Steven J. Pearlman is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Firm's Whistleblowing & Retaliation Group. Steven’s practice covers the full spectrum of employment law. He has successfully tried cases to verdict in Illinois, Florida and California, and defended what is reported to be the largest Illinois-only class action in the history of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Reporting to boards of directors and their audit committees, he routinely conducts sensitive investigations arising from myriad types of whistleblower complaints and has testified in defense of these investigations in federal court.
Steven was one of five U.S. lawyers selected by Law 360 as a "Rising Star Under 40" in the area of employment law and one of "40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch" selected by Law Bulletin Publishing Company. Steven is a 2014 Burton Award Winner (U.S. Library of Congress) for "Distinguished Legal Writing." He has been recognized in Chambers USA (describing him as an “outstanding lawyer” who is “very sharp and very responsive;” and also noting that “Pearlman is an expert on whistleblower matters regularly representing clients in high-stakes cases. He also handles discrimination and wage and hour suits. One satisfied client reports that ‘he is phenomenal – beyond great.’”), Ethisphere, the U.S. Legal 500, Illinois Super Lawyers and Benchmark Litigation. In addition, he served on Law 360’s Employment Editorial Advisory Board.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has engaged Steven to serve as lead counsel on amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit courts. He was appointed to serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois in employment litigation matters. A sought-after commentator, Steven has appeared on Bloomberg News (television and radio) and Yahoo! Finance, is regularly quoted in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal and has presented alongside the Solicitor of the DOL, the Acting Chair of the EEOC, an EEOC Commissioner and heads of the government (SEC, CFTC and OSHA) whistleblower programs.
In addition, the RAND Corporation, one of the world’s leading think-tanks, selected Steven to speak at an exclusive symposium comprised of some of the most influential thought leaders and policy makers, including top officials at the SEC, on whistleblower laws and related policy issues on the eve of the issuance of the regulations to the Dodd-Frank whistleblower provisions.
Publications
Top 10 Whistleblowing and Retaliation Events [annual review], Law 360
What the Google Walkout Means for Employers, Corporate Counsel, November 28, 2018
The New Wave of Employee Biometrics Class Actions, Law 360, October 13, 2017
Clarifying FCRA Stand-Alone Disclosure Rule at 7th Circ., Law 360, August 18, 2017
SEC Re-Enters the Employment Law Arena, Law 360, October 11, 2016
Time to Revisit Severance Agreements, Law 360, August 12, 2016
Conciliation in the Wake of Mach Mining, Law360, July 14, 2015
Noncompetition Clause Cases In the Land Of Lincoln, Law360, May 23, 2014
A Transformative Year in Whistleblowing & Retaliation, Ethisphere, December 30, 2013
Why Employment Counsel Should Study FCPA Guidance, Law360, November 26, 2012
New Whistleblower Policies and Incentives: A Paradigm Shift from “Oversight” to “Insight,” RAND Center for Corporate Ethics and Governance, 2011
Education
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University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law, J.D., 1998
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.A., 1994
Admissions & Qualifications
- California
- Illinois
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court, Florida, Northern District
- U.S. District Court, Michigan, Eastern District
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- Illinois Supreme Court
- California Supreme Court
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court, Illinois, Northern District
- U.S. District Court, Illinois, Central District
- U.S. District Court, California, Central District
- U.S. Supreme Court
- U.S. District Court, Illinois, Southern District
- U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
Memberships
Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics
Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals
Anti-Defamation League (Co-Chair of Civil Rights Committee for the Greater Chicago / Upper Midwest Region, Executive Committee, Washington Affairs Committee, Advisory Board of Directors); Leadership 2020 initiative
Illinois Bar Association
Chicago Bar Association
Awards & Recognition
Chambers USA: Illinois: Labor & Employment 2017-2018
The Legal 500 United States: Labor and Employment: Labor and Employment Litigation 2014, 2017-2018
Illinois Super Lawyers: Employment Litigation: Defense 2014-2019
Burton Award for "Distinguished Legal Writing" 2014
Ethisphere’s 2015 Attorneys Who Matter: Labor and Employment
