Practices

Sedgwick’s employment and labor attorneys represent public, private, domestic and multinational employers throughout the United States and abroad in virtually every area of workplace law. We have defended management in federal, state, and local administrative actions, jury and non-jury trials, and arbitrations, as well as appellate proceedings. We defend class action and other multiclaimant proceedings as well as individual actions involving employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, ERISA, wage and hour, and unfair business competition claims. We represent clients in whistleblower litigation matters involving common law claims, OSHA and Sarbanes Oxley and assist clients in protecting trade secrets and other confidential information. We represent management before the National Labor Relations Board, and counsel clients on labor relations matters. Sedgwick also offers employee benefits advice and transactional services as well as employment and labor law training and counseling.

Sedgwick’s employment and labor attorneys represent public, private, domestic and multinational employers throughout the United States and abroad in virtually every area of workplace law. We have defended management in federal, state, and local administrative actions, jury and non-jury trials, and arbitrations, as well as appellate proceedings. We defend class action and other multiclaimant proceedings as well as individual actions involving employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, ERISA, wage and hour, and unfair business competition claims. We represent clients in whistleblower litigation matters involving common law claims, OSHA and Sarbanes Oxley and assist clients in protecting trade secrets and other confidential information. We represent management before the National Labor Relations Board, and counsel clients on labor relations matters. Sedgwick also offers employee benefits advice and transactional services as well as employment and labor law training and counseling.

Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation, Whistleblower and Other Workplace Law Matters

Sedgwick counsels management concerning employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower, wrongful discharge, and workplace tort claims. We advise employers regarding disability issues, family and medical leave, employee theft, drug testing, employee privacy, independent contractor issues, occupational safety and health, foreign-owned employer issues, employee discipline and discharge, and plant closings and mass layoffs. We represent management in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies and arbitrators in litigations, administrative proceedings, arbitrations and mediations concerning these matters, and defend employers against individual and class action claims.

Wage and Hour Compliance and Litigation

Sedgwick helps clients conduct wage and hour audits and works with management to devise a methodology for reclassifying employees in a way that minimizes disruption of operations and reduces the risk of litigation. We represent employers before the U.S. Department of Labor and state and local agencies. Our lawyers also have extensive courtroom experience successfully litigating overtime pay claims and other wage and hour disputes, including defending wage and hour class actions.

Labor Law and Labor Relations

Sedgwick helps employers defeat union organizing and rebut labor-sponsored corporate campaigns. We represent management before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), other government agencies, and federal and state courts in union representation, unfair labor practice, secondary boycott, union violence, unlawful strikes and picketing, and other labor cases. In unionized workplaces, we help employers to achieve success in collective bargaining; counsel management on union contract issues; guide employers in grievance matters; and represent management in labor arbitrations. We counsel employers on project labor agreements, prevailing wage laws, joint and single employer and alter ego issues, and Taft-Hartley employee benefits fund matters. We advise management concerning successorship, accretion, withdrawal liability, and other key labor and employment law issues that arise in mergers, acquisitions, sales, and other business transactions, as well as in bankruptcies. Sedgwick also alerts employers to new and potential labor legislation, including the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).

Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition

Our attorneys advise clients on protecting valuable trade secrets and confidential information, including the review, negotiation and drafting of complex employment contracts and consulting arrangements with restrictive covenants. We represent clients in employment-related intellectual property disputes in court, if necessary, or by limiting exposure through preventive counseling and preparation of detailed licensing and assignment agreements. We also litigate employment agreement, restrictive covenant, employee duty of loyalty and partnership dispute matters in federal and state courts and before arbitrators.

Counseling, Policy Development and Affirmative Action Compliance

We work with clients to develop effective employee policies, procedures, handbooks, and forms that minimize workplace risks and protect management when disputes arise. We represent management before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and other federal and state agencies. We regularly advise clients concerning federal, state, and local government contracting obligations; help management develop affirmative action plans; and represent employers in compliance review audits and enforcement actions by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

Employee Benefits Transactions, Counseling and Litigation

Our attorneys bring to the table a comprehensive understanding of employee benefits law and transactions with an emphasis on employee stock ownership plans and issues governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code. Sedgwick guides clients through the complex process of designing, implementing and maintaining pension plans, profit sharing plans and other retirement benefit vehicles. We also counsel management concerning health and welfare plans and COBRA obligations. In addition, we advise employers on the effect business mergers, other transactions, and bankruptcies have on employee benefit plans. Sedgwick also counsels clients on ERISA duties and requirements, and ensures that decision making procedures are correctly documented.

