Elizabeth A. Wiens

Elizabeth A. Wiens is a shareholder at Gursky Wiens & Shanley and devotes a major part of her practice to representing unions in the private and public sectors. She handles discharge and contract interpretation cases in arbitration and represents unions in federal court, Rhode Island state court, and before labor agencies. Her work also includes employee benefit funds, individual employment and pension matters, wage and hour claims, constitutional issues, and public-records or open-meetings disputes.

Elizabeth earned a B.A. in Political Science, cum laude, from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 2000 and a J.D. from Roger Williams University School of Law in 2003. She graduated ninth in her law school class, received a Ralph R. Papitto Full Tuition Scholarship, and participated in the Honors Program. Her academic record and legal training support a practice requiring close analysis of collective bargaining agreements, statutes, benefit rules, constitutional claims, and complex procedural questions.

Elizabeth represents unions before the National Labor Relations Board, the Rhode Island State Labor Relations Board, and the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations. She has represented Taft-Hartley employee benefit funds on compliance and collection matters and individuals in employment and pension disputes. Her practice includes claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, ERISA, state wage and hour laws, and constitutional provisions. She has argued before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the Rhode Island Supreme Court.

Elizabeth A. Wiens is active in organizations connected to labor and employment law, including the AFL-CIO Lawyers’ Coordinating Committee and the Rhode Island Bar Association. She has contributed to a Rhode Island employment law practice guide and has spoken at labor and arbitration conferences. Her work combines union representation, employment litigation, pension and benefit matters, wage claims, arbitration, and appellate advocacy. She brings sustained experience to disputes involving workplace rights, collective bargaining, benefits, and public-sector legal obligations.

Law Office Affiliations

• Shareholder, Gursky Wiens & Shanley Law
• Member, Rhode Island Bar Association
• Member, Massachusetts Bar Association
• Member, AFL-CIO Lawyers’ Coordinating Committee
• Member, Labor Law & Employment Committee of the Rhode Island Bar Association
• Member, Greater Rhode Island Chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association

Licensed State

• Rhode Island
• Massachusetts

Education

• Roger Williams University School of Law
  Juris Doctor (JD)
• State University of New York at Geneseo
  Bachelor of Arts (BA) (Cum Laude)

Awards & Badges