Melissa J. Jackson
Adjunct Professor
Law College Building
648 N. Shaw Lane Rm
East Lansing, MI 48824-1300
jack1188@msu.edu
Degrees
J.D. 1989, cum laude, Wayne State University Law School; B.A. 1974, Wittenberg University
Bar Admissions
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Michigan
Courses
Employment Law
Biography
Melissa Jackson is a shareholder with the law firm of Foster Swift Collins & Smith, where she practices exclusively in employment law. She was a member of the firm’s executive committee, as well as chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Department. She received her undergraduate education at Wittenberg University and her law degree, with honors, from Wayne State University. Before entering law school, Melissa served for eight years as a human resources director in the private sector.
Melissa counsels both public and private employers on all employment and labor matters and represents them in addressing and defending claims such as discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, wrongful discharge, Family Medical Leave Act, and unemployment compensation. She has extensive experience in handling arbitrations and also has developed and trains employers on an alternative system of problem resolution.
Melissa is a frequent speaker and author on diverse employment topics, and has been the primary author for a series of books for the Michigan State Chamber of Commerce, including HR Made Easy from Hiring to Termination, Model Employee Policies, Hiring to Termination Handbook, and the Wage and Hour Handbook. She was principal author of The 100 Biggest Mistakes of Personnel Management, published by Aikman & Associates, Inc. She also was a contributing author to Inside the Minds: Negotiating and Drafting Employment Agreements, 2011 ed, published by Aspatore.