Mark J. Swerdlin

• Successfully defended a professional services firm in a Maryland Occupational Safety and Health (MOSH) Division investigation into a former high-level official’s claim that the company terminated her employment in retaliation for raising safety concerns. After a thorough investigation, MOSH determined that there was no merit to the allegations and dismissed the complaint.
• Assisted a major food manufacturer in winning an initial union election that was then challenged before the NLRB. The parties eventually agreed to re-run the election. The union, however, withdrew from the election on the eve of the vote, meaning that the facility will remain non-union.
• Won a motion to dismiss several claims against a healthcare employer in a federal lawsuit brought by a former employee. Mark successfully argued that the employee had failed to meet the administrative prerequisite for his disability claims since his Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charge alleged only age discrimination.
• Assisted a major food manufacturer in a union organizing campaign, which resulted in the overwhelming majority of workers rejecting unionization.
• Successfully defended a floor covering distributor against an appeal of a trial verdict in its favor. The estate of a deceased long-term employee sued for vacation and other PTO that was unused as of the employee’s termination due to his death. After a trial on the merits, the trial court ruled in the company’s favor. It dismissed the case because the company acted in accordance with its published policies that provide that unused vacation and personal days are not paid at termination. The appellate court upheld the trial court’s verdict.
• won a motion to dismiss/motion for summary judgment on behalf of a school bus company against a former employee alleging discrimination based on religion, national origin, and disability. The U. S. District Court for the District of Maryland found that the plaintiff’s complaint did not state a plausible claim of discrimination and, therefore, dismissed the action. While the case was ongoing before the district court, the plaintiff filed an interlocutory appeal to the Fourth Circuit, which was also dismissed.
• Represented a public sector university in a unit clarification petition before the Maryland State Higher Education Labor Relations Board (SHELRB) filed by a Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) local union. SHELRB denied the union’s request for reconsideration and affirmed its initial decision that police sergeants should not be added to a unit of sworn officers represented by the FOP local.
• Successful on behalf of a healthcare client in securing summary judgment on claims under the Maryland Wage Payment and Collection Act, the parties’ employment agreement, and tortious interference.
• Won a complete defense verdict following a three-day state court jury trial on a former employee’s claims of defamation against her employer and a co-worker and tortious interference with her employment relationship against the co-worker.
• Successfully defended a major food manufacturer that had subcontracted a project that the Union contended was exclusively bargaining unit work. The arbitrator found the work was a “shared responsibility” that had been performed previously by both bargaining unit and non-bargaining unit employees. Therefore, the company was within its rights under the collective bargaining agreement’s (CBA) subcontracting language to bring in a contractor. The arbitrator also agreed that past practice supported the company’s position and that the assigned work did not fall within the CBA’s definition of “temporary labor,” which would have disallowed the subcontracting.
• Won a motion to dismiss on behalf of a credit union in a case in which an unsuccessful applicant alleged negligent hiring, supervision, and retention by the employer of the hiring manager. The Circuit Court for Baltimore City found that the applicant’s claim was untimely filed and, therefore, barred by the statute of limitations.

Education

• J.D., cum laude, Georgetown University Law Center, 1984
• B.A., summa cum laude, University of Maryland, 1981

Admission to Practice

• Maryland
• U.S. District Court, District of Maryland
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Third, Fourth, Sixth and District of Columbia Circuit

• American Bar Association
• Maryland State Bar Association
• Advisory Board Member, “You and the Law,” National Institute of Business Management (1998-present)
• Advisory Panel Member, “Wage-Hour Alert,” Aspen Publishers (1999-present)

• Super Lawyers (2017, 2018)
• Chambers USA (2016-present)
• Martindale-Hubbell^® Peer Review Ratings™ AV5.0