Employment & Labor

Served as lead counsel, representing a wholesale auto parts company in a wage-and-hour lawsuit involving commissions and lunch breaks.

Represented a national restaurant chain in a discrimination claim and successfully negotiated a nominal settlement.

Worked with a large road construction company in a U.S. Department of Labor audit, preserving the overtime exemption status of many employees.

Represented a multi-employer bargaining unit in unfair labor practice charges filed against a local union hiring hall.

Served as lead counsel to the owner of multiple fast-casual restaurant franchises as in three simultaneous workers’ compensation lawsuits brought by the same employee.

Represented an oil and gas company in a collective/class action suit involving an overtime dispute brought by independent contractors. 

Regularly counsels employer benefits committees on fiduciary issues and best practices.

Regularly counsel public schools and private employers on ACA compliance issues. 

Obtained multiple favorable compliance statements under the IRS’ Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System. 

Created 457(f) plans on behalf of several health systems.

Conducted a compliance self-audit of all retirements plans for an employer with 16,000 employees.

Successfully argued cases before the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s Adjudicating Committee on independent contractor issues, re-rates due to gross misrepresentation and improper application of BWC rules.

Used both aggressive and strategic techniques to help a new client with multiple derailed claims get their claims costs under control. For example, fighting to have only the necessary treatment allowed and unrelated conditions denied, we successfully argued that an injured worker had reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) to have compensation terminated. Out of options, the injured worker ultimately settled her claim.

Successfully terminated temporary total compensation causing an overpayment of almost $20,000 through use of external surveillance and social media. 

Worked with the Ohio Attorney General's Office to reduce a school district's liability for a common pleas court settlement to zero dollars. The school district paid nothing to have the case dismissed with prejudice and did not suffer any effect to its premiums as a result.

Advise employer organizations on the potential impact of House and Senate bills, as well as rule changes proposed by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation and Industrial Commission of Ohio. This involves consulting with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation on behalf of employer organizations to draft and revise rules that protect the rights of Ohio employers.

Represented a hospital in a case where a terminated employee accused the hospital of violating the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). We defended the hospital's leave of absence policy and its right to expect employees to comply or be terminated. Our client secured a favorable settlement in mediation three weeks before trial. 

Finalized contract negotiations in advance of the client's timetable, at the same time disposing of a pending lawsuit that arose from interpretation of the prior labor contract. The court case, if litigated to conclusion, could have resulted in significant unbudgeted expense and a negative impact on the labor-management relationship. By resolving the lawsuit as part of the new contract negotiation, the client was able to manage its budget responsibly and avoided the uncertainty of a judicial decision, the cost of appeals, and negative publicity.

Participated in Senate meetings and provided information to various statewide employers' organizations regarding recent legislation.

Successfully defended a school district’s termination of an employee, obtaining a grievance arbitration award upholding the termination and dismissal of an EEOC charge alleging race and national origin discrimination.

Successfully defended the nonrenewal of an employee’s contract by a county board of developmental disabilities, obtaining dismissals of the employee’s appeals to the State Personnel Board of Review, the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas and the Tenth District Court of Appeals.

Worked with the attorney general's office to reduce a school district's liability for a common pleas court settlement to zero dollars. The school district paid nothing to have the case dismissed with prejudice and did not suffer any effect on the premiums as a result.

Advised school districts regarding Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) issues relating to employee fitness for duty.

Represented a school district in connection with the formation of multiple non-teaching bargaining units, including handling a State Employment Relations Board (SERB) hearing on petition for representation, advising on union campaign issues and negotiating initial contracts.

Won summary judgment in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in a gender and age discrimination case filed by an ex-employee of a college bookstore. The United States District Court  determined that portions of the employee's claims constituted frivolous litigation regarding the defendant’s claim for the award of damages against the plaintiff for frivolous litigation.

Obtained a Knox County Common Pleas defense jury verdict in favor of our client on all counts of a 31-count age and disability discrimination complaint. The jury then  awarded $25,000 to the defendant on the defendant’s fraud counterclaim against the plaintiff after finding for our client on all counts of the complaint.

Represented a college in a gender and disability discrimination and wrongful discharge suit. Achieved successful result, including jury award for fraud in counterclaim.