Robin E. McGuffin
Robin McGuffin is a Member in the firm’s Lexington office. She is Chair of the firm's Employment Law Service Group and a member of the Business Litigation Group.
After graduating first in her class from Vanderbilt University Law School, Robin was a law clerk for the Honorable John M. Rogers, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She now focuses her practice on defending and counseling employers on a wide variety of employment matters. In addition to defending employers against litigation asserted under state and federal anti-discrimination and wage-and-hour statutes, Robin regularly conducts workplace investigations, counsels employers on compliance issues, drafts employment and restrictive covenant agreements, and assists with drafting and implementing employment policies and procedures.
Robin is also experienced in litigating non-compete and restrictive covenant disputes, trade secret misappropriation claims, and other complex business disputes. Robin additionally devotes a substantial portion of her practice to appellate advocacy in both federal and state courts.
Navigating Marijuana in the Workplace
speaker, Employment Best Practices: Pointers for Workplace Issues, The Harmonie Group, April 16, 2025
People on the Move: Robin E. McGuffin
by editor, Louisville Business First, April 4, 2025
Stites & Harbison Names New Employment Head
by Adrian Cruz, Law360.com, April 3, 2025
Stites & Harbison, PLLC appoints Robin E. McGuffin as Chair of the firm’s Employment Law Service Group
by editor, The Lane Report, April 3, 2025
Medical Cannabis Seminar
panel member, Kentucky Academy of Healthcare Attorneys Webinar, November 13, 2024
Sexual Misconduct and Harassment Claims: How Female Lawyers Can Provide Impact in the Defense of Third-Party and EPL Claims
Women of Harmonie October Webinar, The Harmonie Group, October 29, 2024
Federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: Protecting Future Generations
presentation to client, September 26, 2024
Navigating Marijuana in the Workplace
lunch presentation, Shelby County Human Resource Association, August 15, 2024
Unveiling the Impact: Notable Developments Shaping Restrictive Covenants
Webcast, The Knowledge Group, November 28, 2023
The FTC's Proposed Ban on Non-Competes: What Every Employer Needs to Know
Stites & Harbison and JPMorgan Chase seminar, September 26, 2023
Managing Employees During a Pandemic
Panel Member, Lexington Forum, October 7, 2021
Institutional Racism in Legal Systems: Criminal Justice, Employment & Housing: Part 2 - Understanding the Impact of Race in Employment
Moderator, presented by National Bar Association, John Rowe Chapter and Fayette County Bar Association Young Lawyers Section, September 10, 2020
Defense Strategies for Winning on the Statute of Limitations
American Bar Association, Products Liability Litigation Newsletter, August 2019
Obtained a defense award after first-chairing a multi-day arbitration concerning the alleged breach of an executive employment agreement.
Both obtained and successfully defended against grants of injunctive relief seeking enforcement of restrictive covenants.
Defeated conditional certification of an FLSA collective action.
Successfully represented multiple employers in discrimination and retaliation administrative charges and lawsuits in state and federal court under statutes such as Title VII, the FMLA, the FLSA, the ADA, the ADEA, and the Kentucky Civil Rights Act.
Counsel to a major manufacturer of respiratory protection products in serial litigation.
Received published opinion in the Kentucky Court of Appeals affirming grant of summary judgment to pharmaceutical drug manufacturer.
Counsel for an independent institutional investment consultant in defense of derivative, taxpayer, and Attorney General claims asserted on behalf of a public pension system.
Counsel to a provider of remediation services in a multi-plaintiff toxic tort case following a natural gas release.