Our attorneys have extensive experience in successfully representing clients in a wide variety of ERISA disputes. Our litigation experience includes ERISA class actions, and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, in addition to suits brought by individual participants and beneficiaries, dissenting fiduciaries, and labor organizations. We have also successfully defended management against multiemployer withdrawal liability claims.

Workplace Investigations

Sedgwick attorneys are experienced in conducting a full range of internal investigations and routinely assist employers in complying with all legal requirements necessary for effective hotline, discrimination, harassment, and whistleblower complaint investigations.

Training Programs

Sedgwick provides on-site, tailored training to managers, human resource professionals and counsel. Our dynamic attorneys provide effective, interactive training that ensures compliance with state and federal laws while achieving a practical level of prevention of employment and labor law violations.

The following summaries describe representative matters handled by attorneys in Sedgwick’s Employment & Labor Law Group.

Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

• Sedgwick's Class Action attorneys partnered with Employment attorneys to obtain summary judgment for a life insurance company in an employment class action suit alleging gender discrimination.
• Sedgwick obtained summary judgment for an international elevator corporation in an employment action where the employee claimed harassment and discrimination rather than the receipt of numerous customer complaints.
• Sedgwick won a defense verdict on behalf of an international baking company where a delivery driver who was fired for poor attendance, alleged he was terminated because of racial bias.
• Obtained summary judgment for pharmaceutical manufacturer on claims by a district sales manager alleging discrimination (age and religion) and breach of employment contract.
• Obtained summary judgment for a Fortune 500 national retailer in a federal discrimination action arising out of a company restructuring.
• Successfully defended a multinational chemical manufacturer in an age discrimination and promissory estoppel claim by a top-producing salesman who was the only member of his group who failed to obtain a position in connection with a restructuring and sale of his division to a competitor.
• Obtained summary judgment for an airline company in an action brought by the EEOC alleging gender discrimination in pay by establishing that the methodology used by the EEOC to support its claim of disparate pay was invalid.
• Obtained a defense verdict against a plaintiff who claimed he was sexually harassed by co-workers of the same gender and was discriminated against because of his religion and age.
• Obtained summary judgment for pharmaceutical manufacturer on claims by an outside sales representative, alleged disability discrimination, harassment, retaliation and constructive discharge. The decision was affirmed on appeal.
• District sales manager for pharmaceutical company alleged race discrimination, breach of contract and retaliation. We obtained partial summary judgment as to all counts except race discrimination and then settled for a nominal amount.
• Obtained a defense arbitration award in favor of a defense contractor in an action in which plaintiff claimed that she was sexually harassed by her manager.
• Obtained a defense verdict for a defense contractor in an action brought by an employee who alleged that when she returned from an extended period of disability leave she was denied placement because of her race and her disability.
• Obtained a defense verdict in a sexual harassment claim brought by an employee of a fast-food provider.
• Defended major airline in disability discrimination action by former employee, obtaining victories before arbitrator, in federal district court, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
• Defended major airline in religious discrimination action by former employee and won summary judgment in federal district court.
• Won a defense verdict on behalf of a major pharmaceutical company following a nine-week trial in a discrimination case. The plaintiff, an outside sales representative, had alleged gender, medical condition and pregnancy discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

Employment Agreements, Consulting and Training

• Represented a Norwegian company in its acquisition of a California software company. Sedgwick performed a due diligence investigation of the target company, and prepared and negotiated the stock purchase and new employment agreements with senior and midlevel management.
• Supported the human resources organization of a major manufacturing client during a plant closure and reduction in force in the Eastern United States. Our attorneys provided advice on compliance with W.A.R.N., performed a statistical review to confirm that the reduction in force did not have a disparate impact on any protected group, and counseled human resources staff handling employee complaints resulting from the reduction.
• Trained the human resources staff of a defense contractor on how to properly conduct investigations of employee misconduct.
• Represented major real estate company in affirmative action plan compliance review by Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs that resulted in findings completely favorable to the employer.
• Wage and Hour / Executive Compensation
• Successfully convinced the California Labor Commissioner that employees receiving salary continuation payments under a severance agreement do not continue to accrue vacation pay.
• Obtained a defense verdict in favor of a manufacturing concern in a claim made by its vice president alleging breach of a stock transfer agreement and failure to pay a decade’s worth of accrued unused vacation.
• Represented major Japanese corporation in the beverage industry in defeating breach of employment contract claims by former chief executive of U.S. operating company. Tried case before panel of three arbitrators in Atlanta, Georgia. Won award denying relief to former CEO and requiring him to pay costs.
• Secured a favorable settlement on behalf of a major pharmaceutical company in a purported overtime class action matter. After first obtaining a partial summary judgment in an underlying discrimination action brought by an outside sales representative, Sedgwick defeated the class action claim for overtime pay.

