Kevin J. Kinney

• Representing clients in all NLRB proceedings
• Decertification and union elections
• Numerous collective bargaining negotiations in all states involving all significant unions
• Handled more than 200 arbitrations
• Class Action litigation including wage & hour and ERISA matters
• Federal and State court litigation involving noncompete, discrimination, harassment and retaliation allegations
• Labor and employment counsel for mergers and acquisitions

Published Cases:

• Pfanstiehl, Inc. v. The United Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers of America and Its Local 1137 et al, Docket No. 1:22-cv-01666 (N.D. Ill. Mar 30, 2022)
• Andrew Albert v. Oshkosh Corporation, et al, Docket No. 21-02789 (7th Cir. Oct 01, 2021)
• Case v. Generac Power Systems Inc et al, Docket No. 2:21-cv-01100 (E.D. Wis. Sep 21, 2021)
• Dobbins v. Weber-Sephen Products, LLC, Docket No. 1:20-cv-05275 (N.D. Ill. Sep 08, 2020)
• Woznicki v. Aurora Health Care Inc et al, Docket No. 2:20-cv-01246 (E.D. Wis. Aug 14, 2020)
• O’Driscoll v. Plexus Corp et al, Docket No. 1:20-cv-01065 (E.D. Wis. Jul 14, 2020)
• Albert v. Oshkosh Corporation et al, Docket No. 1:20-cv-00901 (E.D. Wis. Jun 16, 2020)
• Bemis Company, Inc. 370 NLRB #7 (2020)
• EEOC v. Orion Energy Systems, Inc., Case No. 1:14-CV-01019 (ED WI 2016)
• Baines v. Walgreens, Case No. 15-CV-258 (ED WI 2016)
• Olson v. Bemis Company, Inc., 800 F.3d 296 (7th Cir. 2015) 204 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 365
• Des Armo v. Kohler Co. Pension Plan, 2014 WL 3860049 (E.D. Wis. 2014) (plan administrator’s decision to deny claim for disability pension benefits under ERISA plan was not arbitrary and capricious)
• Bemis Company, Inc. v. Blain C. Yost, Winnebago County Wisconsin Case No. 2014CV000869 (enforcing noncompetition agreement)
• Bemis Company, Inc. v. Judy Klein, Winnebago County Wisconsin Case No. 2014CV001170 (enforcing noncompetition agreement)
• Smith v. Kohler Co., 2013 WL 3212502 (N.D. Mississippi, Oxford Division 2013) (claim for disability benefits under ERISA)
• Kay v. Chileda Institute, Inc., Case No. 12-CV-00600 (W.D. Wis. January 11, 2013) (removal of breach of contract claim, which was preempted by ERISA)
• Gentle v. Kohler Co., 966 F.Supp.2d 1276, 2013 WL4433913 (N.D. Alabama, Northeastern Division 2013) (failure to exhaust administrative remedies under ERISA Plan)
• Bemis Company, Inc. v. Thomas Van Handel, Winnebago County Wisconsin Case No. 2013CV001162 (enforcing noncompetition agreement)
• Petroske v. Kohler Co., 854 F.Supp. 2d 669, 2012 WL 611206 (D. Minnesota 2012) (plan administrator’s decision to deny disability benefits under ERISA plan was not arbitrary and capricious)
• Bemis Company, Inc. v. Jeffrey Sesolak, Winnebago County Wisconsin Case No. 2011CV001161 (enforcing noncompetition agreement)
• Bemis Company, Inc. v. Mario Tomei, Winnebago County Wisconsin Case No. 2010CV001201 (temporary restraining order prohibiting breach of noncompete agreement)
• Allstate Insurance Co. v. Beyer et al., Case No. 00-CV-976 (E.D. Wisconsin, March 29, 2001) (alleged breach of restrictive covenants)
• Proudfoot v. Arnold Logistics, LLC, 59 F. Supp. 3d 697 (U.S. D.C. M.D. Pa. 2014) affm’d 2015 BL 332474 (3rd Cir. 2015)
• Olson v. Bemis Company, Inc., et al., 199 LRRM 3182 (E.D. Wis. 2014)
• ABC Supply Co. Inc., 133 LA 1090 (Arb. 2014)
• Temme v. Bemis Co., 726 F.3d 544 (7th Cir. 2014)
• Alcan Packaging Co. v. Graphic Communications Conference Local 77-P, 729 F.3d 839 (8th Cir. 2013)
• NLRB v. KSM Industries, Inc., 682 F.3d 537 (7th Cir. 2012)
• Lacher et al. v. Review Board of the Indiana Dept. of Workforce Dev. And Bemis Company, Inc., 954 N.E. 2d 1098 (Ind. App. 2011), petition to transfer denied. 969 N.E.2d 606 (Ind. 2012)
• Alcan Packaging Co. v. Graphic Communications, et al. (U.S. Dist. Ct. S.D. Iowa, 8/2012)
