Jon Zimring

For employers who are new to affirmative action obligations, as well as for established government contractors and/or subcontractors, Jon regularly guides clients in designing, implementing and enhancing affirmative action programs to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of Executive Order 11246, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 4212 of VEVRA.  Jon also works actively, on a privileged basis, providing advice and counsel to clients grappling with difficult applicant to hire, selection decision and pay equity challenges.  Jon actively defends government contracting clients facing OFCCP compliance reviews and other enforcement efforts, while guiding government contractors both while under and not under audit in the correct use of affirmative action plans as a management tool to enhance equal employment opportunity, focused always on achieving the collateral benefits of regulatory compliance and diminution in administrative charges.  Examples of recent representations include:

• Represented federal contractor facing OFCCP notice of violations involving asserted seven-figure liability for minority adverse impact from unvalidated tests. Negotiated OFCCP to resolution with no ongoing hiring obligations.
• Represented federal contractor facing substantial pay equity challenges, on a privileged basis, to conduct multiple cohort analyses to explain pay disparities and to assess and recommend systemic and recordkeeping improvements to rectify and avoid ongoing pay equity issues.
• Represented federal contractor in compliance review showing substantial female and minority hiring shortfalls and adverse impact in minority terminations. Brought OFCCP administrative closure of compliance review.
• Engaged part-way through OFCCP compliance review where federal contractor had submitted compensation data to OFCCP showing significant gender-based compensation disparities. Brought OFCCP administrative closure of compliance review.°
• Counseled federal contractor in order to avoid continued multi-establishment targeting by OFCCP. Guided client through critical self-analysis and self-audit of affirmative action program to develop more effective monitoring and reporting systems to satisfy OFCCP enforcement initiatives.°
• Represented federal contractor facing OFCCP notice of violations involving gender-based adverse impact in hiring. Used Title VII damages and mitigation principles and related legal arguments to negotiate OFCCP down to appropriate, low-figure resolution.°
• Counsel to multiple new federal contractors in developing affirmative action programs to achieve voluntary compliance with changing OFCCP requirements, building human resources systems to support such programs, and training human resources personnel and managers to facilitate both the annual generation of affirmative action plans and the maintenance of a successful overall affirmative action program at a predictable and manageable yearly cost.°

For employers who have unions, Jon works closely with clients on their labor relations, including collective bargaining negotiations, labor disputes and resolution of grievances. Jon also represents clients with and without unionized workforces before the National Labor Relations Board in connection with representation cases and unfair labor practice charges. Finally, Jon counsels employers on best practices for the management of their unionized workforces. Among these types of representations, Jon has:

• Represented multiple employers in collective bargaining negotiations for multiple successive union agreements, working with management to achieve operational objectives in negotiations while keeping costs consistent with business needs.
• Represented multiple employers in defense of unfair labor practice charges alleging 8(a)(1) and 8(a)(5) violations both in connection with union organizing campaigns and during collective bargaining negotiations.°
• Acted as counsel to engineering, health care and construction employers in ERISA audit and collection disputes with union pension and health and welfare funds, defending funds' litigation and/or negotiating resolutions of such matters.°
• Represented a construction industry employer in connection with IRS and Department of Labor investigations arising out of claims by a health and welfare and pension fund of illegal subcontracting to evade ERISA obligations.°
• Represented a nationwide retailer relating to union misconduct during an election campaign petitioning the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a decision of the NLRB.°
• Acted as counsel to manufacturing and health care businesses in the conduct of counter-organizing campaigns and representation cases before the NLRB, thwarting union efforts to organize and defending unfair labor practice charges arising from the campaigns.
• Trained multiple clients’ union department heads and managers on administration of grievance procedures and establishment of “just cause” to avoid/improve defense of arbitrations.
• Represented employers evaluating the acquisition of union workforces, negotiating new collective bargaining agreements, and navigating successorship issues.

