Gray, Michael J.

Current Employment Position(s)

Partner

Lawyer Overview

Michael Gray's practice focuses on representing corporate clients with complex labor and employment litigation, including class action and multiplaintiff employment discrimination lawsuits, state law overtime class actions, FLSA collective actions, and trade secrets and restrictive covenant matters. He has represented employers throughout the United States in bench and jury trials in state and federal courts, administrative hearings, arbitrations, and appellate courts in matters arising under federal and state antidiscrimination laws, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, labor management relations laws, and diverse state law wrongful discharge, statutory, contract, and tort claims.

Michael also advises clients on preventive measures, including reviewing employment policies, counseling on disciplinary actions and investigations, negotiating severance and release agreements for executive terminations, and conducting employment practices reviews.

As a leader in the area of electronic discovery and the use of technology in complex litigation, Michael speaks across the country to clients and members of the bar on the topic, writes on the practical implications of e-discovery obligations, and participates in the Firm's e-Discovery Committee.

Michael leads the Labor & Employment Practice in Jones Day's Chicago Office. Michael works with Chicago community organizations and contributes pro bono legal services to Lambs Farm, the Anti-Defamation League, and the ACT Charter School. He is a member and frequent speaker for the American Bar Association (Labor and Employment and Technology Sections), the Illinois State Bar Association, and The Chicago Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law Section).

Areas of Practice

• Labor & Employment
• e-Discovery
• Privacy & Data Security
• Asia Labor & Employment
• Class Action Employment Litigation
• Hospitality
• Employee Benefits Counseling & Litigation
• Employment Aspects of Corporate Transactions
• European Labor Law
• Federal and State Wage-Hour Counseling & Litigation
• Noncompetition, Confidentiality, Trade Secret & Employee Raiding
• Reductions in Force & Managing Change
• Single & Multiple Plaintiff Employment Litigation

Representative Cases

• Abbott Labs achieves dismissal from the federal district court of all claims in reverse race discrimination lawsuit , (2009)
• Abbott Labs defends against putative class actions and nationwide collective actions involving pharmaceutical sales reps
• Abbott Labs defends against putative nationwide collective FLSA action brought by pharmaceutical sales representatives , (2009)
• Abbott Labs defends against putative statewide class action alleging denial of overtime, meal and rest breaks and other California Labor Code violations , (2009)
• Abbott Labs successfully defends against race discrimination claims filed by senior manager , (2009)
• Abbott Labs wins summary judgment in multiple count defamation lawsuit brought by senior manager , (2009)
• ACI and MidOcean obtain dismissal of wage and hour class action brought on behalf of current and former Sales Consultants for Jenny Craig
• Advocate Health & Hospitals obtains summary judgment in race retaliation claim thereafter limiting the issues through series of motions allowing case to settle for nominal amount , (2009)
• After School Matters retains Jones Day for pro bono services in labor & employment, intellectual property, and for transactions , (2009)
• Alderwoods defends against non-compete obligations in Chapter 11 bankruptcy
• Alderwoods obtains dismissal of lawsuit alleging unenforceable noncompetition agreements
• Alderwoods obtains dismissal of national FLSA exemption and off-the-clock class action
• Bob Creeden and Associates wins permanent injunction and damages in trade secret and copyright infringement settlement involving computer software
• Boston Market obtains favorable class-wide settlement in wage and hour action involving 6,200 non-exempt restaurant workers in California , (2009)
• Boston Market obtains favorable settlement in putative class action alleging wage and hour violations
• CareerBuilder successfully resolves FLSA collective action
• CITGO wins summary judgment and dismissal of multiple-count LMRA and WARN act lawsuit
• Elite Labor Services settles favorably in complex wage-hour class action
• FleetPride defeats former employee's injunction action to invalidate non-compete agreement
• FleetPride defends against putative nationwide FLSA collective action
• FleetPride wins commercial arbitration and enforcement of former owner's non-compete agreement
• Gantos prevails in racial harassment trial
• IBM wins dismissal of federal race discrimination lawsuit
• Lennar reaches favorable settlement in collective action filed under the FLSA
• McDonald's defends against class-action lawsuit which include claims under FLSA and the Missouri Minimum Wage Law
• McDonald's defeats class certification of 45,000 employees in wage and hour action , (2009)
• McDonald's prevails in appeal reversing $5 million jury verdict in AIDS discrimination case
• Modis disputes claims of alleged trade secrets and enforcement of restrictive , (2009)
• Morton's defends against nationwide class action in which claimants allege that they were paid less than the minimum wage due to alleged improper tip credits , (2009)
• Morton's obtains dismissal in putative class action alleging various tip and meal credit claims , (2009)
• Morton's obtains dismissal in wage and hour class action related to tip pooling practices , (2009)
• National City Bank prevails in case involving employees' use of computers to conduct work for competitors , (2009)
• National City defends lease dispute , (2009)
• Newell Rubbermaid obtains favorable settlement in a series of ERISA cases involving golden parachute agreements
• Ron's Staffing Services defends against wage-hour class action; class settlement preliminarily approved , (2009)
• USG Corp acquires California Wholesale Material Supply for $280 million , (2009)
• Verizon Business obtains affirmance of summary judgment in Illinois employment action brought by former senior business consultant , (2009)
• Verizon Business prevails in former employee's non-compete dispute involving restrictive covenants , (2009)
• Verizon negotiates collective bargaining agreements with unions representing 70,000 employees , (2009)
• Verizon North wins summary judgment in case alleging breach of collective bargaining agreement, wrongful termination and retaliatory discharge , (2009)
• Village of Mount Prospect Police Pension Board wins summary judgment in race and national origin discrimination lawsuit
• Wabash National defends against action alleging violations of COBRA
• Wal-Mart defends against California wage and hour class action involving calculation of employee bonuses
• Wal-Mart obtains dismissal in statewide wage and hour class action
• Wal-Mart prevails in one of the country's largest wage and hour actions when federal court denies class certification involving more than 2,750 assistant managers
• Wal-Mart resolves putative class action in federal court involving management overtime
• Wal-Mart settles favorably in statewide wage and hour class action
• Wal-Mart wins dismissal of putative class action in federal court involving management dispute
• WMH defends against putative FLSA collective action involving hourly resort staff

