| Biography:
Fredric C. Leffler is Senior Counsel to Proskauer Rose LLP and represents major private and not-for-profit employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. As a trusted business advisor, Fred counsels employers on the whole gamut of employment decisions, on a crisis and day-to-day basis, in an effort to avoid litigation or minimize the risks of liability. Fred routinely advises clients on issues related to disability law and reasonable accommodations, discrimination law, reductions-in-force, wage-hour laws, the Family and Medical Leave Act, employment agreements, and personnel policies.
Over the last decade, Fred’s practice, particularly in the wage-hour and disability law arenas, has grown significantly. He is regularly called upon to assist employers with nationwide compliance and reclassification audits under federal and state wage-hour laws, and represents employers in the defense of actions alleging misclassification, overtime, regular rate, meal period, and record-keeping violations. In the disability law area, although Fred has litigated numerous cases at the district and appellate court levels, he devotes significant time working with clients proactively to design strategies to avoid litigation and achieve successful employee relations outcomes.
Turning to litigation, Fred has a proven record of successfully defending employers in all kinds of employment actions ranging from agency investigations to single and multiple plaintiff cases, class actions and collective actions, and pattern and practice cases. He has litigated cases in federal and state courts, courts of appeals, and before administrative agencies. In addition, Fred advises management in connection with union organizing, collective bargaining and strikes, and has handled representation and unfair labor practice proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board. Fred also regularly represents employers in labor arbitration proceedings.
Fred has written extensively on workplace issues for both practicing lawyers and human resources professionals. His publications include: "The Supreme Court's ADA Rulings: Compliance at the Turn of the Century," which appeared in the Proceedings of the Forty-Sixth Annual Institute on Labor and Employment Law, “Redefining the FLSA’s White Collar Exemptions for the 21st Century” that appeared in HR ADVISOR (July/August 2004), "Effective Pre-Trial Defense Strategies: Discovery, Summary Judgment, Motions in Limine," which was published in the Proceedings of the Forty-Fourth Annual Institute on Labor and Employment Law Developments, “Managing Employees Without Fear of Retaliation Claims” HR ADVISOR (Sept/Oct. 2003), and “Helping Those Who Can Help Themselves: The Quandary of Accommodating Employees Regarded As Disabled”, which appeared in HR ADVISOR (July/August 2006). His article, “Be Aware of Concerted Activities,” appeared in the New York Law Journal. Fred is the Senior Editor of Proskauer's Law and the Workplace Newsletter and serves as the Senior Editor of HR ADVISOR, a Thomson-West journal devoted to employment law, workplace, and human resources issues.
In addition, Fred has taught a variety of employment law topics at Proskauer seminars and at events sponsored by The Southwestern Legal Foundation, The College Board, Omgeo, UJA-Federation, The InterAgency Council of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Agencies, Jewish Child Care Association, and The Council on Education in Management.
Fred is a member of both the American Bar Association’s and New York State Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law Sections. A graduate of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Fred obtained a master's degree from the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations at the University of Illinois. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Northwestern University School of Law.
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