Jeffrey Pasek

Practice Areas

Jeff is a former chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment Department and maintains a national practice representing employers across the full spectrum of labor and employment matters. He regularly advises and litigates issues involving collective bargaining, grievance arbitration, employment discrimination, wage and hour compliance, occupational safety and health, and executive employment and transition agreements for C-suite executives in both the private and nonprofit sectors. His industry experience spans apparel, construction, education, entertainment, food, healthcare, retail, transportation, and government contracting.

A seasoned trial lawyer, Jeff has tried cases and argued appeals in federal courts nationwide, including before the US Supreme Court. He has successfully defended employers in single-plaintiff and class actions alleging race, sex, age, disability, religious and national origin discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower claims, and FMLA violations. His practice also includes extensive experience with EEOC pattern-or-practice proceedings and class-wide investigations, as well as compliance audits, desk audits, on-site reviews, and administrative proceedings that present potential debarment and financial penalties.

Jeff is widely regarded for his deep experience in employee benefits and ERISA matters. A former management trustee of a nationwide retirement plan, he regularly handles withdrawal liability disputes involving multiemployer pension plans and litigates fiduciary liability claims under ERISA.

In addition to his labor and employment practice, Jeff has a substantial background in cultural and constitutional issues affecting employers and institutions, particularly matters involving religion in public life and free speech in the workplace. He has authored and contributed to numerous amicus briefs before the US Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals addressing the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses and claims under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Jeff has deep experience in educational accreditation matters, having served a six-year term on the Council on Education of the American Veterinary Association, which sets accreditation standards and votes on the accreditation of veterinary medical colleges in the United States and Canada.

Professional Memberships

Jeff is actively involved in business, professional, and civic leadership roles, including service on the executive committee and policy leadership of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, as well as leadership positions in nonprofit and educational organizations involving workforce development, community relations, and academic philosophy. Jeff is a frequent speaker and course planner for national and regional legal organizations, including the American Bar Association, American Employment Law Council, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. He has played a significant role in professional education initiatives involving the EEOC and US Department of Labor. He also teaches a graduate legal studies course on managing workplace investigations as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Miami Law School.

Publications

Jeff has written extensively on labor, employment, and benefits law, serving for more than a decade as editor of leading state human resources manuals and as a longstanding contributor to Bloomberg Law’s Employment Discrimination Law and Developing Labor Law treatises.