Mr. McDermott represents employers exclusively in labor and employment law matters, including practice before the Pennsylvania and National Labor Relations Boards, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor and others.  He recently met with six Ukrainian labor leaders to provide a corporate perspective on labor–management relations in the United States. He also serves as the Firm’s Vice President of Legal Personnel.

Mr. McDermott's areas of interest include:

• Labor contract negotiations
• Grievance processing and arbitrations
• Union organizing campaigns
• Union assessment and supervisory training
• General labor and employment law advice
• Employee handbook and personnel policies development and review

Bar Admissions

• Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania 1985; U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, 1993; U.S. Supreme Court, 1996

Education

• J.D., Duquesne University School of Law, 1985
• M.P.A. (with honors) with concentration in labor relations, The Pennsylvania State University, 1977. Thesis: Collective Bargaining and Union Impact in Municipal Labor Relations
• B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude), The Pennsylvania State University, 1976

Representative Matters

• Represented employers in union contract negotiations and grievance/arbitration proceedings.
• Represented employers in proceedings before the Pennsylvania and National Labor Relations Boards.
• Advised clients regarding OSHA inspections, Department of Labor audits and EEOC/PHRC charges and complaints.

Memberships

• Member, Labor and Employment Law Sections of the Allegheny County and Pennsylvania Bar Associations
• Member, Labor and Employment Relations Association (South Western Pennsylvania Chapter)

Seminars & Speeches

• Clearfield Area Training Consortium, Emplopyee Off-Duty Conduct – Where and How to Draw the Line (October 28, 2005)
• Sterling Education Services, Hiring and Firing: How To Do It Right (January 14, 2003)
• Western Reserve Chapter Society for Human Resource Management, Emplopyee Off-Duty Conduct – Where and How to Draw the Line (November 12, 2002)
• Clearfield Area Training Consortium, Discipline, Discharge and Documentation (June 13, 2002)
• Westmoreland Human Resources Association, Employee Off-Duty Conduct – Where and How to Draw the Line (May 2, 2002)
• Northwest Pennsylvania Healthcare Human Resource Society, Are You Ready for Your Next Deposition? (May 18, 2001)
• Medical Educational Services, Mental Disabilities and Employment Rights under the ADA (December 5, 2000)
• 14th Annual Pennsylvania Conference “Personnel Law Update 1999” What’s New in Management-Labor Relations? Discovering What the Courts and the NLRB Have Been Saying Lately (March 29, 1999)
• Western Pennsylvania Personnel Association, Employee Discipline and Discharge--Navigating the Legal Landscape (February 18, 1999)
• Second Annual Healthcare Conference, Robert Morris College, Telecommuting: Innovative Workplace Alternatives With Unanticipated Legal Constraints (October 9, 1997)
• Western Pennsylvania Personnel Association, Pending Labor and Employment Legislation – A Human Resources Heads-Up (September 18, 1997)
• Alle-Kiski Personnel Association, Pending Employment Legislation and the Progress of Federal Comp time Legislation in Both the U.S. House and Senate (June 9, 1997)
• Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania, Human Resources Policies – Meeting the High Tech Challenge (February 13, 1997)

Publications

• Author, A Closer Look at the New “White Collar” Exemptions, Dynamic Business (June 2004)
• Author, Telecommuting – Personnel Benefits and Legal Pitfalls, SHHRPP Viewpoint News (Summer 1999)
• Author, Exit Interviews, Society of Healthcare Human Resources Professionals of Pennsylvania (Spring 1999)
• Author, Exit Interviews Pay Off – If They’re Done Well, Pittsburgh Hospital News (August 1997)
  

Prior Experience

• Attorney, Tucker Arensberg, 1987 – 1990
• Attorney, National Labor Relations Board, 1985 – 1987
• Field Investigator, National Labor Relations Board, 1977 – 1985