Ethisphere’s 2014 Attorneys Who Matter: Labor and Employment: Top Gun
Ethisphere’s 2013 Attorneys Who Matter: Labor and Employment
Law 360 "Rising Star Under 40"
Law Bulletin Publishing Company "40 Illinois Attorneys Under Forty to Watch"
Benchmark Labor & Employment Stars 2019
Matters
Representative Matters
- Rodriguez, et al. v. Sprint Corporation, et al., No. 15 CV 10641 (N.D. Ill.) (defense of putative nationwide Fair Credit Reporting Act class action)
- Creighton, et al. v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., No. 15 CV 08321 (S.D.N.Y.) (defense of putative nationwide race-based disparate impact discrimination class action brought by Financial Advisors)
- Calibuso, et al. v. Bank of America, et al., 299 F.R.D. 359 (S.D.N.Y. April 30, 2014) (defense of putative nationwide gender discrimination class action brought by Financial Advisors)
- Schwendeman, et al. v. Travel Staff, LLC, No. C18-01132 (Contra Costa Cty., CA) (prevailed on motion to compel individualized arbitration in PAGA action that sought penalties plus wages)
- Shuppert, et al. v. Freedom Mortgage Corp., No. 14 CV 1906 (S.D. Ind.) (defense of putative FLSA overtime collective action regarding alleged misclassification of loan officers)
- Arrez, et al. v. Kelly Services, Inc., No. 07 CV 1289 (N.D. Ill.) (defense of putative state-wide class action involving first-impression issues under Illinois Day and Temporary Labor Services Act and Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act; putative class size > 95,000)
- Butler, et al. v. American Cable & Telephone, LLC, et al., No. 09-CV-115506, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 115506 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 6, 2011) (defense of putative class action under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law)
- EEOC v. Kaplan Higher Education, Inc., No. 10 CV 2882, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50035 (N.D. Ohio May 10, 2011) (prevailed on partial motion to dismiss nationwide pattern-or-practice race discrimination claims based on use of credit history)
- Boyd, et al. v. Alutiiq Global Solutions, LLC, No. 11 CV 00753, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88656 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 10, 2011) (defeated motion for nationwide collective action certification)
- Williamson, et al. v. United Air Lines, Inc., No. 03 CV 01456 (S.D. Ind.) (defense of putative class action alleging WARN Act violations; putative class size > 900)
- Filipowski v. SilkRoad Technology, Inc., No. 14 CH 3031 (Cook County, IL) (defense of former CEO’s claims for breach of employment contract)
- Cox, et al. v. Flair Corp. of Ocala [subsidiary of SPX Corp.], No. 01 CV 322 (M.D. Fla.); aff’d 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 19914 (11th Cir. June 18, 2003) (defense verdict in multi-plaintiff jury trial involving race discrimination claims; affirmed by 11th Circuit)
- Cobbs, et al. v. Mid City [subsidiary of Beauty Alliance], No. 06 CV 3971 (N.D. Ill.) (defense verdict on first plaintiff's sexual harassment and retaliation claims and mistrial on second plaintiff's claim)
- Fleishman v. Continental Casualty Co., No. 09 CV 00414, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134992 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 22, 2011), aff’d No. 11 CV 3754, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 21719 (7th Cir. Oct. 18, 2012) (summary judgment on internal counsel’s age and disability discrimination claims; affirmed on appeal)
- McShane v. Chemtrade Solutions LLC, No. SOM-L-933-16 (Somerset Cty., NJ) (defense of antitrust whistleblower claims under NJ CEPA); McShane v. Reichl, et al., No. 2016L011383 (Cook County, IL) (defense of qui tam claims under Chicago False Claims Act); McShane v. Reichl, et al., No. 2017L001074 (defense of qui tam claims under Illinois False Claims Act)
- Rimini v. J.P Morgan Securities, No. 17-CV-10392, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 204673 (D. Mass. Dec. 13, 2017), aff’d No. 18 CV 1031 (1st Cir. Nov. 7, 2018) (secured dismissal of SOX whistleblower claim; affirmed on appeal)
- Mart v. Forest River, Inc. & Berkshire Hathaway Inc., et al., No. 10 CV 118, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22780 (N.D. Ind. Feb. 22, 2012) (dismissal of SOX whistleblower claim against corporate defendants and top executive)
- Schlicksup v. Caterpillar, Inc., et al., No. 09 CV 1208 (C.D. Ill.) (defense of SOX whistleblower claims against company and top executives and claims under Illinois Whistleblower Act)
- Simkus v. United Airlines, No. 11 CV 02165 (N.D. Ill. July 31, 2012) (dismissal of SOX whistleblower claim)
- DuBose v. PepsiCo, Inc., et al., No. 2010L007676 (Cook Cty, IL) (dismissal of retaliatory discharge
Proskauer Whistleblower Defense Blog
Highlights and updates in whistleblower defense claims
Edited by Lloyd B. Chinn, Harris M. Mufson and Steven J. Pearlman