Affiliations
- American Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section)
- Chicago Bar Association
- The University Club of Chicago (Immediate Past President and Chairperson of its Board of Directors; Member Board of Directors’ Long Range Planning Committee and Chairperson of Capital Campaign)
- The University Club of Chicago Foundation (Member of Board of Directors)
- The Women’s Board of United Cerebral Palsy (Board of Directors)
- Society for Human Resource Management (Leadership Team; Frequent Speaker and Representative before EEOC and other federal regulatory agencies with respect to issues of importance to Human Resource Executives)
- United States Chamber of Commerce (Member, Labor and Employment Policy Committee; Member of Subcommittee on Employment Non-Discrimination and FLSA Issues)
- Inland Press Association (Member of Board of Directors; Chairperson of Human Resource Committee and Faculty Member of Circulation Academy)
- Newspaper Association of America (Member of Taxation Committee and Human Resource Committees)
- Part-Time Faculty Member at DePaul Law School and Loyola Law School
- Talent Technology Corporation, Member of Advisory Board
Representative Engagements
- Metty v. The Motorola Company, No. 05-CV- 9989 (D.C. Ill March, 2007) (multiple claims brought in two week jury trial against the Executive Team and CEO of Motorola resolved immediately following Defendant’s Motion for Directed Verdict in Chicago, Illinois)
- EEOC v. The Dial Corp ., No. 02-CV-10109 (D.C. Iowa August, 2004) (EEOC pattern and practice disparate treatment and impact case brought challenging the use of a pre-employment testing device.)
- EEOC v. The Dial Corp ., No. 99 C 3356 (N.D. Ill.) (EEOC alleged a pattern and practice of sexual harassment and sought relief on behalf of 101 employees; case resolved on the day of trial.)
- Abbe, et al. v. Daewoo Motor America, Inc., Daewoo Motor Corp. Ltd., Daewoo Corporation (No. 99-09776 GAFCSHX M. D. Fl. 2000) (plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and approximately 6,000 commissioned sales representatives alleged the company inappropriately classified them as independent contractors, engaged in retaliatory discharge practices, and violated the FLSA by failing to pay them minimum wages and overtime; district court denied plaintiffs’ motion to proceed as a class on the basis of defendants’ position that the plaintiffs’ status as independent contractor/employee is not conducive to class litigation.) NOTE: Plaintiffs also filed numerous other separate class actions in California raising other legal issues, as well as IRS Form SS-8 Requests for Worker Classification Determinations that were handled by Seyfarth attorneys.
- Adkins v. Mid America Growers , 167 F.3d 355 (7th Cir. 1999) (representative action by 200 farm workers for overtime and minimum wages; case dismissed following remand.)
- Gibbs, et. al v. Daily Southtown Inc . and Pulitzer Community Newspapers, Inc. (No. 96 CH 1884 Circuit Court of Cook County, Chancery Division, 1st District 1997) (plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves, and an alleged class of distributors, alleged they were treated as employees not independent contractors, and that as a result, the company unlawfully deducted monies from their wages in violation of the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, violated their individual employment agreements, improperly issued them IRS Form 1099s, and were deprived of other employee benefits. On eve of pending motion in opposition to class certification, named plaintiffs settled for nominal amount.)
- Budd, et.al. v. Freedom Communications, Inc . (No. 96-D-238 D. Col.) (plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and 700 other non-employee workers brought seven claims against defendant, including antitrust law violations under the Sherman Antitrust Act, tortious interference with contract claims, breach of contracts, violation of state minimum wage and wage collection act laws, Labor Peace Act, fraudulent and negligent misrepresentations of workers’ alleged non-employee status to deprive them of various employee benefits, and breach of fiduciary duty. Class certification denied on the basis that the determination of the employment/independent contractor status of the plaintiffs was central to the complaint, and plaintiffs did not establish that their proposed class met the commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation requirements of Rule 23(a).)
- Cherry v. AT&T , 47 F.3d 225 (7th Cir. 1995) (affirming grant of summary judgment in employer’s favor on glass ceiling promotion claim brought by high-ranking executive.)
- Coon Rapids Lincoln Mercury v. The Star Tribune Company, District Court of Hennepin County, Minnesota (national class action alleging consumer fraud and breach of contract claims) (case resolved while defendants’ motion for summary judgment was pending.)
- Gustovich, et al. v. AT&T Communications, Inc ., 972 F.2d 845 (7th Cir. 1992) (summary judgment decision affirmed by Seventh Circuit applying ADEA standards in workforce reduction context to employees evaluated and rank ordered according to skills and needs of business.)
- Bullock v. AT&T Communications. Inc ., 50 Fair Emp. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 407 (N.D. Ill. 1989) (summary judgment decision under ADEA and state law involving claims of high level EEO executive that company’s work force reduction programs discriminated against him personally and against others.)
- Smith v. White Farm Equipment Company, A Division of Allied Products (N.D. Ohio 1989) (jury verdict for employer on ADEA claims of manager in reduction in force case.)
- Smith v. Contra Costa Newspapers, Inc. (Knight Ridder) , (Contra Costa County Superior Court) (certified class action of over 8,000 non-employee workers alleging antitrust violations, breach of contract, unfair business practices, and lost earnings. On eve of pending motion in opposition to class certification, the case was resolved.
- Gonzalez, et al. v. Freedom Communications, Inc. d/b/a The Orange County Register (Orange County Superior Court Case No. 03CC08756) (multi-count class action challenging the status of over 5,000 independent contractors on numerous bases.)