Wrongful Termination

• Obtained summary judgment for a Fortune 500 national retailer on a retaliatory discharge claim brought against it by a service technician who was terminated shortly after filing a worker’s compensation claim.
• Obtained a defense jury verdict in favor of an employer sued for retaliatory discharge by a janitorial employee who was terminated shortly after he made a worker’s compensation claim and encouraged a second employee to make a worker’s compensation claim.
• Obtained a dismissal on behalf of our client in an insurance bad faith/conspiracy action in which plaintiff sued for wrongful termination. The court granted our motion to dismiss on the grounds that plaintiff had no standing to sue outside the workers’ compensation arena in light of the exclusive remedy provisions of the California Labor Code.
• Obtained a defense verdict for a major metropolitan hotel in an action alleging wrongful termination and defamation.
• Obtained summary judgment in favor of a dental plan in a claim made by its vice president, who alleged that he was terminated because he had requested a medical leave of absence to address substance abuse.
• Obtained summary judgment for a major pharmaceutical company in connection with a lawsuit in which the plaintiff alleged wrongful discharge, harassment, and disability discrimination.
• Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a major pharmaceutical company in an action alleging wrongful termination, gender discrimination, disability discrimination, and retaliation.
• Represented major New York hospital in wrongful discharge action by former executive and won summary judgment in State Supreme Court that Appellate Division affirmed.

Labor Law and Labor Relations

• Successfully represented manufacturer of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products in defeating union organizing efforts by Teamsters at production facility in northern New Jersey. Obtained substantial delay of election in proceedings before Region 22 of National Labor Relations Board and coordinated effective campaign that resulted in the Teamsters withdrawing their petition.
• Defeated organizing drive by United Steel Workers at manufacturing plant in northern Indiana. Represented employer at NLRB hearing and coordinated campaign that resulted in workers voting to remain union free.
• Represented major newspaper publisher in successful labor arbitrations in New York.
• Defeated union organizing effects by Teamsters at major Japanese company’s Los Angeles air cargo facility. Shutout union in NLRB election, with all employees voting NO to the Teamsters.
• Represented leading New York cultural institution in labor arbitrations in which arbitrators upheld management’s actions.
• Represented Japanese consumer electronics company in successful negotiations with Teamsters at New Jersey warehouse facility.
• Represented New York radio station in labor negotiations with AFTRA that resulted in substantial union give‑backs.
• Defeated union organizing drive by IBEW against major independent power producer in Florida.
• Negotiated substantial give-backs from United Steel Workers in Pennsylvania and New York at major specialty steel manufacturer.
• Defeated union organizing efforts by UFCW at Japanese plastic company’s manufacturing facility in New Jersey.
• Negotiated substantial concessions from United Steel Workers at structural steel company in New Jersey.
• Defeated organizing efforts by Painters Union at construction company in New York
• Halted secondary boycott by Carpenters Union against construction company in New Jersey.
• Forced IBEW to end secondary boycott against hotels in Florida.
• Handled labor issues in acquisition of major unionized automotive parts manufacturer. Defeated unfair labor charges by UAW, concerning the transaction, at key Illinois plant.

Employee Benefits Litigation

• Won summary judgment on behalf of a benefits plan sponsor saving the client more than $500,000 from a denial of a claim for long-term disability benefits.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of our client in an ERISA action in which plaintiff, a former employee, sought long-term disability based on alleged disabilities. The court ruled that our client did not abuse its discretion by denying plaintiff’s claim for long-term disability benefits.

Employee Benefits Transactions and Counseling

• Represented S&P 400 employer on employee benefit issues raised by acquisition of a multi-state employer, including the termination of money purchase plan and merger of 401(k) plans.
• Counseled large publicly traded company with respect to due diligence in selection of and continued monitoring of fiduciary of company stock fund.
• Successfully negotiated with Department of Labor to close fiduciary breach investigation related to employee benefit plan maintained by large department store chain.
• Prepared prototype amendments for 401(k) plans and SEPs maintained and marketed by global investment management firm.
• Represented independent fiduciary in tender offer transaction by which an employee stock ownership plan financed the purchase of 100 percent of the outstanding stock of the plan sponsor.

