Biography

Richard P. McArdle is a partner with Seyfarth Shaw LLP, the leading national employment and labor law firm.  Mr. McArdle is a member of Labor and Employment Practice Group in Chicago where he represents employers throughout the country in the entire range of employment law matters.

Mr. McArdle’s primary focus is in employment law counseling and defending employers in employment discrimination litigation, including an emphasis on class action and multi-plaintiff cases.  Most recently, Mr. McArdle won a class action wrongful discharge, conspiracy and tortious interference case under Ohio and California law when the court granted his motion to dismiss, thus saving his client hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and damages.  Mr. McArdle also has represented employers in class action and multi-plaintiff WARN Act claims, as well as claims involving discrimination on the basis of disability, age, sex, sexual harassment, race, national origin, family / medical leave and other protected classifications. Mr. McArdle recently settled a four-plaintiff hostile work environment suit in Kentucky for less than 5% of the plaintiffs’ initial demand.  In addition, Mr. McArdle has counseled employers on mass layoffs, plant closings, sexual harassment investigations, restrictive covenants (non-compete agreements), employment contracts, drug and alcohol testing, and wage and hour compliance under the Fair Labor Standards Act’s 2004 regulations.  This work has included representing Fortune 500 companies, as well as medium and small sized employers, both foreign and domestic.  He represents employers in both federal and state trial and appellate courts, and before federal and state government agencies such as the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Mr. McArdle recently authored an article for the American Bar Association’s annual newsletter for the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, where he is also acting as a management bar editor.  Mr. McArdle recently authored a chapter on Employment Contracts in the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education’s publication: Conducting the Employment Practices Audit and served as a contributing editor for the Bureau of National Affairs’ publication, Employment Discrimination Law, 4th ed.  Mr. McArdle lectures extensively on employment discrimination and litigation prevention to employment groups, CEOs and Human Resource representatives.  By invitation from the Canadian Consulate’s office in the U.S., Mr. McArdle recently spoke to a group of Canadian employers doing business in the U.S. concerning employment and labor laws and responding to inquiries from the various government agencies that enforce such laws.  

Education

Admissions

• Illinois

Courts

• U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois