James J. La Rocca

Time and again, Mr. La Rocca has been a trusted advisor to employers in both the private and public sectors. He regularly represents clients in connection with legal issues involving labor unions, including in the context of union organizing and collective bargaining. Additionally, both unionized and non-unionized employers routinely call on Mr. La Rocca to aggressively represent them in litigation, including in cases involving claims of breach of contract, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, unfair competition, and wage/hour violations. Mr. La Rocca also provides employers with day-to-day counseling on an assortment of workplace issues to help prevent litigation in the first instance.

Mr. La Rocca has worked for clients of all sizes across a number of industries. His clients have included Fortune 50 businesses, family businesses, and everything in between, including government entities. His work has spanned the construction, education, entertainment, financial services, healthcare, hospitality, insurance, legal, media, real estate, sports, telecommunications, and transportation industries.

Traditional Labor Law

Union Elections

• Represented real estate company in successful challenge of union election results that the National Labor Relations Board certified in favor of a union on two separate occasions. The first successful challenge concerned an argument before a federal appellate court that the Board’s certification was invalid because then-President Barack Obama violated the Constitution when he appointed NLRB members who certified the election results. While that argument was pending, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision in another matter that supported the argument and resulted in a properly constituted Board having to reconsider the case that Mr. La Rocca was handling. The second successful challenge rested upon an argument before a federal appellate court that the NLRB’s subsequent certification of the election results in the union’s favor was not based upon substantial record evidence. The federal appellate court agreed.
• Represented food manufacturer in one of country’s first ever pre-election hearings under the National Labor Relations Board’s “quickie” election rule. The hearing focused on whether the voting unit sought by the employer or the union was appropriate. The employer faced a major obstacle because, at the time of the hearing, the NLRB adhered to a legal standard (colloquially referred to as the “micro-unit” standard), which made it easy for unions to cherry-pick the unit of voters. After the hearing, the regional director issued a rare decision concluding that the voting unit the employer sought was appropriate. Days after the decision, the union withdrew its request for an election.
• Led construction company to victory in union election where the majority of individuals voting in the election were card-carrying union members.
• Led national plumbing wholesaler to a landslide victory in union election under the National Labor Relations Board’s “quickie” election rule.

Collective Bargaining

• Helped national plumbing wholesaler withdraw from various multi-employer bargaining arrangements with numerous unions and negotiate standalone collective bargaining agreements with favorable terms.
• Helped government entity negotiate multiple collective negotiations agreements with favorable terms. Two negotiations involved units consisting of thousands of employees. Another resulted in a settlement after just four negotiations sessions despite the fact that the unit at issue had been working under the terms of an expired agreement for many years. A fourth negotiation resulted in a settlement after two-and-a-half years of negotiations during which time the unit worked under the terms of an expired contract.

Unfair Labor Practices

• Defended trucking company in three separate unfair labor practice charges involving accusations that the company illegally fired employees because of their union activities. The National Labor Relations Board did not issue a complaint in connection with the charges.
• Defended real estate company in unfair labor practice charge involving allegation that the company illegally terminated an employee because of his union activities. The National Labor Relations Board did not issue a complaint in connection with the charge.

Disputes Arising from Collective Bargaining Agreements

• Helped construction company withdraw from multiple collective bargaining agreements it had with various unions, and prosecute fraud in the execution claim against union when the union pension fund tried to assess withdrawal liability against the company. A federal district court recognized the viability of the fraud in the execution claim the construction company had raised.
• Prosecuted declaratory judgment action for government entity in court to prevent union from challenging employee’s performance based discharge through arbitration in light of employment-at-will language in the governing collective negotiations agreement. The union withdrew its challenge to the employee’s discharge with the declaratory judgment action pending.
• Defended print and communication services company in breach of contract lawsuit filed by former employee stemming from collective bargaining agreement based upon statute of limitations defense. A federal district court dismissed the case in its entirety at the motion to dismiss stage (before discovery).

Employment Litigation

• Prosecuted several non-compete cases for national truck washing company, which resulted in favorable judgments, including a default judgment in excess of $7,500,000.
• Defended pharmaceutical company and several of its executives in a lawsuit involving claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act, which resulted in a complete victory at the summary judgment stage (before trial), the results of which were upheld by a federal appellate court on appeal.
• Defended pharmaceutical company and its chief executive officer in a lawsuit involving various contract- and tort-based claims. A federal district court granted the company’s motion to dismiss the tort claims at the motion to dismiss stage (before discovery) and subsequently granted the company’s motion to dismiss the remaining claims at the summary judgment stage (before trial), in large part, including all claims as to the chief executive officer.
• Defended insurance company and its chief operating officer in a lawsuit involving a myriad of claims, including claims of breach of contract, employment discrimination, defamation, the intentional infliction of emotional distress, retaliation, and wage violations. A state trial court granted the company’s motion to dismiss the claims at the summary judgment stage (before trial), in large part.

Employment Counseling

• Conducted wage and hour audits for multiple employers across various industries.
• Conducted positive employee relations trainings for multiple employers across various industries.
• Conducted workplace discrimination and harassment prevention trainings for multiple employers across various industries.
• Prepared and revised employee handbooks and workplace policies for multiple employers across various industries.