Sedgwick’s employment and labor attorneys represent public, private, domestic and multinational employers throughout the United States and abroad in virtually every area of workplace law. We have defended management in federal, state, and local administrative actions, jury and non-jury trials, and arbitrations, as well as appellate proceedings. We defend class action and other multiclaimant proceedings as well as individual actions involving employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, ERISA, wage and hour, and unfair business competition claims. We represent clients in whistleblower litigation matters involving common law claims, OSHA and Sarbanes Oxley and assist clients in protecting trade secrets and other confidential information. We represent management before the National Labor Relations Board, and counsel clients on labor relations matters. Sedgwick also offers employee benefits advice and transactional services as well as employment and labor law training and counseling.

Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation, Whistleblower and Other Workplace Law Matters

Sedgwick counsels management concerning employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistleblower, wrongful discharge, and workplace tort claims. We advise employers regarding disability issues, family and medical leave, employee theft, drug testing, employee privacy, independent contractor issues, occupational safety and health, foreign-owned employer issues, employee discipline and discharge, and plant closings and mass layoffs. We represent management in federal and state courts and before administrative agencies and arbitrators in litigations, administrative proceedings, arbitrations and mediations concerning these matters, and defend employers against individual and class action claims.

Wage and Hour Compliance and Litigation

Sedgwick helps clients conduct wage and hour audits and works with management to devise a methodology for reclassifying employees in a way that minimizes disruption of operations and reduces the risk of litigation. We represent employers before the U.S. Department of Labor and state and local agencies. Our lawyers also have extensive courtroom experience successfully litigating overtime pay claims and other wage and hour disputes, including defending wage and hour class actions.

Labor Law and Labor Relations

Sedgwick helps employers defeat union organizing and rebut labor-sponsored corporate campaigns. We represent management before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), other government agencies, and federal and state courts in union representation, unfair labor practice, secondary boycott, union violence, unlawful strikes and picketing, and other labor cases. In unionized workplaces, we help employers to achieve success in collective bargaining; counsel management on union contract issues; guide employers in grievance matters; and represent management in labor arbitrations. We counsel employers on project labor agreements, prevailing wage laws, joint and single employer and alter ego issues, and Taft-Hartley employee benefits fund matters. We advise management concerning successorship, accretion, withdrawal liability, and other key labor and employment law issues that arise in mergers, acquisitions, sales, and other business transactions, as well as in bankruptcies. Sedgwick also alerts employers to new and potential labor legislation, including the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).

Trade Secrets and Unfair Competition

Our attorneys advise clients on protecting valuable trade secrets and confidential information, including the review, negotiation and drafting of complex employment contracts and consulting arrangements with restrictive covenants. We represent clients in employment-related intellectual property disputes in court, if necessary, or by limiting exposure through preventive counseling and preparation of detailed licensing and assignment agreements. We also litigate employment agreement, restrictive covenant, employee duty of loyalty and partnership dispute matters in federal and state courts and before arbitrators.

Counseling, Policy Development and Affirmative Action Compliance

We work with clients to develop effective employee policies, procedures, handbooks, and forms that minimize workplace risks and protect management when disputes arise. We represent management before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and other federal and state agencies. We regularly advise clients concerning federal, state, and local government contracting obligations; help management develop affirmative action plans; and represent employers in compliance review audits and enforcement actions by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

Employee Benefits Transactions, Counseling and Litigation

Our attorneys bring to the table a comprehensive understanding of employee benefits law and transactions with an emphasis on employee stock ownership plans and issues governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code. Sedgwick guides clients through the complex process of designing, implementing and maintaining pension plans, profit sharing plans and other retirement benefit vehicles. We also counsel management concerning health and welfare plans and COBRA obligations. In addition, we advise employers on the effect business mergers, other transactions, and bankruptcies have on employee benefit plans. Sedgwick also counsels clients on ERISA duties and requirements, and ensures that decision making procedures are correctly documented.

Our attorneys have extensive experience in successfully representing clients in a wide variety of ERISA disputes. Our litigation experience includes ERISA class actions, and litigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, in addition to suits brought by individual participants and beneficiaries, dissenting fiduciaries, and labor organizations. We have also successfully defended management against multiemployer withdrawal liability claims.

