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Tom Stanek is co-chair of Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group. He is an experienced management-side labor practitioner and corporate counselor with more than 20 years of experience advising companies and their executives, directors, managers, supervisors, and HR professionals on sensitive and significant labor and employment issues. Clients seek out Tom to strategize, train, litigate, and counsel their leadership teams regarding their most important, “bet the company” traditional labor matters, employment litigation, workforce planning and training, and restrictive covenant and trade secret issues. Tom actively practices in both state and federal courts as well as in proceedings before administrative agencies, including the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Department of Labor (DOL), state civil rights divisions, and other state and federal agencies. Tom represents companies across various industries, including healthcare, hospitality, financial services, retail, manufacturing, agriculture, technology, transportation, and government contractors.
Benefiting from his years of experience supporting clients of diverse backgrounds, Tom has created and conducted customized and interactive training programs for leaders on all aspects of the National Labor Relations Act, Title VII, the ADA, wage and hour issues, as well as other federal, state and local laws, including best practices for employers to maximize their resources and implement compliance strategies. He also assists clients with developing positive employee relations solutions in the face of union organizing activity through practical and effective advice and counsel. In addition to that advice and counsel, Tom successfully manages union awareness educational campaigns for employers facing imminent threats of unionization, work stoppages and strikes, and other labor challenges.
Tom defends companies in Unfair Labor Practice (ULP), representation, and decertification proceedings before the NLRB. He also represents management in collective bargaining and negotiations with labor unions, as well as in grievance, mediation and arbitration proceedings. Tom utilizes creative strategies to efficiently and effectively advance client interests in the often-challenging area of traditional labor relations and practicing before the NLRB.
Tom is also a member of the firm’s Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets Practice Group, where he devises state and national strategies for clients to protect business investments in human capital, trade secrets, proprietary and confidential information through non-competition, non-solicitation, non-disclosure, no poaching, anti-raiding, and confidentiality restrictive covenants and employment agreements. Tom maintains comprehensive knowledge of restrictive covenant and trade secret law throughout the United States, and counsels clients on related compliance issues. When necessary, Tom prosecutes and defends employers in claims and actions arising out of restrictive covenants and all other types of employment contracts.
As a member of the firm’s Multistate Advice and Counseling Practice Group, Tom drafts employment agreements, arbitration agreements, separation agreements and other contracts arising out of the employment relationship for employers throughout the country. He also reviews and revises employee handbooks, policies, procedures and employment practices for legal compliance with applicable federal, state and local law.