• Aim Royal Insulation, Inc. and Jacobson Staffing, L.C. and International Association of Heat & Frost, 358 NLRB No. 91 (2012)
• Bemis Co., 129 LA 24 (2011)
• Bemis Company, Inc. and Chicago Midwest Regional Joint Board Local 1426, 129 LA 24 (2011)
• Kohler Co. and Kevin Brewer, et al., (Case Nos. 26-CA-22733 and 22744)
• Phillip Carerros v. Charter Manufacturing Co. (LIRC 2010)
• Temme v. Bemis Co., 622 F.3d 730 (7th Cir. 2010)
• Fore v. Lakeside Buses of Wis., Inc., 2009 WL 5205440 (E.D. Wis. 2009), aff’d, 392 F. App’x 478 (7th Cir. 2010), cert. denied, 582 U.S. 1145 (2011)
• Temme, et al. v. Bemis Company, Inc., 651 F.Supp.2d 865 (E.D. Wis. 2009)
• Electrical Workers UE v. NLRB, 580 F.3d 560 (7th Cir. 2009)
• KSM Industries, Inc. v. NLRB, 353 NLRB No. 1124, 353 NLRB No. 117 (2009)
• Wolf v. Price Erecting Co., 591 F.Supp.2d 985 (E.D. Wis. 2008)
• Aluminum Casting & Engineering Co., Inc., 352 NLRB No. 1 (2008)
• Aluminum Casting & Engineering Co. Inc., 349 NLRB No. 18 9Jan. 31, 2007)
• United Food and Commercial Workers v. Hormel Foods Corp., 2006 WL 2591186 (E.D. Wis. 2006)
• Eliot Washington, et al. v. James Krahn et al. and Rural Mutual Insurance Company (Case No. 05-C-673 Dec. 2006)
• Milprint, Inc. v. Randy L Flynn, 05-cv-222 (Wis. Cir. Ctr. Grant Co. June 28, 2006)
• Bialoszynski v. Milwaukee Forge, 419 F.Supp 2.d 1045 (E.D. Wis. 2006)
• UFCW Local 73A v. Hormel Foods Corp., 2006 WL 2591186 (E.D. Wis. 2006)
• NLRB and GCU Local 77-P v. Curwood, Inc., 397 F.3d 548 (7th Cir. 2005)
• Towne Ford, Inc., WERC A-6171 (Burns 2005)
• Gerald Nell, Inc., 341 NLRB no. 71 (2004) affirmed IBEW Local 494 v. NLRB et al. 161 Fed Appx. 16 (C.A.D.C. 2005) cert. denied 126 S. Ct. 557 (2005)
• Windward Roofing and Construction, Inc., 342 NLRB No. 70 (2004)
• Reigel Electric/Central Electric Services, 342 NLRB No. 83 (2004)
• Reigel Electric/Central Electric Services, 341 NLRB No. 3 (2004)
• Curwood, Inc., 339 NLRB No. 1137 (2003)
• CTS, Inc., 340 NLRB No. 904 (2003)
• Podewils v. NLRB, 274 F.3d 536 (D.C. Cir. 2001)
• Gerald Nell Inc. v. NLRB, 274 F.3d 586 (D.C. Cir. 2001) reversing Gerald Nell, Inc., 332 NLRB No. 1223 (2000)
• NLRB v. Aluminum Casting & Engineering, Co., 230 F.3d 286 (7th Cir. 2000)
• IBEW Local 494 v. NLRB, 332 NLRB No. 112 (2000)
• R&D Trucking, Inc., 327 NLRB No. 531 (1999)
• Ryder Integrated Logistics, Inc., 329 NLRB 1493 (1999)
• Hager v. Lutheran Hospital-LaCrosse, Inc., 1999 U.S. App. Lexis 31938 (7th Cir. 1999)
• Briggs & Stratton Corp. and UPIU Local 7232, 107 LA 1023 (1997)
• Bernhardt v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, 207 Wis. 2d 294 (Wis. Ct. App. 1996)
• Roark v. Walker Mfg., Inc., 1996 U.S. Dist. Lexis 16976 (N.D. Ind. 1996)
• Ryder Dedicated Logistics, Inc., 22 AMR 32175 (1995)
• Briggs & Stratton Corp. v. Local 232, 36 F.3d 712 (7th Cir. 1994)
• Housey v. Carini Lincoln-Mercury, 817 F.Supp. 762 (E.D. Wis. 1993)
• Richardson Brothers South, 312 NLRB No. 534 (1993)
• Roadmaster Corp., 98 Lab. Arb. 847 (BNA 1992)
• A&J Cartage, Inc., 309 NLRB No. 319 (1992)
• Local 619 AIW v. NLRB, 924 F.2d 245 (D.C. Cir. 1991)
• Advance Products Corp., 304 NLRB No. 436 (1991)
• Xidex Corp. v. NLRB, 924 F.2d 245 (D.C. Cir. 1991)
• Local 504 v. Roadmaster Corp., 916 F.2d 1161 (7th Cir. 1990)
• Roadmaster Corp. v. NLRB, 874 F.2d 448 (7th Cir. 1989)
• Geo A. Hormel & Co v. Randall D. Hair, 426 NW2d281 (Nebraska Sup. Ct. 1988)
• G.A. Aalbers v. Iowa Dept. of Job Service, 431 NW2d 330 (Iowa Sup. Ct. 1988)
• Roadmaster Corp. v. NLRB, 288 NLRB No. 135 (1988)
• Roadmaster Corp. and Laborers International Union, Local 504, 89 LA 126 (1987)
• Geo A. Hormel & Co., 287 NLRB No. 693 (1987)
• Accetta Millwork, Inc., 274 NLRB No. 141 (1985)
• Carpenters District Council of Milwaukee v. Morgan-Wightman Supply Company, WERC Decision No. 20286-B (1983)
• Morgan-Wightman Supply Company, WERC Decision No. 21048 (1983)

