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Michael Sullivan is a principal in the firm's Litigation and Labor & Employment Groups. He has a wide spectrum of experience advising companies with respect to their labor and employment policies and practices and defending companies in disputes with their employees. He also has broad experience litigating business disputes, including those involving fraud and other torts, contractual obligations, restrictive covenants, lender liability and bankruptcy issues. Much of his litigation experience, in labor and employment and commercial matters, involves emergency disputes over temporary restraining orders ("TROs"), injunctions and other time-sensitive proceedings. Mr. Sullivan frequently counsels clients to help guide them through the myriad of employment issues arising under civil rights and anti-discrimination laws, employment contracts and restrictive covenants, wage-hour laws, and common law. He advises Goldberg Kohn's clients about the labor/employment implications of significant corporate transactions, including mergers, sales, acquisitions, loans and bankruptcies. He counsels executives and companies regarding "best practices" for creating sensible, enforceable employment policies that can be implemented by line managers and understood by employees. Mr. Sullivan's focus extends broadly throughout the labor and employment issues that face Goldberg Kohn's clients. He has defended employment discrimination cases in administrative agencies and in federal and state courts across the United States. He has obtained many summary judgment dismissals of these cases and has successfully defended their appeals before various federal and state appellate courts. Where appropriate, he has used alternative dispute resolution, including arbitration and mediation, to obtain expedited and favorable settlements of these matters. In addition to his employment law experience, Mr. Sullivan also represents employers across the nation who face "traditional" labor law issues, including matters pending before the National Labor Relations Board and its regional offices across the country. He has represented clients in unfair labor practice hearings and grievance arbitrations, counseled employers during union organizing campaigns, and defended clients' interests throughout the union-election process, including in hearings on post-election challenges and objections. He has also obtained the dismissal and withdrawal of representation petitions without the need for an election. In addition, Mr. Sullivan has experience handling difficult and expedited labor proceedings, including those involving strikes, picketing and emergency litigation in federal court. His traditional labor law experience spans a broad array of industries, including extensive work in the newspaper, banking, publishing, manufacturing, insurance, retail and financial services industries. Mr. Sullivan frequently authors and speaks on issues impacting all of these labor/employment areas. He recently authored a chapter in the newly-published IICLE volume Labor and Employment Issues in Transactions, Business Restructuring, and Workforce Reductions (2005 Edition). He served as a contributing editor to two of the most well-known labor-employment law treatises: Elkouri and Elkouri's How Arbitration Works (Ruben, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law, Sixth Edition) and the upcoming fifth edition of The Developing Labor Law (Hardin, Higgins, ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law). In December 2004, Mr. Sullivan was quoted in "Hockey's Deep Freeze," published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Mr. Sullivan also recently published a white paper on behalf of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) on the issue of creating and maintaining effective no-solicitation policies in the workplace.
His other published works include "Caution! 'English-Only' in the Workplace can be a Discriminatory Practice," published in The Rooms Chronicle (August 2006); "'English Only' May Be Discriminatory," which appeared in the American Hotel and Lodging Association's Lodging Law (August 2006); "English-Only Can Be Discriminatory," published in Lodging Hospitality (September 2006); "No Tender-Back Clauses in Waivers of Age Claims," which appeared in The National Law Journal (July 2002); and "Harassment Law Update: Prompt and Effective Remedial Action as a Defense to Harassment Claims," published in Committee News, the newsletter for the American Bar Association (ABA) Tort and Insurance Practice Employer-Employee Relations Committee (Summer 2001). He has trained hundreds of managers and employers in the requirements of federal employment laws. He also recently presented to a circuit of mid-size company presidents and senior executives regarding subtle issues that arise under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Mr. Sullivan's other presentations include "Are You Ready? The New FLSA Regs," Pro Presidents Group (2004); "Solving Complex Employment Law and HR Problems in Illinois," Council on Education in Management (2003); "Illinois State and Federal Leave Law Update 2002," Council on Education in Management (2002); "Employment Law for HR Professionals," Council on Education in Management (2002); and "Payroll Management in Illinois," Lorman Education Services (2001). He is a former director of the Chicago chapter of the Industrial Relations Research Association and currently serves as its treasurer, and he is a member of the Downers Grove Area Chamber of Commerce. He was recently elected to the Board of Trustees of the Union League Boys & Girls Clubs and also serves as a member of its associate board. While attending the University of Illinois, Mr. Sullivan was a Harno Fellow, a member of the Dean's List, and was awarded various honors, including the Rickert Award for Excellence in Moot Court.
Representative Matters
The following is a sample of Mr. Sullivan's representative published cases:
Solsberry v. Chicago Sun-Times, Inc. (N.D. Ill. 2005, No. 04 C 3611) Obtained summary judgment for defending employer against race discrimination, harassment and retaliation lawsuit.
Linebek v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 150. Obtained a temporary restraining order in conjunction with the NLRB to stop illegal secondary picketing.
MacDonald Machinery Co. Inc and Local 150 International Union of Operating Engineers, AFL-CIO, 335 NLRB No. 27 (2001) (victory for employer in union campaign upheld after contentious hearing on objections to election by union). Greenslade v.Chicago Sun-Times, et. al.,112 F.3d 853 (7th. Cir.1997) (affirming 930 F. Supp. 323 (N.D. IL 1997)) (upholding lower court's grant of summary judgment against male employee claiming that he was a victim of reverse-gender discrimination, due to the employer's decision that he had harassed a female co-worker in violation of the company's policy). Turner v. Claims Administration Corp., 933 F. Supp. 982 (W.D. Tex. 1998) (summary judgement granted for empoyer in race discrimination claim emanating, in part, out of alleged workplace hostilites following the O.J. Simpson verdict). Burton v. CNA Ins. Co., 978 F. Supp. 803 (N.D. IL 1997) (summary judgment granted for employer in race and gender discrimination claim alleging systematic discrimination against African-American women).
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