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Labor & Employment

Nationally recognized with a priority on client service.

Our labor and employment team has a top tier ranking, a proven litigation track record, and a reputation for integrity and competency with our clients as well as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and various state civil rights agencies. We counsel some of the nation’s leading companies on employee and union matters, offering guided counsel and aggressive litigation if needed.

From workplace safety and workers’ compensation matters to trade secrets, government contracts and ERISA litigation, we are experienced and equipped to handle any legal challenges that arise within the employment context. Most important, we place client service as our top priority. We approach every engagement with uncompromising professionalism and work collaboratively with our clients to find practical solutions to their employment matters.

Practice Area Contact

Jeffrey N. Lindemann Profile Image
Jeffrey N. Lindemann

Practice Group Leader

Columbus, OH

Areas of Focus

Employer Counseling & Investigations

The best way to decrease legal costs is to reduce legal disputes. Our team works every day with a variety of employers to address their “problem employees.” We help clients draft or update their employment policies and implement accident prevention, cost containment and defense strategies. Our labor and employment team is also nationally known for training employees, supervisors and management on subjects such as sexual harassment, effective discipline, absenteeism and personnel file documentation. These proactive measures have been shown to significantly limit employer liability while also positioning clients to mount an effective defense against, should a claim or investigation arise. Finally, our experience defending both locally owned businesses and Fortune 500 companies in countless claims and enforcement actions gives clients an uncommon advantage in resolving even the most complex employment law issues.

ERISA Litigation

Our team combines in-depth knowledge and creative litigation strategies to provide practical Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) solutions for corporations and insurance providers. We defend clients against benefits denial claims at the district court and appellate levels, often in complex ERISA litigation involving discrimination and breach of fiduciary duty claims as well as severance, cutbacks, withdrawal liability under the MPPAA, delinquent contributions.

In addition to helping clients achieve their litigation goals, we provide timely updates on litigation trends to insurers, health care providers, self-insured employers and third-party claims administrators. These insights allow our clients to proactively adjust their claims handling procedures in order to avoid litigation and/or increase their odds of prevailing should litigation ensue.

Railway Labor Act (RLA)

Our team has vast experience dealing with the National Mediation Board (NMB) in a broad range of matters, including labor negotiations, accretion applications and elections. The craft or classes involved in these actions have included aircraft mechanics and related employees, flight deck crewmembers, airline dispatchers, maintenance controllers and simulator technicians. We work directly and on a routine basis with NMB-assigned mediators, board members, carrier management, and our clients to negotiate labor contracts, with an eye toward finding creative solutions to labor issues confronting the airline industry.

Frost Brown Todd is one of the few firms in the Midwest with the depth of RLA experience to match or exceed the RLA expertise normally associated with large firms on the East and West Coasts.

In addition to being involved in the negotiations of labor contracts, our attorneys have handled hundreds of arbitrations before Airline System Boards of Adjustment involving, again, multiple different planes and airline-related crafts. We bring a wealth of practical and industry experience to the arbitration process. We work with carriers to obtain the best result possible while always controlling the cost of the process with appropriate staffing decisions. As such, you will never have two attorneys at a System Board hearing involving one grievance.

Finally, our experience extends to the handling of all types of legal claims in the courtroom. We have litigated RLA cases involving a broad range of issues including status quo disputes, preemption of state law claims, defenses and challenges to System Board of Adjustment Awards, Section Two Third claims related to the selection of Union representatives and discrimination claims under Section 152 Fourth.

Featured Insights

Our latest thinking on the legal issues impacting the workplace and labor market.

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TTD Tango: Ohio Supreme Court Swings in Employers’ Favor!

March 14, 2024 | Publications

On March 5, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a decision that permits employers to request termination o...

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February 2024 Immigration Update

February 6, 2024 | Publications

Fiscal Year 2025 H-1B Cap Details Released At the end of January, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration S...

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DOL Issues Final Independent Contractor Rule

January 16, 2024 | Publications

On January 9, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued its Final Rule for analyzing whether a work...

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November 2023 Immigration Update

November 8, 2023 | Publications

DHS Proposal to Modernize and Improve the H-1B Program The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rec...

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NLRB Publishes Final Rule on Determining Joint-Employer Status

October 27, 2023 | Publications

On October 27, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or “Board”) published its anticipa...

Top 5 Wage & Hour Issues for U.S. Manufacturers

October 19, 2023 | Publications

Wage and hour claims continue to be one the most expensive employment law risks for most employers. ...

October 2023 Immigration Update

October 10, 2023 | Publications

Labor Shortage? Many U.S. Employers Could Benefit from the H-2B Visa Program The H-2B visa program...

NLRB Gives Historic Boost to Union Organizing

September 1, 2023 | Publications

The NLRB will force more employers to bargain with unions based upon signed union cards rather than ...

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Department of Labor Proposes Raising FLSA Salary Exempt Level to $55,068

August 30, 2023 | Publications

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a highly anticipated proposed rule on August 30 amendin...

Fifth Circuit Eliminates the ‘Ultimate-Employment-Decisions’ Test for Title VII Discrimination C...

August 28, 2023 | Publications

For decades, federal courts in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi have restricted liability for emplo...

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