Employment Litigation
Extensive labor and employment litigation experience in federal and state trial and appeals courts, including class actions, employment discrimination actions of all types, wrongful discharge actions, and cases alleging defamation and other torts. Recently, we helped resolve, favorably, a highly publicized class action by Ford Motor Company employees charging sexual and racial harassment. In October 2000, The Wall Street Journal reported on Mayer Brown's victory on behalf of Ameritech Corporation in the district and appellate courts in a reverse class action. In that case, female current and former employees sought service credit for time spent on maternity leaves while employed by Ameritech's predecessors.

Employment Advice
Representation of employers with respect to federal and state anti-discrimination laws, OSHA, practice before the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, United States Department of Labor and analogous state agencies; assist clients who have government contracts in the preparation of affirmative action plans in compliance with Executive Order 11246 and related executive orders; and representation of employers before the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs; and experience in matters arising under the Railway Labor Act. Through counseling, we assist clients in such matters as review of personnel practices and procedures, employee manuals, drug testing programs, and advice on anticipated employee terminations.

Appellate Litigation
Extensive experience representing employers in state and federal appeals. Our lawyers have appeared in a number of cases before the United States Supreme Court. For example, Mayer Brown lawyers successfully represented United Air Lines in the Americans with Disabilities case of Sutton v. United Air Lines. This term, our lawyers argued the Chevron v. Echazabal Americans With Disabilities Act case before the Supreme Court.

FLSA Litigation
Representation of employers in collective actions under the wage and hour laws in retail and other industries. Coordination of national litigation. Our partners include a former Solicitor of Labor for the United States Department of Labor who is actively involved in these cases.

ERISA Litigation
Extensive experience in defending plan sponsors, administrators and trustees in litigation under ERISA, ranging from employee/independent contractor issues to withdrawal liability, to individual claims for benefits, to class actions related to such topics as benefit calculation assumptions, funding, and retiree benefit reductions.

Sales, Mergers and Acquisitions; Plant Closings and Work Transfer
Counseling on the many labor and personnel issues which arise with respect to both organized and unorganized employees on transfers of corporate ownership; counseling on plant closings and transfer of work.

Restrictive Covenant/Trade Secret
We prosecute and defend actions in state and federal courts, and before arbitration panels, relating to the enforcement of covenants-not-to-compete and the protection of trade secrets. We have pursued former employees or defended the new corporate employer in numerous states, including California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Union-Related Matters
Assisting employers during union organizing campaigns and representation elections; negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, either through direct participation or on-going counseling, whichever better serves the client's interests; drafting of collective bargaining agreements; counseling on contract administration and grievance processing; preparation and presentation of arbitration cases; counseling during strikes; and representation of clients in proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board.

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Representative Matters

Discrimination (Class Actions / Pattern and Practice Actions)

• In Re: Ford Motor Company Employment Practices Litigation (MDL No. 1044) (E.D. Mich.). This is a multidistrict litigation matter alleging race discrimination against a class of African-American employees in salaries, promotions, job assignments and discipline/termination, as well as racial harassment. The case alleged a nationwide class covering salaried employees and bargaining unit employees seeking promotion to first line supervisor positions. Plaintiffs' motion for class certification was denied. The parties have addressed the named plaintiffs' claims through Alternate Dispute Resolution.
• Payne, et al. v. Abbott Laboratories, Case No. 97 C 3882 (N.D. Ill.). This case was filed as a class action alleging race discrimination against African-American management employees in promotion and compensation. Plaintiffs' motion for class certification was denied. The named plaintiffs' claim were dismissed pursuant to Abbott's motion for summary judgment.
• Warnell, et al. v. Ford Motor Company, Case No. 98 C 1503 (N.D. Ill.); Rapier, et al. v. Ford Motor Company, Case No. 98 C 5287 (N.D. Ill.). Warnell and Rapier are consolidated class actions alleging sexual harassment against women employed at two Chicago area Ford Motor Company manufacturing plants. The total number of women potentially to be included in the class approaches 1,000. In addition to defending Ford in the class action litigation, we have represented Ford in its dealings with the EEOC, working with the agency to reach a Conciliation Agreement which was satisfactory to Ford and which prevented the agency from becoming a negative force in the litigation.
• EEOC v. Clark Refinery & Marketing, Case No. 94 C 2779 (N.D. Ill.). The EEOC brought this pattern and practice age discrimination case against Clark to challenge personnel moves made in the wake of an intensive organizational change movement at the Company. While Clark's summary judgment motion was pending against the EEOC, the matter was resolved by negotiation.
• Brown v. City of Chicago. We represented the City of Chicago in a Title VII race discrimination suit brought by 44 minority police department sergeants who challenged the City's promotional examination for the rank of lieutenant. During the pendency of the case, we defeated the plaintiff's attempt to convert the case to a class action covering all minority sergeants. At trial, we successfully defended the validity of the examination.
• Ameritech v. Foster-Hall. We represented Ameritech in a sex discrimination and ERISA class action in the district court and on appeal in the Seventh Circuit. The issue in the case was whether Ameritech and its pensions plans are required to give seniority credit to women for maternity leaves taken when they were employed by Ameritech's predecessors prior to 1978, the effective date of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act ("PDA"). Although the PDA was not retroactive, plaintiffs claimed that by not giving seniority credit now (i.e., at the time the employees are eligible to take normal retirement or to take advantage of early retirement programs) Ameritech was committing a new violation of the Act. We prevailed in the district court and the appellate court.
  

