Mr. Stolzenbach is a partner in the Labor & Employment Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. He represents and counsels clients in many industries, including hospitality, health care, manufacturing, construction, higher education, telecommunications, waste management, print and broadcast media, airline and ground transportation, warehousing and distribution, financial services, and retail.
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 involving the Railway Labor Act. He serves as chief negotiator for various clients during labor negotiations and as behind-the-scenes advisor for others. Over the years, he has negotiated with or litigated against numerous labor unions, including the AFA, ALPA, AFSCME, the Boilermakers, the Carpenters, the CWA, the GCIU, the IAM, IATSE, the IBEW, the Laborers, the Newspaper Guild, the NNU, the OPEIU, the Operating Engineers, the Postal Workers, the Plumbers and Pipefitters, the SEIU, SMART, the Steelworkers, the Teamsters, the UAW, the UFCW, and UNITE HERE.
He also enjoys helping businesses remain union free by lawfully responding to traditional union organizing campaigns, as well as corporate 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 has substantial experience in benefits-related litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). He defends both 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 the U.S. Department of Labor into alleged ERISA violations.
Mr. Stolzenbach also defends employers in a wide variety of other litigation arising under the common law and numerous employment-related statutes. Among other things, he defends employers against claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation (including whistleblower actions). 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 Workforce Investment Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act and Minimum Wage Law, the Florida Civil Rights Act, the Idaho Human 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 California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. Mr. Stolzenbach also counsels clients on everyday employment law matters and assists clients with revisions to employee handbooks, employee-related policies, and employment applications.
At the same time, Mr. Stolzenbach’s legal experience is not strictly limited to the realm of labor and employment law. In a related practice area, he defends lawsuits brought by students against their current or former educational institutions. He has also 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.
