The practice at Jones Day is equipped to handle the gamut of contentious labor and employment matters, namely wage and hour class and collective actions, discrimination actions, wage and hour claims, collective bargaining, and mass arbitration of employment discrimination. The team regularly defends employers in the retail, aerospace, and oil-and-gas segments before the Supreme Court, courts of appeals and district courts. New York-based Matthew Lampe co-leads and specializes in defending employers in class actions under state discrimination, wrongful discharge, and other tort laws. Chicago-based Elizabeth McRee shares leadership of the group and has notable experience in state and federal wage and hour and antidiscrimination law. Also in Chicago, Michael Gray stands out for his knowledge of trade secret and restrictive covenant matters. In New York, Wendy Butler garners praise for her work defending management in employment-related litigation, while in Washington DC, Thomas Chiavetta has focused his practice on representing transportation-sector clients.

Legal 500 Editorial commentary

Testimonials

Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.

  • ‘The practice is unique because of the individual contributors. Steve Zadravecz is an amazing talent with a huge depth of experience. This firm is my go-to law firm for the complex legal issues or when I'm up against an opposing counsel who is especially difficult.’

  • ‘Steve Zadravecz and Lauren Dutkiewicz stand out from the competition because of their depth of knowledge, experience and their actual trial experience. Strategic insight on how to handle situations to minimize risk.'

  • ‘The JD team is the most efficient, practical and sophisticated labor and employment team that I've worked with!’

  • ‘Wendy Butler, Jessica Kastin, Matthew Lampe and Kristina Yost are all spectacular and do a tremendous job for their clients!’

Key clients

  • Ecolab
  • International Business Machines Corporation
  • McDonald's Corporation
  • CITGO Petroleum Corporation
  • Blackstone Group
  • Bloomberg L.P.
  • CSX Corporation
  • BNSF Railway Company
  • American Airlines Group
  • Chevron Corporation
  • SkyWest Airlines
  • D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P
  • Verizon
  • United Airlines Inc.

Work highlights

  • Represented Atlas Air after employees filed a lawsuit alleging that the company’s COVID-19 vaccination policies violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act, and the Florida Whistleblowers Act.
  • Secured three wage and hour class actions for Bloomberg L.P.
  • Represented Ecolab Inc. after a plaintiff filed a statewide PAGA action seeking penalties on behalf of hundreds of California employees.

Lawyers

Hall of Fame
The lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work.
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Next Generation Partners
Junior partners with significant recognition from clients and peers in the market and key roles on multiple matters.

Practice head

The lawyer(s) leading their teams.

Matthew W. Lampe, Elizabeth B. McRee

Other key lawyers

Steve Zadravecz, Lauren Dutkiewicz, Wendy Butler, Jessica Kastin, Matthew Lampe, Kristina Yost, Michael Gray, Thomas Chiavetta