• Defeated class certification of a facility-wide sex harassment and retaliation claim.
• Handled appeal in New York State court from multi-million dollar sexual harassment verdict against automobile manufacturer.
• Defense of a nationwide manufacturer and distributor against claims brought by a former employee alleging quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment, negligent hiring, criminal sexual conduct, defamation and other torts.
• Defense of a national insurance broker against claims of quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment, negligent hiring and retention, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and false imprisonment.
• Conducting sexual harassment training seminar for management personnel at financial institutions, service companies, manufacturers.
  

Employment

• Discipline and counseling of employees and executives.
• Counseling clients on employee handbooks and personnel policies.
• Counseling and representation of manufacturers and service providers in connection with occupational safety and health issues including guarding, ergonomics and environmental hazards.
• Drafting and negotiating executive employment contracts.
• Reductions-in-force.
• Workplace violence issues.
• WARN issues relating to mass layoffs of personnel at various plant locations.
• Workplace drug and alcohol issues.
• Counseling and advising corporations on obtaining work-related visas for their employees who are non-US citizens.
  

Restrictive Covenant/Trade Secret

• Defense of a national supplier of paramedical and occupational health services to the insurance industry, in which we obtained a restraining order enjoining a competitor of the client and a former employee of the client from interfering with the client's relationships with its employees, from using confidential and proprietary information obtained from the client, and from soliciting contracts with the client's customers.
• Representation of a national home health care agency, in which we brought an action and moved for a preliminary injunction, seeking to enjoin a competing agency and former employees of the client from diverting employees and customers of the client to the defendant agency. The action resulted in a settlement in which all defendants agreed to refrain, on a nationwide basis, from interfering with the client's relationships with its employees and customers.
• Defense of a public relations services firm and several of its employees, in which we successfully defended an action alleging misappropriation of trade secrets and seeking injunctive relief.
• Defense of a national manufacturer and supplier of specialty food products, in which we successfully prosecuted an action alleging unfair trade practices, misappropriation of trade secrets, and the violation of non-compete covenants.
  

Wrongful Termination

• Defense of major airline against claim under California Family Rights Act (for retaliation).
• Handled appeal in First Circuit for financial services client from a verdict in a wrongful termination case.
• Representation of company regarding potential wrongful termination/disability and age discrimination claims and defense in proceeding before the US labor commission regarding wage claim.
• Defense of major airline for alleged breach of contract, breach of implied covenant, and wrongful termination and damages pursuant to ADA.
• Defense of a corporation in an action brought by a former employee alleging constructive discharge and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
  

Collective Bargaining

• Representation of a manufacturer, in which we successfully negotiated the withdrawal of an action by a member of a labor union against his union and the manufacturer, claiming his discharge was in violation of the collective bargaining agreement and an alleged oral agreement with the manufacturer.
• Advice on labor and antitrust issues presented by a collective bargaining agreement between certain West Coast shipping companies and the International Longshoremen's Association.
• Advice to major utility company on incentive savings plan.
• Representation of steel products manufacturer in connection with its collective bargaining with the UAW.
• Defense of major airline in suit filed alleging breach of a collective bargaining agreement.
• Representation of international manufacturer and distributor in high technology industry in union election campaign.