U.S. companies now anticipate an uptick in new lawsuits and government probes, as well as the need to hire more in-house litigation staff to help manage the expected rise in disputes, according to a survey of corporate legal departments by Fulbright & Jaworski, an international law firm.

Fulbright says that employment cases “perennially” take up the largest portion of corporate dockets. According to the law firm, survey respondents reported the greatest spike in wage-and-hour suits – in which employees allege underpayment for overtime, meal and rest times. Nineteen percent of U.S. companies cited an increase in wage-and-hour cases in the past year compared to only one percent noting a decrease. “Retailers, which frequently call on part-time or seasonal workers, appear to have the most exposure: One-third of retail firms saw an increase in wage-and-hour litigation, with none reporting a drop,” Fulbright says.

After wage-and-hour cases, companies saw pronounced increases in five other areas of workplace litigation: general discrimination suits, followed by privacy, claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, disability claims, and age discrimination, says the law firm. Fulbright says that of 10 major types of employment litigation, U.S. companies pointed to race discrimination cases as creating the highest financial exposure, followed by claims stemming from sexual discrimination; wage-and-hour violations; ageism; harassment; retaliation; disability; non-compete disputes; and violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act.