For all employers, Jon regularly provides advice and counsel to employers in many industries facing, among other difficult challenges: sexual and other harassment or discrimination complaints; mental health workplace violence and ADA accommodations issues; wage and hour issues; independent contractor/employee misclassification; payment system problems; and the interplay among the ADA, FMLA, and workers' compensation laws. Jon regularly provides training on these topics to employer audiences ranging from highest level officers and boards of directors to entry level rank and file. Included in these efforts, Jon has many times:

• Designed and conducted diversity training, harassment training, ADA and FMLA training, USERRA training, wage and hour training, hiring, performance review and discipline and discharge training and other programs for upper- and mid-level management for employers ranging from a nationwide Fortune 500 financial services client to numerous small employers operating at a single site.°
• Acted as counsel to many employers, including health care facilities and professional services firms, to investigate and resolve claimed harassment of employees by high level executives, supervisors and coworkers, residents, clients and customers. Has conducted sexual, racial, religious and national origin harassment investigations, prepared or counseled employers on the preparation of investigation reports and counseled on both specific and systemic measures to minimize the risk of lawsuits or liability.°
• Counseled employers with mentally disabled employees exhibiting potentially threatening behavior through all associated issues, simultaneously protecting the workplace and working through the ADA’s interactive process to neutralize ADA litigation threats.°
• Counseled employers facing substantial productivity and operational challenges arising from rampant absenteeism and unpredictable intermittent leave usage to improve manager practices, procedures and HR functions to more effectively manage and diminish operational disruptions from employee leave and disability issues and their effect on the workplace while still adhering to legal and regulatory requirements.
• Designed, implemented and worked closely with employers to improve preventive human resources systems, including development of new employee-facing policies and HR/supervisor manuals, reworking of hiring and compensation practices, development and redevelopment of job descriptions, performance review systems and disciplinary procedures and training of managers on all of the above, ending or substantially diminishing cycles of repeated grievances, administrative charges and/or employment litigation against these clients.°

Jon’s years of experience defending labor and employment lawsuits on behalf of employers in multiple industries educates and enhances Jon’s work keeping employers out of such litigation. Jon appreciates that most employers would prefer to avoid labor and employment law litigation rather than expend vast sums engaged in it. When it is necessary to litigate, however, either to get to a better place to resolve a matter or because larger business considerations require it, Jon works at a high strategic level to guide and manage the litigation effort to achieve client objectives in a cost-effective manner. In doing so, Jon draws on the following experience, among other representations:

• Represented a Fortune 100 financial services firm in defense of sexual harassment and gender discrimination claims and retaliation in connection with the termination of a branch manager. Won summary judgment on all claims and defended appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.°
• Represented a pharmaceuticals manufacturer defending pregnancy and gender discrimination claims by high-achieving sales representative. Developed facts during discovery that led to plaintiff's counsel voluntarily dismissing the action.°
• Represented a Fortune 100 financial services firm in defense of California pay discrimination claims asserting seven figure liability. Achieved a mid-five figure settlement following the successful deposition of the Plaintiff.
• Represented a publicly traded telecommunications company defending multiple common law and ERISA claims in connection with denial of severance benefits. Avoided discovery, then won summary judgment on all counts.°
• Represented an affordable housing employer in defense of a wage and hour class action for unpaid overtime based on misclassification. Reduced the scope of a potentially large class and achieved a global settlement based only on the amount claimed by the individual named plaintiff.°
• Represented a hospitality industry client in wage and hour class action alleging failure to pay overtime and misclassification and asserting multiple seven-figure liability. Achieved court-approved six-figure global resolution.°
• Represented a closely held retailer defending allegations of workers' compensation retaliatory discharge. Won defense verdict.°
• Acted as counsel to a multinational fast food franchisor in numerous ADA, Title VII, ADEA and employment tort cases. All won on dispositive motions or settled — most for less than $20,000 — with demands as high as $50 million.°
• Acted as counsel to a publicly traded office supply and services company defending lawsuits alleging violations of the ADEA, ERISA, ADA, VEVRA and breach of employment contract, all of which were either settled on terms the client found favorable or won on dispositive motion and defended before the Illinois Appellate Court or the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.°
• Acted as counsel to an online university in connection with multiple sexual and racial harassment, disability, wage and hour, discrimination, and whistleblower claims. Matters won, averted or resolved on terms favorable to the client.°

°The above representations were handled by Mr. Zimring prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.

• Listed, Leading Lawyers Network, 2007-2023
• Listed, The Legal 500 United States, Labor and Employment - Workplace and Employment Counseling, 2018
• Listed, Super Lawyers magazine, Illinois Super Lawyers, 2010-2015
• Listed, The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and The Chicago Lawyer, "40 Under 40," 2006

• Member, DirectEmployers Compliance Advisory Board