People: Brian M. Stolzenbach, Partner

Brian M. Stolzenbach

Partner

Chicago
Direct: (312) 460-5551
Fax: (312) 460-7551
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Mr. Stolzenbach is a partner in the Labor & Employment Department of Seyfarth Shaw. He represents and counsels clients in many industries, including hospitality, health care, manufacturing, construction, telecommunications, waste management, print and broadcast media, airline and ground transportation, warehousing and distribution, retail and higher education.

Mr. Stolzenbach is particularly well versed in the field of labor relations law. He represents clients in unfair labor practice proceedings, grievance and interest arbitrations, Section 301 litigation, representation proceedings, and litigation under the Railway Labor Act. He serves as chief negotiator for various clients during their labor negotiations and as behind-the-scenes advisor for others. He also enjoys helping businesses to remain union free by lawfully responding to union organizing campaigns. In addition, he provides his clients with legal and practical advice on a wide spectrum of labor relations issues, including lockouts and strikes, neutrality agreements, corporate campaigns, employee benefits issues, successorship and other matters related to mergers and acquisitions, leased employees, employee committees, the development of employee handbooks and work rules, and labor-related bankruptcy issues. He also provides education and training to supervisors and managers on labor law, contract administration, and positive employee relations.

In addition to his labor relations practice, Mr. Stolzenbach also has substantial experience in benefits-related litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Mr. Stolzenbach defends complex class actions and single-plaintiff lawsuits under ERISA. In the class action realm, he has defended various types of claims, including claims for benefits, claims of employment discrimination, and claims for breach of fiduciary duty, including 401(k) “stock-drop” claims. Mr. Stolzenbach also counsels clients on employee benefits matters, including the termination and modification of pension benefits and retiree medical benefits in both union and non-union workplaces, and he represents clients in connection with investigations by U.S. Department of Labor into alleged ERISA violations.

Mr. Stolzenbach also represents clients in litigation under numerous other employment statutes. For example, he has defended clients in litigation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Florida Civil Rights Act, the Minnesota Human Rights Act, Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act, the Ohio Civil Rights Act, and a variety of other state laws in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, and Oklahoma. Mr. Stolzenbach also counsels clients on everyday employment law matters and assists clients with revisions to employee handbooks, employee-related policies, and employment applications.

Mr. Stolzenbach’s legal experience is not strictly limited to the realm of labor and employment law. He has represented his clients in litigation involving municipal contracting and the Fourteenth Amendment, the separation of powers within local government, and the alleged intimidation of witnesses. During law school, Mr. Stolzenbach served as a Felony Trial Division Intern in the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for Washtenaw County, Michigan, where he tried and won several cases and provided substantial assistance in the successful prosecution of murderers and sex offenders. He also served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Patrick J. Duggan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Mr. Stolzenbach is a partner in the Labor & Employment Department of Seyfarth Shaw. He represents and counsels clients in many industries, including hospitality, health care, manufacturing, construction, telecommunications, waste management, print and broadcast media, airline and ground transportation, warehousing and distribution, retail and higher education.

Mr. Stolzenbach is particularly well versed in the field of labor relations law. He represents clients in unfair labor practice proceedings, grievance and interest arbitrations, Section 301 litigation, representation proceedings, and litigation under the Railway Labor Act. He serves as chief negotiator for various clients during their labor negotiations and as behind-the-scenes advisor for others. He also enjoys helping businesses to remain union free by lawfully responding to union organizing campaigns. In addition, he provides his clients with legal and practical advice on a wide spectrum of labor relations issues, including lockouts and strikes, neutrality agreements, corporate campaigns, employee benefits issues, successorship and other matters related to mergers and acquisitions, leased employees, employee committees, the development of employee handbooks and work rules, and labor-related bankruptcy issues. He also provides education and training to supervisors and managers on labor law, contract administration, and positive employee relations.

In addition to his labor relations practice, Mr. Stolzenbach also has substantial experience in benefits-related litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Mr. Stolzenbach defends complex class actions and single-plaintiff lawsuits under ERISA. In the class action realm, he has defended various types of claims, including claims for benefits, claims of employment discrimination, and claims for breach of fiduciary duty, including 401(k) “stock-drop” claims. Mr. Stolzenbach also counsels clients on employee benefits matters, including the termination and modification of pension benefits and retiree medical benefits in both union and non-union workplaces, and he represents clients in connection with investigations by U.S. Department of Labor into alleged ERISA violations.

Mr. Stolzenbach also represents clients in litigation under numerous other employment statutes. For example, he has defended clients in litigation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Florida Civil Rights Act, the Minnesota Human Rights Act, Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and Persons With Disabilities Civil Rights Act, the Ohio Civil Rights Act, and a variety of other state laws in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, and Oklahoma. Mr. Stolzenbach also counsels clients on everyday employment law matters and assists clients with revisions to employee handbooks, employee-related policies, and employment applications.

