Rob’s 20+ years of practice has focused on representing public and private employers in collective bargaining, labor arbitrations, mediation, unfair labor practice proceedings and federal and state court litigation involving a wide array of employment law claims. He is a Director of the firm and Head of the Labor & Employment and Employment Litigation Groups.
Rob represents employers in court and before government entities, such as the U.S. Department of Labor, and state agencies charged with enforcing wage and hour laws. He counsels management representatives and defends them in litigation regarding wage and hour claims.
He also counsels employers on hiring, discipline and discharge decisions; drafting employment policies, agreements, non-competes and restrictive covenants; and providing supervisory and employee training on a variety of employment matters. He handles cases involving an array of claims, including employment discrimination, harassment, family and medical leave rights, occupational safety and health citations, wrongful termination, defamation and breach of contract.
A summary judgment was obtained by Rob in a national class action lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act involving a putative class of over 7,000 employees. He also achieved a positive outcome for a manufacturing client in a labor arbitration involving multimillion-dollar pension claims.
He negotiated a favorable settlement in a multi-state wage and hour class action involving more than 6,000 class members; and obtained the dismissal of a class action EEOC charge involving a challenge to a communications company’s disability accommodation policy.
Rob also obtained the successful closing of a U.S. Department of Labor wage and hour audit on behalf of a securities firm, involving claims that brokers were misclassified as exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act. In addition, he defeated an injunction suit brought by a labor union seeking to prevent a manufacturing client from closing a plant and consolidating operations in another state, and he prevailed in a subsequent labor arbitration involving a claim that the employer’s consolidation violated its collective bargaining agreement.
Prior to joining Cohen & Grigsby, Rob was a Partner at Reed Smith LLP in its Pittsburgh office.
Rob has always been active in community and professional organizations. Over the years, he has served as vice chairman of the Metropolitan Board of Directors for the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, a member of the Pastoral Council of St. Killian R.C. Church in Mars, Pennsylvania, a member of the Board of Directors for Combined Health Appeal of Western Pennsylvania, and chairman of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association.