Mike Cramer advises employers ranging from small non-profits to Fortune 500 companies on a variety of labor and employment-related legal matters, leads workplace investigations, and conducts learning sessions for attorneys, executives, HR professionals, and entire workforces. Mike also represents employers in employment-related litigation.
Counseling, Investigations and Training
Mike partners with employers to help them create positive work environments, increase engagement, comply with applicable laws, and reduce litigation. This work includes:
- Assisting in-house counsel, HR professionals, and business leaders with employment policies, solutions to complex workplace issues, and day-to-day employment decisions;
- Leading workplace investigations of possible harassment, discrimination, bullying and other behavior that can harm a company’s culture and bottom line; and
- Conducting training for leadership teams, individual executives, HR teams and entire workforces on topics including anti-harassment, internal investigations, performance management, workplace bullying, and professionalism.
Mike is a frequent speaker and writer on employment law topics through organizations including the Association of Corporate Counsel, the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, and North Shore Labor Counsel.
Employment Litigation
Mike litigates discrimination, harassment and retaliation cases and wage-and-hour class/collective actions. He has negotiated cost-effective resolutions to many contentious disputes, and has litigated to many victories. Examples of his work include:
- Defending manufacturers, retailers, financial institutions and other employers in numerous class and collective actions involving alleged wage and hour violations
- Defeating a former employee’s attempt to certify a class of more than 200 employees alleging overtime violations, then defeating the remaining plaintiff’s claims at trial
- Winning summary judgment on behalf of employers in numerous discrimination and retaliation suits
- Defeating a 27-count federal lawsuit brought by the former chief executive of a non-profit organization against the entity and each of its board members
- Defeating an age and sex discrimination suit in a federal jury trial, and
- Defeating an executive’s suit claiming he was entitled to millions of dollars under an executive severance plan.
Peer Recognition
Based on other peer surveys, Mike has achieved Martindale-Hubbell’s highest peer review rating (AV), and repeatedly has been named among the Best Lawyers in America, a Leading Lawyer, and an Illinois Super Lawyer. Mike has been elected to The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, an organization of labor and employment attorneys in practice for more than 20 years who meet “the highest professional qualifications and ethical standards.”
