Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Brian Easley represents employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. His practice is focused on labor management relations, and he has extensive experience representing employers in collective bargaining, union organizing and decertification proceedings, unfair labor practice proceedings, strikes and picketing disputes, corporate campaigns, neutrality and card check agreements, bankruptcy, arbitration proceedings, and labor litigation. His traditional labor practice extends nationwide and includes employers in the manufacturing, media, retail, telecommunications, oil and gas, private equity, transportation, health care, and construction industries. Representative clients include American Commercial Lines, Arctic Glacier, Brockway-Moran & Partners, Continental Tire, Continental Automotive, General Mills, Jeffboat, Edw. C. Levy Company, Northstar Aerospace, PotashCorp, Resilience Capital Partners, Tetra Pak International, Verizon Communications, Verizon Wireless, WalMart Stores, and The Washington Post.

Brian's practice also includes trial and appellate litigation of employment disputes, including representing employers in employment litigation before the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, and District of Columbia Circuit Courts of Appeals and U.S. District Courts in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, California, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina. He also represents employers in class action litigation pertaining to wage and hour compliance, employee benefits, affirmative action, and other employment issues. In addition to his litigation practice, he counsels employers regarding labor and employment issues, including hiring issues, compensation and benefit practices, reductions in force, mergers and acquisitions, employment and severance agreements, wage and hour compliance, occupational safety, and other labor and employment issues.

Brian is a member of the American Bar Association (Labor and Employment Section and the subcommittees on Practice and Procedure Under the NLRA, Development of the Law Under the NLRA, Employee Rights and Responsibilities, and Employee Benefits), the State Bar of Illinois, The Chicago Bar Association (Labor and Employment Section), and the State Bar of Texas (Labor and Employment Section). Brian is board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Brian is a frequent author and lecturer on employment-related issues. He is a contributing author to the labor treatises The Developing Labor Law and How to Take a Case Before the NLRB and to the employment law treatise Texas Employment Law. He has spoken on such diverse topics as the Americans with Disabilities Act, employment discrimination, religious discrimination and accommodation, sexual harassment, affirmative action, wage and hour compliance, the Family and Medical Leave Act, federal recordkeeping requirements, and union avoidance programs.

Areas of Practice

• Labor & Employment
• Collective Bargaining, Contract Enforcement & Union Organizing
• Employment Aspects of Corporate Transactions
• European Labor Law
• NLRB Proceedings & Appeals
• Global Infrastructure

Representative Cases

• Tetra Pak Materials LP and United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers, International Union, AFL-CIO, Case Nos. 16-RC-107773 and 16-RC-10842 (NLRB, Region 16, Ft. Worth, Texas) , (2009)
• United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied-Industrial and Service Workers International Union v. CTNA, No. 08-1778 (4th Cir.) , (2009)
• Alderwoods (New York) Inc., d.b.a. Yablokoff-Kingsway Memorial Chapel, Case No. 29-RC-9824 (NLRB 2002)
• BFS, Inc. and Teamsters, Local 283, 331 NLRB 205 (2000)
• Boley v. Westinghouse Electric Corp., Case No. H-95-3600 (S.D. Tex.)
• Bridgestone/Firestone, Inc. and United Steelworkers of America, Case Nos. 6-CA-27902(1-12) (NLRB)
• Continental Tire North America and United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO, Case Nos. 14-RC-12514 & 14-CA-27965 (NLRB, Region 14, St. Louis, Missouri)
• Continental Tire North America, Inc. and the United Steelworkers of America, Case No. 26-CA-21780 (NLRB)
• In re: LTV Steel Company, Inc., Case No. 00-43866 (Bankr. N.D. Ohio 2001)
• In re: Kaiser Aluminum Corp, Case No. 02-10429(JKF) (Bankr. D. Del.)
• McClintock et al. v. The BOC Group Cash Balance Retirement Plan, Case No. 01-CV-382 (S. D. Ill. 2001)
• Pringle, et al. v. Continental Tire North America
• The Levy Co., Levy Indiana Slag Co. and Edw. C. Levy Company, Inc., National Labor Relations Board, Case Nos. 13-RD-2520, 13-RD-2522, 13-RC-21437, 13-UC-392, 13-UC-393, 25-RD-1490 (NLRB 2006) (collaterally, Staff Source LLC, Case No. 13-RC-21456)
• Van Tosh v. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., No. 03 C 2010, 2003 WL 22794556 (N.D. Ill., Nov. 25, 2003)
• Westinghouse Government Services Co. v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, No. GD 99-20635 (Allegheny County Ct. Com. Pl. 2000)
• Acquisition of Air Intake Module and Air Filtration Business
• Acquisition of Bethlehem Steel and Weirton Steel
• Acquisition of DiverseyLever
• Acquisition of Kar Ice
• Acquisition of Koldkist
• Acquisition of MPC Products
• Acquisition of Sales and Service Facilities from Fruehauf Trailer Corporation
• Acquisition of SPi Technologies
• Acquisition of Tropic Ice Partners
• Buyout , (2009)
• Buyout
• Buyout
• Buyout
• Collective Bargaining Negotiations and Strike Activity
• Continental Tire North America, Inc. and the United Steelworkers of America, Case No. 11-CA-21110, 11-CA-21183, 11-CA-21251 & 11-CA-21374 (NLRB)
• Industrywide Labor Negotiations
• Labor Arbitrations Involving the IBEW and CWA
• Labor Negotiations
• Labor Negotiations
• Labor Negotiations
• Sale of Bridal Group Division
• Sale to Cimentos North America, Inc.
• Union Organizing Campaign Advice and Representation
• Union Organizing Drive Advice

West Practice Categories

Collective Bargaining, Employment Law -- Employee, Employment Law -- Employer, International Law, Labor Arbitration, Labor Disputes, Labor Law, Labor Legislation, Labor Relations Boards & Proceedings, Unfair Labor Practices, Unions, Wage & Hour Laws, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act

Bar Admissions

• Illinois
• Texas

Education

• U of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Published Works

• Is Coordinating Medicare-Based Benefits with Retiree Medical-Plan Benefits a Form of Age Discrimination?, 2007
• Kentucky River Trilogy: Recent NLRB Decisions Clarify the Definition of the Term “Supervisor” Under the NLRA, 2006
• The Developing Labor Law, contributing editor, 1999
• Texas Employment Law, contributing author, 1998
• Creating a Records Management Program, Employee Relations Bulletin, 1996

Address

77 West Wacker
Chicago, IL 60601-1692

Phones

1.312.269.4230 (Business Phone)

Faxes

1.312.782.8585 (Business Fax)

Emails

Contact Us (Business Email)

Websites

http://www.jonesday.com