Michael leads the firm’s employment law group in New York. He graduated from the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations and Albany Law School, where he was a member of the moot court team. Upon graduation, he worked as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board in New York, and then entered private practice representing employers.
Michael represents management in every aspect of the employer-employee relationship including the defense of employment discrimination actions and common law employment litigation. He regularly counsels clients on preventative labor relations methods including auditing employment policies. He is also actively involved in union organizing drives, unfair labor practice proceedings, grievance and arbitration proceedings, collective bargaining negotiations, as well as representation of single and multi-employer benefit funds. Michael also represents employers as both plaintiffs and defendants in claims involving noncompete, nonsolicitation, theft of trade secrets and employee raiding cases. In addition, he regularly advises employers in wage and hour compliance issues and defends employers in collective and class action lawsuits.
He represents a variety of clients in a wide spectrum of industries that range from international airlines to local retailers. Other areas of client concentration include manufacturers, service companies, healthcare institutions, restaurants, landlords, real estate management, cleaning maintenance and security companies.
Michael is a member of the New York State and American Bar Associations, including the Committee on the Development of the Law Under the NLRA. He also is a contributing editor to the Developing Labor Law treatise.
Representation in employee contract, tort, whistle blower and public policy claims for wrongful discharge
Representation in wage and hour administrative and court proceedings
Representation in restrictive covenants, trade secrets and employee raiding issues including seeking judicial injunctive relief
Representation in welfare, pension plan and other employee benefits litigation under ERISA, COBRA and MEPPA
Representation in suits arising under plant closing and employment termination notice statutes, such as WARN and comparable state and local statutes
Advice in acquisitions, mergers, relocations, expansion and contraction of businesses
Counsel for disputes based on collective bargaining agreements and NLRB actions
Advice in union avoidance issues
Advice in negotiation of collective bargaining agreements
Counsel for injunction and other litigation proceedings in connection with strikes and picketing
Representative MattersRepresentation of large healthcare provider in claim alleging disability, sexual orientation and FMLA discrimination. The District Court granted our motion for summary judgment which was affirmed by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
Defense of a Fortune 100 company in an employee benefit lawsuit under ERISA where a beneficiary alleged that the company had breached the terms of the pension plan. The District Court granted our motion of summary judgment on the basis of the language in the Summary Plan Description. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed this decision.
Representation of banquet/catering establishment in wage and hour collective and class action. The District Court granted our motion for summary judgment against the claim that the employer had improperly kept a portion of the service charge. The case settled thereafter on very favorable terms.
Representation of financial institution in claim alleging age and disability discrimination. Before trial, summary judgment was granted dismissing all claims against our client.
Representation of Fortune 100 Company in union decertification proceedings. Based on our Request for Review the NLRB reversed the Regional Director's administrative dismissal of the petition and later reversed the Regional Director’s decision after a representation hearing. Thereafter, the employees voted to decertify the claim and the election results were sustained after objections filed by the Union were dismissed.
Representation of multi-employer bargaining association in negotiations involving a collective bargaining unit of nearly two thousand employees.
Represented one of the largest food distributors in the United States in a noncompete matter. The District Court granted our request for injunctive relief after an evidentiary hearing. Before a plenary trial, the competing company ceased its raiding activities, entered into a consent judgment and made a substantial monetary payment for damages.
Member, New York State Bar Association
Member, American Bar Association
Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Litigation-Labor & Employment, Woodward/White, Inc. 2012-2020
Named to “New York Super Lawyers,” Employment & Labor, Employment Litigation: Defense, Employee Benefits/ERISA, Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2007, 2010-2015