Rodney A Harrison

Practice Areas

Class Action, Employment Law, Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets, Wage and Hour, Higher Education, Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Technology, Traditional Labor Relations, Workplace Investigations and Organizational Assessments, Airline and Railway, Hospitality, Manufacturing, Retail, Trucking and Logistics

Career

Since 1996, Mr. Harrison has devoted his practice exclusively to the representation of companies in the area of labor and employment law.

Mr. Harrison’s practice includes counseling and advising clients on employment-related matters such as work related investigations, leave and attendance issues, and disciplinary and termination decisions. He has litigated labor and employment-related matters in federal and state courts throughout the United States, including individual and class action claims under Title VII, the ADA, ERISA, the ADEA, the FMLA, collective action claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and represented employers in labor and employment arbitrations and administrative proceedings. Mr. Harrison regularly counsels clients on employment-related matters, particularly those involving FMLA/ADA workplace issues.

Mr. Harrison has extensive experience advising clients in wage and hour audits with the Department of Labor, as well as handling class and collective action claims in state and federal courts. Most recently, he has represented:

- corporate and franchise pizza companies being sued by delivery drivers alleging credit, mileage reimbursement, uniform, and off the clock claims;

- a fast food restaurant being sued by kitchen managers in a misclassification case;

- a water utility being sued by in a misclassification case;

- a software company being sued by project managers in a misclassification case;

- a casino sued by front line supervisors in a misclassification case;

- a security company being sued in an off-the-clock case; and

- a manufacturing facility sued by unionized hourly workers alleging donning and doffing violations.

Mr. Harrison’s practice also includes matters arising under the National Labor Relations Act and Railway Labor Act. Mr. Harrison has assisted both governmental and non-governmental clients with their labor related issues, including labor arbitrations, contract negotiations, and union organizing. He has represented clients in several industries, including the construction, steel, telecommunications, utility, chemical, pharmaceutical, health care, distribution, and transportation industries. He regularly arbitrates cases for clients in these industries, and has worked with clients in resolving issues with various unions, including the Steelworkers, Teamsters, Laborers, Operating Engineers, and Chemical Workers.

In addition, Mr. Harrison has particular expertise in matters arising under the Railway Labor Act, including major/minor disputes, arbitration reviews, strike threats, union representation issues, federal and state law RLA preemption matters, and collective bargaining disputes. He has handled matters in federal courts, as well as before the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and National Mediation Board (NMB). Mr. Harrison’s experience includes:

- Representing a railroad in actions to enjoin threatened strikes by the BMWED, BLET and other unions;

- Representing railroads seeking to enforce and vacate arbitration awards both before the courts and the STB;

- Representing air and rail carriers in union election proceedings before the NMB;

- Representing a railroad in major dispute actions seeking relief for the union’s repudiation of the terms of a bargaining agreement;

- Representing a railroad in proceedings before the STB and Court of Appeals to vacate an award of New York Dock benefits;

- Representing an airline in a state common law claim involving RLA preemption issues;

- Representing a railroad in a hybrid breach of contract/duty of fair representation case;

- Representing air and rail carriers in arbitration proceedings;

- Representing rail and air carriers in wrongful discharge claims arising under § 2, Third and Fourth;

- Advising airlines and railroads on general labor relations; and

- Representing airlines and railroads in employment discrimination lawsuits.

Finally, Mr. Harrison represents clients in non-compete and trade secret litigation in federal and state courts , including claims for breach of contract, misappropriation of trade secrets, computer fraud and abuse, and violation of the Stored Electronic Communications Act. He has helped clients enforce restrictive covenants and helped clients navigate the hiring of employees subject to restrictive covenants. He has served as an adjunct professor at St. Louis University School of Law, where he taught a class on non-compete and trade secret litigation.

Professional Memberships

Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis

American Bar Association (Labor & Employment Law Section, Railway and Airline Labor Law Committee)

Defense Research Institute (Employment Law Committee, Vice Chair, Program Subcommittee)

St. Louis University School of Law (Adjunct Professor)

Human Resource Management Association (Program Committee)

Society for Human Resources Management

Education