Mr. Stolzenbach’s legal experience is not strictly limited to the realm of labor and employment law. He has represented his clients in litigation involving municipal contracting and the Fourteenth Amendment, the separation of powers within local government, and the alleged intimidation of witnesses. During law school, Mr. Stolzenbach served as a Felony Trial Division Intern in the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for Washtenaw County, Michigan, where he tried and won several cases and provided substantial assistance in the successful prosecution of murderers and sex offenders. He also served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Patrick J. Duggan of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Education

  • J.D., University of Michigan Law School
    cum laude
    ABA-BNA Labor Law Award
    Book Award in Law and Bioethics
  • A.B., University of Missouri
    cum laude with Honors in History
    Phi Beta Kappa
    Curators Scholar

Admissions

  • Illinois

Courts

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and District of Columbia Circuits
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar)
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
  • U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado

Affiliations

  • American Bar Association
    • Labor & Employment Section
    • Committee on Development of the Law Under the NLRA

Representative Engagements

  • Chicago Reg'l Council of Carpenters v. Village of Schaumburg, et al., 190 LRRM 2903 (7th Cir.) (appellate court affirms summary judgment against union claiming First Amendment right to handbill on publicly owned hotel property)
  • Lid Electric, Inc. v. IBEW Local 134, et al., 362 F.3d 940 (7th Cir.) (appellate court validates industry-wide mandatory drug-testing program)
  • Cintas Corporation,353 NLRB No. 81 (successfully defended employer against several serious unfair labor practice charges).
  • Cintas Corporation, 344 NLRB 943 (successfully defended employer against several serious unfair labor practice charges).
  • Hughes v. United Air Lines, Inc., 675 F. Supp. 2d 907 (N.D. Ill.) (motion to remand denied and motion to dismiss granted because retaliatory discharge claim was preempted by the Railway Labor Act).
  • Restani v. UAL Corp., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 13560 (9th Cir.) (affirming summary judgment for the airline, denying petition to vacate an arbitration award under the Railway Labor Act).
  • Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Case No. 13-RC-22004 (Hearing Officer's Report and Recommendation) (union's challenge to three ballots overruled; employer's contingent objection to conduct of the election sustained)
  • BFI Waste Services, Case No. 14-RC-12428 (Regional Director’s Decision) (overcame single-facility presumption to enlarge the bargaining unit as part of employer’s successful response to a union organizing campaign).
  • U.S. Tsubaki, Inc., 123 Lab. Arb. (BNA) 423 (prevailed in significant arbitration over the use of temporaries in a manufacturing plant).
  • A.E. Staley Mfg., 119 Lab. Arb. (BNA) 1371 (successful defense of employer in a discharge arbitration).
  • Anderson, et al. v. CNH U.S. Pension Plan, et al., 515 F.3d 823 (8th Cir.) (denial of class certification in claim for pension benefits).
  • Howell v. Motorola, Inc., et al., 633 F.3d 552 (7th Cir.) (affirming summary judgment for all defendants in 401(k) "stock-drop" class action lawsuit, alleging breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA).
  • Howell v. Motorola, Inc., 38 Employee Benefits Cas. 1979 (N.D. Ill.) (former participant in a Section 401(k) plan has no standing to bring a class action for breach of fiduciary duty).
  • McIlhaney v. Anthem Life Insurance Co. Long Term Disability Plan, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81552 (C.D. Cal.) (after trial, denying plaintiff’s claims for long term disability benefits through retirement, a no-cost half-million dollar life insurance policy, and statutory penalties under ERISA)
  • Perrywatson v. United Air Lines, Inc., 190 LRRM 2043, 24 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 174 (N.D. Ill.) (following successful motion to transfer venue, motion for summary judgment granted on disability discrimination claim and retaliatory discharge claim; single remaining claim immediately abandoned by plaintiff)
  • Smith v. Saint Margaret Mercy, Inc., U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19351 (N.D. Ind.) (summary judgment granted to hospital in age- and race-discrimination case).
  • Krum v. Chicago Nat’l League Ball Club, Inc., 365 Ill. App. 3d 785 (1st Dist.) (motion to dismiss granted and upheld on appeal in wrongful discharge suit brought by former athletic trainer for the Chicago Cubs).
  • Nauseda v. Tootsie Roll Indus., 14 Am. Disabilities Cas. (BNA) 414 (N.D. Ill.) (summary judgment granted to employer in disability discrimination case).
  • Brown v. Rapak, LLC,FCHR Order No. 06-081 (Fla. Comm’n on Human Rts.) (successful defense of age discrimination allegations).

Presentations

  • “Preparing for and Responding Lawfully to Union Organizing in the Era of Labor Law Reform,” presented as part of the Seyfarth Shaw seminar, “The Impact of Labor Law Reform During Troubled Economic Times: What Employers Need To Know” (2009)
  • “Managing the Employment Relationship, from Hiring to Firing,” presented for the Electrical Contractors’ Association of City of Chicago (2007)
  • “Tomorrow’s Challenge Is Here Today: The Employee Free Choice Act,” presented to the Hotel Human Resources Association of Chicago (2008)
  • “The Impact of Federal Labor Laws on Both Union and Non-Union Workplaces,” presented to the O’Hare Area Hotel Human Resources Association (2007)
  • “Labor and Management Issues: The Impact of Federal Labor Laws in Both Union and Non-Union Settings,” presented at the Council on Education in Management: Certificate in Human Resource Management Seminar (2004, 2005)
  • "Allied Mechanical Services, Inc.: If Multiple Unions Merge Without an Employee Vote, Should the Successor Union Succeed to the Bargaining Rights of Its Predecessors?" Midwinter Meeting of the ABA Labor and Employment Section's Committee on Development of the Law Under the NLRA (2005)

Publications

  • “Allied Mechanical Services, Inc.: If Multiple Unions Merge Without an Employee Vote, Should the Successor Union Succeed to the Bargaining Rights of Its Predecessors,” prepared for the  Midwinter Meeting of the ABA Labor and Employment Section’s Committee on Development of the Law Under the NLRA (2005)
  • “U.S. Supreme Court Holds State Employees Cannot Sue for Money Damages Under the ADA,” Illinois State Bar Association Constitutional Law & Liberty Newsletter (May 2001)