Workplace Investigations

Sedgwick attorneys are experienced in conducting a full range of internal investigations and routinely assist employers in complying with all legal requirements necessary for effective hotline, discrimination, harassment, and whistleblower complaint investigations.

Training Programs

Sedgwick provides on-site, tailored training to managers, human resource professionals and counsel. Our dynamic attorneys provide effective, interactive training that ensures compliance with state and federal laws while achieving a practical level of prevention of employment and labor law violations.

The following summaries describe representative matters handled by attorneys in Sedgwick’s Employment & Labor Law Group.

Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

• Sedgwick's Class Action attorneys partnered with Employment attorneys to obtain summary judgment for a life insurance company in an employment class action suit alleging gender discrimination.
• Sedgwick obtained summary judgment for an international elevator corporation in an employment action where the employee claimed harassment and discrimination rather than the receipt of numerous customer complaints.
• Sedgwick won a defense verdict on behalf of an international baking company where a delivery driver who was fired for poor attendance, alleged he was terminated because of racial bias.
• Obtained summary judgment for pharmaceutical manufacturer on claims by a district sales manager alleging discrimination (age and religion) and breach of employment contract.
• Obtained summary judgment for a Fortune 500 national retailer in a federal discrimination action arising out of a company restructuring.
• Successfully defended a multinational chemical manufacturer in an age discrimination and promissory estoppel claim by a top-producing salesman who was the only member of his group who failed to obtain a position in connection with a restructuring and sale of his division to a competitor.
• Obtained summary judgment for an airline company in an action brought by the EEOC alleging gender discrimination in pay by establishing that the methodology used by the EEOC to support its claim of disparate pay was invalid.
• Obtained a defense verdict against a plaintiff who claimed he was sexually harassed by co-workers of the same gender and was discriminated against because of his religion and age.
• Obtained summary judgment for pharmaceutical manufacturer on claims by an outside sales representative, alleged disability discrimination, harassment, retaliation and constructive discharge. The decision was affirmed on appeal.
• District sales manager for pharmaceutical company alleged race discrimination, breach of contract and retaliation. We obtained partial summary judgment as to all counts except race discrimination and then settled for a nominal amount.
• Obtained a defense arbitration award in favor of a defense contractor in an action in which plaintiff claimed that she was sexually harassed by her manager.
• Obtained a defense verdict for a defense contractor in an action brought by an employee who alleged that when she returned from an extended period of disability leave she was denied placement because of her race and her disability.
• Obtained a defense verdict in a sexual harassment claim brought by an employee of a fast-food provider.
• Defended major airline in disability discrimination action by former employee, obtaining victories before arbitrator, in federal district court, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
• Defended major airline in religious discrimination action by former employee and won summary judgment in federal district court.
• Won a defense verdict on behalf of a major pharmaceutical company following a nine-week trial in a discrimination case. The plaintiff, an outside sales representative, had alleged gender, medical condition and pregnancy discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

Employment Agreements, Consulting and Training

• Represented a Norwegian company in its acquisition of a California software company. Sedgwick performed a due diligence investigation of the target company, and prepared and negotiated the stock purchase and new employment agreements with senior and midlevel management.
• Supported the human resources organization of a major manufacturing client during a plant closure and reduction in force in the Eastern United States. Our attorneys provided advice on compliance with W.A.R.N., performed a statistical review to confirm that the reduction in force did not have a disparate impact on any protected group, and counseled human resources staff handling employee complaints resulting from the reduction.
• Trained the human resources staff of a defense contractor on how to properly conduct investigations of employee misconduct.
• Represented major real estate company in affirmative action plan compliance review by Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs that resulted in findings completely favorable to the employer.
• Wage and Hour / Executive Compensation
• Successfully convinced the California Labor Commissioner that employees receiving salary continuation payments under a severance agreement do not continue to accrue vacation pay.
• Obtained a defense verdict in favor of a manufacturing concern in a claim made by its vice president alleging breach of a stock transfer agreement and failure to pay a decade’s worth of accrued unused vacation.
• Represented major Japanese corporation in the beverage industry in defeating breach of employment contract claims by former chief executive of U.S. operating company. Tried case before panel of three arbitrators in Atlanta, Georgia. Won award denying relief to former CEO and requiring him to pay costs.
• Secured a favorable settlement on behalf of a major pharmaceutical company in a purported overtime class action matter. After first obtaining a partial summary judgment in an underlying discrimination action brought by an outside sales representative, Sedgwick defeated the class action claim for overtime pay.