Education

• J.D., Marquette University Law School, 1982
• B.A., Marquette University, 1979

Admission to Practice

• U.S. District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin
• U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
• Wisconsin
• United States Supreme Court
• U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Third, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, and District of Columbia Circuits

• State Bar of Wisconsin (Labor and Employment Section)
• Milwaukee Bar Association
• American Bar Association (Labor Law Section)
• ABA NLRB Practice and Procedure Committee (Regional Co-Chair)
• Executive Resource Group (Advisor)
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee, Inc. (past Board Member)
• Milwaukee Art Museum, Contemporary Art Society (past Board Member)

• Ogletree Deakins Workplace Strategies Seminar – “Restrictions on Workplace Policies, Confidentiality Agreements, Restrictive Covenants, and More! The Latest From the NLRB” – Washington, D.C. – May 2, 2024
• Developments in Labor Law, Union Organizing, and Collective Bargaining: An Overview – “Workplace Strategies Seminar” – Phoenix – May 5, 2022
• Labor Law Solutions – “NLRB Update: New World, New Rules—and Old Rules, Resurrected” – December 3, 2020
• Labor Law Solutions – “Pardon the Interruption!—Labor Style” – Nashville – December 5, 2019
• Ogletree Deakins Managing A Workforce In 2020 – “Due Diligence, Integration, And Harmonizing Workforces” – Kohler – October 30, 2019
• Ogletree Deakins Workplace Strategies Seminar – “Integration Frustration! Harmonizing Workforces in M&A Transactions” – Las Vegas – May 2, 2019
• Ogletree Deakins Corporate Labor and Employment Counsel Exclusive – “What Diligence Is Due? Considerations and Calamities” – La Quinta – November 8, 2018
• Ogletree Deakins Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Symposium – “ACA Update: What’s Next for Employer Health Plans” – Phoenix – November 8, 2018
• Private Client HR Immersion Session – “As The World Turns… Cultural and Legislative Trends, HR Issues, and Practical Solutions” – Kohler – September 19, 2018
• MRA Labor Relations Forum – “Keynote Session: Trump’s NLRB Takes Charge” – Waukesha – May 17, 2018
• ABA Committee on Practice and Procedure Under the National Labor Relations Act, Midwinter Meeting – “‘Will They Say No to This’? Bargaining Unit Determinations in Light of PCC Structurals and OM Memo 18-05” – San Juan – February 27, 2018
• Labor and Employment Counsel Exclusive – “Death by a Thousand Cuts: Managing Litigation on Multiple Fronts” – Boca Raton – November 9, 2017
• Ogletree Deakins Workplace Strategies Seminar – “Labor Strategy From Scratch: Soup to Nuts Preparation” – San Diego – May 3, 2017
• Ogletree Deakins Managing a Workforce in 2017 – “Disorganized Labor: NLRB Update for Union and Non Union Employers” – Kohler – September 15, 2016
• Management Resource Association – “Annual Legal and Legislative Update” – Milwaukee – September 2016
• Ogletree Deakins Labor and Employment Counsel Exclusive Seminar – “The Impact of the EEOC’s New Wellness Rules on Your Plan” – Phoenix – November 2015
• Ogletree Deakins Seminar – “NLRB Update: Common Sense Has Left The Building!” – Kohler – June 2015
• Ogletree Deakins Seminar – “The Need For Speed” – Kohler – June 2015

• AV Peer Review rated by Martindale-Hubbell
• Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America®
  • Employment Law – Management (2010-2025)
  • Labor Law – Management (2010-2025)
  • Litigation – Labor and Employment (2010-2025)
• Named the Best Lawyers®
  • Labor Law – Management Lawyer of the Year in Milwaukee (2025)
  • Labor Law – Management and Litigation – Labor and Employment Lawyer of the Year in Milwaukee (2023)
  • Labor Law – Management Lawyer of the Year in Milwaukee (2017)
• Wisconsin’s Top Rated Lawyers
• Chambers USA America’s Leading Lawyers for Business – Key Individual
• Best Lawyers in America – Best Law Firms (2015)
• Wisconsin Super Lawyers (2006-present)
• Top Lawyer by Milwaukee Magazine (2015)
• Named as one of the Top 100 Labor Attorneys in the United States by Labor Relations Institute, Inc.
• Legal Intern, National Labor Relations Board, Region 30
• Judicial Intern, John L. Coffey, Wisconsin Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit