-stakes situation that was under intense public scrutiny. In early 2024, Camille was profiled by The Globe and Mail as a “prominent labor and employment lawyer, who has been recognized as one of the US’s ‘trailblazers’ in crisis management,” and “seasoned workplace investigator and litigator, known for handling sensitive cases that involve large corporations and high-profile executives.” One participant in a recent investigation described Camille as “the best of the best” in workplace investigations. She has conducted workplace investigations involving allegations of harassment, discrimination, financial impropriety, safety violations, C-Suite misconduct, inappropriate behavior, whistleblower claims, retaliation, data security, corporate compliance, and disability accommodations.

Camille has assisted municipalities in both litigation matters raising discriminatory practice issues as well as in sharing and developing best practices in investigations involving state officials and other members of legislative bodies. For example, in 2019 and 2023, Camille presented as a featured speaker on the topic of conducting workplace investigations involving legislative bodies at the National Conference of State Legislatures National Seminar on HR Management in State Legislatures. In 2021, Camille participated as a guest speaker and subject matter expert at the Department of the US Army’s People First Task Force (PFTF) Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Program on the topic of “Core Principles in Establishing a Harassment-Free Workplace.” Camille’s presentation was part of a 17 day symposium for over 50 soldiers from all command levels Army-Wide, including General Officers. The symposium was a result of the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee’s report, a detailed investigation at Fort Hood to address the challenges of sexual harassment, sexual assault, violent crimes, and other issues. Camille’s work touched on an examination of the command climate and culture at Fort Hood and the surrounding military community to determine whether they reflected the Army’s commitment to safety, respect, inclusiveness, diversity, and freedom from sexual harassment, and best practices to enhance existing protocols and procedures.

As a leader in the field of workplace compliance and employment law, Camille works closely with Seyfarth’s dedicated training subsidiary, Seyfarth at Work (SAW). SAW offers training programs that are interactive, high energy, and practical, designed to help create effective leaders, ensure respectful workplace conduct, and build and support an employer’s available affirmative, reasonable care, and good faith defenses. All SAW investigations, EEO, and conduct courses have been reviewed and approved by the EEOC and DOJ in the context of specific consent decrees. SAW regularly provides training to municipalities throughout the country, including most recently the City of Elgin, Illinois; the City of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; the Regional Transportation Authority; the Village of Schaumburg, Illinois; the State of Illinois; the Village of Oak Lawn, Illinois; the Village of Arlington Heights, Illinois; the City of Midlothian, Texas; the City of Elmhurst, Illinois; and the City of Farmers Branch, Texas.

Throughout the last two decades, Camille has regularly appeared before the US Senate, the US House of Representatives, the EEOC, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and the US Department of Labor on her own behalf and on behalf of the US Chamber of Commerce and the Society for Human Resource Management. In these capacities, she has provided the business perspective on proposed legislation to amend the following laws: the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Equal Pay Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the application of white collar exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Internal Revenue Code, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Former EEOC Chairperson Jenny Yang, as part of her work at the Urban Institute, curated a group of experts to present “Promising Practices for Addressing Harassment in the STEM Workplace.” Camille presented as a panelist at the convening on the topic of organizational accountability and participated in roundtable discussions. As a result of the convening discussions, a research report was published by the Urban Institute, quoting Camille on pages 10, 12, and 19.

Camille frequently authors public comments on regulatory and legislative proposals on behalf of employers and presents on behalf of coalitions and associations. In 2023, Camille delivered an oral and written presentation to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) on the Department of Labor’s proposed regulation on independent contractor status under the FLSA. She was involved in advocacy efforts from 2021-2024 on behalf of business leaders and independent contractor coalitions in over a dozen separate comments submitted to the DOL on its proposed regulation. She co-authored written comments on behalf of the US Chamber of Commerce to the EEOC on the Commission’s Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace in 2023. Camille has also authored requests for opinion letters that resulted in new guidance related to clarification on exempt status as a result of changes in job duties during the COVID-19 pandemic and the issuance of an opinion letter on whether certain journalists are exempt under the FLSA. Camille participated in meetings with EEOC Commissioners regarding the Commission’s equal pay initiatives and their impact on the employer community. In 2021, Camille testified before a joint hearing of the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services and the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections concerning, “Fighting for Fairness: Examining Legislation to Confront Workplace Discrimination.” In 2019, she testified before a joint hearing of the House Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services and the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections on the Paycheck Fairness Act (HR 7). In 2018, Camille testified before the Senate HELP subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security on the subject of the gig economy and the future of retirement savings. In 2017, she testified before the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections on behalf of the US Chamber of Commerce concerning the need for more responsible regulatory and enforcement policies at the EEOC. In 2016, Camille testified before the EEOC on behalf of the US Chamber of Commerce concerning proposed revisions to the Employer Information Report (EEO-1). In 2014, she testified before the Senate HELP Committee concerning the Paycheck Fairness Act and before the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections regarding EEOC priorities and enforcement. She has contributed to US Chamber publications, including "The Impact of State Employment Policies on Job Growth: A 50-State Review" (2011), "A Review of EEOC Enforcement and Litigation Strategy during the Obama Administration—A Misuse of Authority" (2014), and “A Policy Patchwork: Paid Family Leave Laws in the States” (2020).