Wrongful Termination

• Obtained summary judgment for a Fortune 500 national retailer on a retaliatory discharge claim brought against it by a service technician who was terminated shortly after filing a worker’s compensation claim.
• Obtained a defense jury verdict in favor of an employer sued for retaliatory discharge by a janitorial employee who was terminated shortly after he made a worker’s compensation claim and encouraged a second employee to make a worker’s compensation claim.
• Obtained a dismissal on behalf of our client in an insurance bad faith/conspiracy action in which plaintiff sued for wrongful termination. The court granted our motion to dismiss on the grounds that plaintiff had no standing to sue outside the workers’ compensation arena in light of the exclusive remedy provisions of the California Labor Code.
• Obtained a defense verdict for a major metropolitan hotel in an action alleging wrongful termination and defamation.
• Obtained summary judgment in favor of a dental plan in a claim made by its vice president, who alleged that he was terminated because he had requested a medical leave of absence to address substance abuse.
• Obtained summary judgment for a major pharmaceutical company in connection with a lawsuit in which the plaintiff alleged wrongful discharge, harassment, and disability discrimination.
• Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of a major pharmaceutical company in an action alleging wrongful termination, gender discrimination, disability discrimination, and retaliation.
• Represented major New York hospital in wrongful discharge action by former executive and won summary judgment in State Supreme Court that Appellate Division affirmed.

Labor Law and Labor Relations

• Successfully represented manufacturer of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products in defeating union organizing efforts by Teamsters at production facility in northern New Jersey. Obtained substantial delay of election in proceedings before Region 22 of National Labor Relations Board and coordinated effective campaign that resulted in the Teamsters withdrawing their petition.
• Defeated organizing drive by United Steel Workers at manufacturing plant in northern Indiana. Represented employer at NLRB hearing and coordinated campaign that resulted in workers voting to remain union free.
• Represented major newspaper publisher in successful labor arbitrations in New York.
• Defeated union organizing effects by Teamsters at major Japanese company’s Los Angeles air cargo facility. Shutout union in NLRB election, with all employees voting NO to the Teamsters.
• Represented leading New York cultural institution in labor arbitrations in which arbitrators upheld management’s actions.
• Represented Japanese consumer electronics company in successful negotiations with Teamsters at New Jersey warehouse facility.
• Represented New York radio station in labor negotiations with AFTRA that resulted in substantial union give‑backs.
• Defeated union organizing drive by IBEW against major independent power producer in Florida.
• Negotiated substantial give-backs from United Steel Workers in Pennsylvania and New York at major specialty steel manufacturer.
• Defeated union organizing efforts by UFCW at Japanese plastic company’s manufacturing facility in New Jersey.
• Negotiated substantial concessions from United Steel Workers at structural steel company in New Jersey.
• Defeated organizing efforts by Painters Union at construction company in New York
• Halted secondary boycott by Carpenters Union against construction company in New Jersey.
• Forced IBEW to end secondary boycott against hotels in Florida.
• Handled labor issues in acquisition of major unionized automotive parts manufacturer. Defeated unfair labor charges by UAW, concerning the transaction, at key Illinois plant.

Employee Benefits Litigation

• Won summary judgment on behalf of a benefits plan sponsor saving the client more than $500,000 from a denial of a claim for long-term disability benefits.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of our client in an ERISA action in which plaintiff, a former employee, sought long-term disability based on alleged disabilities. The court ruled that our client did not abuse its discretion by denying plaintiff’s claim for long-term disability benefits.

Employee Benefits Transactions and Counseling

• Represented S&P 400 employer on employee benefit issues raised by acquisition of a multi-state employer, including the termination of money purchase plan and merger of 401(k) plans.
• Counseled large publicly traded company with respect to due diligence in selection of and continued monitoring of fiduciary of company stock fund.
• Successfully negotiated with Department of Labor to close fiduciary breach investigation related to employee benefit plan maintained by large department store chain.
• Prepared prototype amendments for 401(k) plans and SEPs maintained and marketed by global investment management firm.
• Represented independent fiduciary in tender offer transaction by which an employee stock ownership plan financed the purchase of 100 percent of the outstanding stock of the plan sponsor.