Employment Law Service Group, Chair (2025-present)
Office of General Counsel, Ethics Subcommittee, Member
Lexington Office Recruiting Committee, Member
GreenHouse17, Board of Directors (2019-present); President (2025-27); Secretary (2020-24)
Lexington Forum, President-Elect (2024-25); Board of Directors (2022-25)
Leadership Lexington, Class of 2022-23
Vanderbilt University Law School
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Founder's Medal for First Honors (Valedictorian)
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Vanderbilt Law Review, Articles Editor
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Order of the Coif
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Bass, Berry & Sims Intramural Moot Court Competition, winner
summa cum laude
Vanderbilt University
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Phi Beta Kappa
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Outstanding Student in Community Leadership & Development
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Peabody Scholar
Best Lawyers in America®, Ones To Watch, Commercial Litigation; Litigation - Labor and Employment; Product Liability Litigation - Defendants (2022-25)
Kentucky Super Lawyers®, Rising Star (2024-25)

Sixth Circuit Wrestles with Meaning of “Weekly Basis” Under the FLSA
On April 1, 2025, in Lynwood Pickens v. Hamilton-Ryker IT Solutions, LLC, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified what it means to pay a salary on a “weekly basis” under federal regulation 29 C.F.R. § 541.602(a) for purposes of classifying an employee as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In a divided opinion, the Sixth Circuit held that to be paid on a “weekly basis” means that an employee is paid for “a regular week’s worth of work.” As a result, the court held that an employer did not pay an employee on a “weekly basis”—and therefore owed the employee overtime—when the weekly guaranteed pay to the employee was only the equivalent of one day’s pay and the employee was paid an hourly rate for every hour worked beyond the first eight hours in the week.
Robin McGuffin Appointed Chair of Stites & Harbison’s Employment Law Service Group
Stites & Harbison, PLLC recently appointed attorney Robin E. McGuffin Chair of the firm’s Employment Law Service Group. McGuffin succeeds Shannon Antle Hamilton who has led the group for more than 20 years. Both Hamilton and McGuffin will continue their diverse legal practices in employment law.
EEOC and DOJ Issue Guidance Regarding DEI in the Workplace
On March 19, 2025, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice issued two technical assistance documents regarding “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (“DEI”) programs in the workplace. Consistent with the Trump Administration’s Executive Orders regarding DEI, these technical assistance documents warn of the potential illegality of certain employment policies or initiatives under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Robin McGuffin takes a look at the guidance recommended in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
GreenHouse17 Elects Robin McGuffin Board President
GreenHouse17 recently elected Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorney Robin E. McGuffin President of its Board of Directors. Prior to this role, McGuffin served as Secretary. She will serve a two-year term.
Kentucky Super Lawyers Honors 47 Stites & Harbison Attorneys for 2025
The 2025 edition of Kentucky Super Lawyers recently honored 47 Stites & Harbison, PLLC attorneys in the Covington, Frankfort, Lexington and Louisville, Ky., offices. The publication named 34 attorneys to the Super Lawyers list and 13 attorneys to the Rising Stars list.
Kentucky Academy of Healthcare Attorneys Webinar: Medical Cannabis Seminar
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
WEBINAR
Stites & Harbison attorneys Bailey Browning, Kelly White Bryant, Jennifer Cave, Jackson Hurst-Sanders, Robin McGuffin and Sarah Cronan Spurlock will be speakers at the Kentucky Academy of Healthcare Attorneys webinar, Medical Cannabis Seminar being held November 13, 2024.
FTC Noncompete Rule Struck Down Nationwide
On Tuesday, August 20, 2024, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered an order preventing the FTC’s rule on noncompetes from going into effect nationwide. For the time being, employers do not need to comply with the FTC’s rule, which was scheduled to go into effect on September 4, 2024. Employment attorneys Shannon Hamilton, Robin McGuffin, and Zac Losey take a look at that decision in this Stites & Harbison Client Alert.
Stites & Harbison, PLLC Lawyers Named to 2025 Best Lawyers® Publications
Stites & Harbison, PLLC is pleased to announce that 97 of its lawyers are included in the 2025 edition of The Best Lawyers in America®. Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers® has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence according to the publication. Additionally, 12 Stites & Harbison attorneys are named as “Lawyer of the Year” and 30 attorneys are recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® in America, which recognizes attorneys early in their careers for outstanding professional excellence in private practice in the United States.