West Practice Categories

Business & Trade, 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

Education

• Northwestern University
• U of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Published Works

• Wage and Hour Compliance: Key Issues Affecting the Hospitality Industry, 2010
• Wage and Hour Compliance: Key Issues Affecting the Healthcare Industry, American Hospital Association and American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, 2009
• 2009 Legislative Developments in Labor & Employment Law, coauthor, 2009
• A Privacy Primer for Corporate Counsel, Thomson Reuters/Aspatore, 2009
• ALERT: President Obama Signs First Bill: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, 2009
• Reductions in Force: Practical Tips For Avoiding Pitfalls©, 2009
• Significant Labor and Employment Initiatives of the Obama Administration and 111th Congress, 2009
• Recent Developments and Trends in Class Action Wage and Hour Litigation, The National Employment Law Institute, 2008
• Benefits and Pitfalls of the Contingent Workforce, Practicing Law Institute, 2008
• The UK weighs up the arguments for class actions in equality claims, People Management, 2008
• Prepared Testimony of Michael J. Gray on Behalf of the HR Policy Association to the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee of The House Of Representatives, 2008
• The Chinese Employment Contract Law of 2007, 2007
• Administering, Monitoring, and Securing e-Communications in the Workplace, 2007
• E-Discovery: Recent Case Developments and the Impact of the Revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on Litigation, 2007
• Employment Hot Topics: Class Actions, IP Protection, E-Discovery Impacts, The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2007
• Religion and the U.S. Workplace, Human Rights Vol. 33, No. 3, 2006
• Who Is an Internet Applicant? Final Rule on Recordkeeping for Government Contractors Provides Some Guidance, 2006
• Looming Liabilities: With No Real Relief in Sight for the Multitude of Wage-hour Class Actions, How Should Employers Respond?, coauthor, Human Resource Executive, 2005
• Be Prepared: Top Ten Lessons for rule 26 Meet and Confer Conference and Electronic Discovery, author, The E-Discovery Standard, 2004
• Act Now: Prepare Clients Early for Electronic Discovery, Lexis Nexis Applied Discovery Newsletter, 2004
• The New Identity Crisis, Corporate Counsel, 2003
• Department of Labor Proposes Long-Awaited FLSA Reform, 2003

Address

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Chicago, IL 60601-1692

Phones

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Faxes

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Websites

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