Camille's command of policy matters and sophisticated understanding of the legislative and enforcement processes are invaluable assets for her clients. Her legal analysis includes insight into legislative intent and history, offering nuanced interpretation and creative application of governing law. In 2016, Camille was nominated to serve on the FLSA Discovery Protocols Committee formed by the US Civil Rules Advisory Committee to draft proposed FLSA Discovery Protocols for FLSA Collective Actions to be used in federal courts.

Camille's trial experience includes lead defense trial counsel in "bet the company" harassment, discrimination, independent contractor, contract, commercial, and wage-and-hour cases. She has litigated numerous discrimination cases through both successful summary judgment motions and favorable jury verdicts in the context of EEOC pattern and practice multi-plaintiff cases, reductions in force, individual terminations, and harassment allegations.

Camille's track record of success in trial practice reflects her strategic and incisive approach to every phase of litigation. Through focused discovery and dispositive motion practice, she exerts pressure on the opposition at each stage, up to and including trial. In numerous instances, Camille has achieved successful resolution for clients on the eve of trial—and in a few cases during trial—through sophisticated and creative motion practice. In the past five years, she has negotiated several confidential settlements in various stages of litigation on behalf of both high-profile executives and Fortune 100 companies in cases involving allegations of misconduct, systemic violations of regulatory or company policies, misappropriation of trade secrets, and severance matters, as well as harassment and discrimination allegations.

Camille's proven record of success as a litigator is also a testament to her ability to quickly gain command of highly complex and often unwieldy fact patterns. In nearly three decades as a litigator, she has led hundreds of effective and efficient fact investigations within a litigation context. As lead investigator, Camille knows how to keep the controlling matters in the crosshairs—she delivers reliable, consistent results for her clients by leading highly talented and cross-functional teams in navigating vast repositories of information strategically, never losing sight of clearly articulated goals.

In what has been described as the largest jury verdict in a non-class action case in US history, Camille was part of a trial team in HP v. Oracle, litigating on behalf of HP regarding multiple contract and other California advertising and unfair business competition claims against Oracle. The jury ultimately awarded a full victory in favor of HP. In July 2021, an appellate court affirmed HP’s $4.5 billion judgment that was ultimately paid in October 2022. Camille, along with the entire HP trial team, was awarded the first ever “Innovation in Collaboration” honor by the Financial Times.

Other examples of Camille's creative pathways to victory include:

  • In a sexual harassment pattern and practice case, brought by the EEOC on behalf of over 100 employees against a global employer, Camille negotiated a settlement on the day of trial following a series of victories on critical motions in limine.
  • In a discrimination case against the CEO and executive team of a global technology company, Camille led a motion for directed verdict that resulted in a favorable settlement at the close of the plaintiff's case.
  • Representing a national retailer, Camille spearheaded the post-verdict strategy that secured a reversal of the largest-known single-plaintiff sexual harassment verdict in US history.

Camille's creativity and tenacity are the reasons that national companies rely on her to navigate no-win and high-stakes situations. From early and aggressive attacks on the pleadings, such as Twombly/Iqbal challenges in discrimination cases, to a full battery of post-verdict strategies, including Rule 12, 50, and 59 motions, Camille's litigation approach is defined by sophistication and resourcefulness.

Camille has been recognized throughout her career as a distinguished attorney, earning many notable accolades. In 2024, Camille was named by Forbes one of America’s Top 200 Lawyers and by Crain’s Chicago Business as a Notable Woman in Law. In 2024, Camille was also ranked in Band 1 by Chambers USA and has been highly ranked for 18 years. A client interviewed by Chambers USA said, “Camille Olson has a brilliant legal mind. She provides best-in-class employment representation and has a proven track record of exceptional results.” Legal 500 has ranked her as a leading lawyer in Labor and Employment litigation, noted as a litigator who “always makes time” for her clients. In recognition of Camille's commitment to excellence in managing independent contractor relationships, the Dispatch Printing Company of Columbus, Ohio, inaugurated the Camille A. Olson Award of Excellence to be awarded annually to one of their managers. She has published numerous articles and chapters on various labor matters, and is a regular speaker on complex litigation, discrimination, respectful workplaces, and nonemployee worker matters nationally and internationally. Camille is frequently quoted and consulted in publications and news outlets, such as National Public Radio, Bloomberg Law, The New York Times, The Daily Labor Report, The Chicago Tribune, Crain's Chicago Business, The Wall Street Journal, Presstime, Editor & Publisher, HR Magazine, and HR Wire.

  • BA, University of Michigan

    Highest Honors Award
    Eita Krom Scholar for Published Honors Thesis, published as Effort and Reward: The Assumption that College Grades are Affected by Quantity of Study in Social Forces (June 1985, Volume 63, Number 4, p. 945-967)

  • JD, University of Michigan Law School
  • California
  • Illinois
  • US Supreme Court
  • US Court of Appeals, First Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • US Court of Appeals, DC Circuit
  • US District Court, Central District of California
  • US District Court, Eastern District of California
  • US District Court, Northern District of California
  • US District Court, Southern District of California
  • US District Court, District of Columbia
  • US District Court, Central District of Illinois
  • US District Court, Northern District of Illinois
  • US District Court, Southern District of Illinois
  • US District Court, Northern District of Indiana
  • US District Court, Southern District of Indiana
  • US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan