David Woolf is a partner in the Labor & Employment Practice Group and the co-leader of the Group's Competitive Advantage, Trade Secret, and Computer Fraud and Abuse Team. His practice includes assisting clients in a range of labor and employment-related matters, including employment litigation and counseling, non-competition and other restrictive covenant-related issues, and union/management relations.
Employment Litigation and Counseling. David defends employers in employment-related litigation, including individual and class claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wrongful discharge, in state and federal courts, as well as in administrative proceedings before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") and state and local agencies. David also counsels employers on layoffs, disability and family/medical leave issues, handbooks and internal policies, plant closing procedures, and wage and hour issues. He also conducts and assists clients with internal investigations of sexual and other types of harassment and related training. Representative matters include:
· Obtained a defense verdict at trial on behalf of a large insurance company in an employment discrimination case brought by the EEOC;
· Favorably resolved a putative wage and hour collective action for a nominal amount on an individualized basis on behalf of a large bank while the plaintiffs' motion for conditional class certification was pending; and
· Obtained summary judgment on behalf of numerous employers in discrimination, retaliation, and other employment-related cases brought by former employees.
Employee Restrictive Covenants. David frequently litigates matters related to employees' and former employees' common law and contractual obligations to their employer, including issues arising from actual or threatened post-separation competition, customer and employee solicitation, and disclosure of confidential information. David also drafts agreements related to such issues and counsels employers as to their common law and contractual rights and obligations. Representative matters include:
· Obtained a temporary restraining order in San Jose, California against two former employees and the employees' new employer based on the former employees' breach of their post-separation restrictive covenants and the new employer's interference with those covenants;
· Obtained the entry by consent of an order enjoining a former senior executive of a major corporation from continuing his new employment as a competitor's CEO and from working in any other competitive employment for a two-year period; and
· Worked with numerous clients to develop effective strategies to protect their confidential information and prevent unfair post-separation competition and solicitation.
Union/Management Relations. David assists employers with and advises them on a variety of labor/management relations issues, including during organizing campaigns, with unfair labor practice charges, in labor arbitrations and in cases before the National Labor Relations Board. Representative matters include:
· Advised and assisted a New Jersey hospital in a lengthy union organizing campaign that ended with the employees' rejection of the union; and
· Caused the NLRB to issue a complaint against a union that was engaged in unlawful secondary picketing of a national retailer's store, and ultimately resolved the matter just before the scheduled hearing through a favorable Board-sponsored settlement.
In General. David lectures and writes frequently on a range of employment-related topics and has been a Contributing Editor of the labor law treatise The Developing Labor Law since 2003. David served as a law clerk to the Hon. Charles L. Levin of the Supreme Court of Michigan in 1995-96. David has been recognized as a "Leading Individual" in Chambers USA in the field of Labor & Employment since 2010 and was named a Pennsylvania "Rising Star" by Law & Politics from 2005-2010.
Publications
12/20/2011, Protecting Your Competitive Edge
Lawrence Del Rossi, Kenneth Dort, Joseph Faucher, Mark Furlane, Jeremiah Posedel, Todd Schiltz, Joseph Schoell, David Woolf
10/17/2011, Protecting Your Competitive Edge
Marion Cooper, Kenneth Dort, Joseph Faucher, Mark Furlane, Jeremiah Posedel, Jerrold Wohlgemuth,David Woolf
8/30/2011, Protecting the Company Jewels
Joseph Faucher, Mark Furlane, Kenneth Dort, David Woolf
6/5/2009, Courts Take the Lead in the Race to the ENDA
Legal Intelligencer
David Woolf
4/18/2005, Labor and Employment Newsletter: The Model Employer
Labor & Employment Newsletter
Lawrence Del Rossi, David Woolf, Marion Cooper
7/31/2003, Labor & Employment Alert -- The Model Employer
Labor & Employment Newsletter
David Woolf
Speaking Engagements
7/19/2011, WMACCA Employment and Labor Forum
"Concepcion -- Class Action Killer or Hype?"
Gregory Homer, David Woolf, McLean, VA
3/10/2009, Ultimate Software Human Resources Conference
"Avoiding Wage & Hour Collective and Class Actions"
David Woolf, Pittsburgh, PA
2/18/2009, Client Seminar
"Identifying and Preventing Workplace Harassment and Discrimination Claims"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
2/13/2009, Client Seminar
"An Introduction to Labor & Employment Law"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
7/23/2008, Labor and Employment Group Lunch Roundtable
"Protecting Your Client's Interests Through Restrictive Covenants and Statutory and Common Law Remedies"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
3/18/2008, Ultimate Software Human Resources Conference
"Avoiding Wage & Hour Collective and Class Actions"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
1/7/2008, Client Seminar
"Preparing for the Possible Union Campaign"
David Woolf, Thomas Barton, Philadelphia, PA
10/2/2007, Client Seminar
"Identifying and Preventing Workplace Harassment Claims"
David Woolf, Baltimore, MD
10/2/2007, Client Seminar
"Maintaining a Drug & Alcohol Free Workplace"
David Woolf, Baltimore, MD
9/19/2007, Client Seminar
"Supervisor Training on the Family & Medical Leave Act and Americans with Disabilities Act"
David Woolf, Rochester, NY
9/18/2007, Client Seminar
"Supervisor Training on the Family & Medical Leave Act and Americans with Disabilities Act"
David Woolf, Buffalo, NY
2/15/2006, Client Seminar
"Wage Equity Training for Managers"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
10/12/2005, Client Seminar
"Overview of the Fair Labor Standards Act White Collar Exemptions"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
10/12/2005, Client Seminar
"Conducting Effective Employment Interviews"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
5/13/2004, Pennsylvania Bar Institute Seminar
"Execution of the Summary Judgment Motion"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
1/30/2003, Lorman Education Services Seminar
"Payroll Management in Pennsylvania: The Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act"
David Woolf, Allentown, PA
3/28/2001, Client Seminar
"An Introduction to Federal and State Wage and Hour Law"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
3/28/2001, Client Seminar
"Releases and Wage & Hour Issues"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
3/7/2001, Center City Proprietors Association Seminar
"Basic Labor & Employment Law"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
11/10/2000, Pennsylvania Bar Institute Seminar
"A Discussion of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
10/9/2000, Client Seminar
"The Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act"
David Woolf, Philadelphia, PA
10/6/1999, Lorman Education Services Seminar
"An Introduction to the Fair Labor Standards Act"
David Woolf, Thomas Barton