Robert A. Boonin is a shareholder practicing in Butzel Long's Ann Arbor office. He is an honors graduate of The University of Michigan Law School (J.D. 1985) and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (B.S. Economics 1976). He also holds a Masters Degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University (M.L.I.R. 1980). Prior to law school, Mr. Boonin served on the labor relations staff of the Michigan Association of School Boards (1978-1982), representing Michigan school districts in their labor relations. Before graduate school, Mr. Boonin worked for the Legislators' Education Action Project of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Washington, D.C. (1975-76). Mr. Boonin's practice is largely concentrated in the areas of labor, employment discrimination, public contract and education law. He has represented public and private sector clients across the country, in over thirty jurisdictions, in wrongful termination, employment discrimination, wage and hour, tenure proceedings and other employment-related lawsuits and claims, as well as in labor grievance arbitrations, labor negotiations, unfair labor practices and representational proceedings and labor strikes. His public sector clients include universities, community colleges, K-12 school districts, charter schools, as well as cities and townships. He has negotiated well over one hundred collective bargaining agreements, and he has also successfully represented employers in over one hundred arbitration cases. He is also well versed in NLRB issues, having extensively practiced before that agency in many NLRB Regions. Mr. Boonin is active in national and state bar association sections in labor and employment law and public contract law. He is an active member of the American Bar Association's Federal Labor Standards Legislation Committee and the American Employment Law Council. He is a Fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America (a national legal honorary) and is a Past-President; he is also Chair-Elect of the Wage and Hour Defense Institute of the Litigation Counsel of America. He is also a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Law Lawyers (a prestigious and highly limited national honorary of employment law practitioners). Mr. Boonin has been repeatedly recognized by his peers as a Super Lawyer in labor and employment law matters, and he has also been recognized in Chambers USA as a leading attorney in labor and employment law. His other professional services include being: a member and Treasurer of the governing board of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan; Past-President, Board member and a founder of the Michigan Council of School Attorneys; a member of the NSBA's Council of School Attorneys; a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys; and a member of the local chapter of the Labor and Employment Relations Association (formerly IRRA). He is a past chair of the Washtenaw County Bar Association's Employment Law Section, and is a past Co-Chair of its Trial Practice Section. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Ann Arbor/ Ypsilanti Regional Chamber Board of Directors. Mr. Boonin frequently publishes articles and presents at conferences on various topics involving labor and employment law matters. He is a Co-Editor of the chapter on national origin discrimination in the 2007 edition of the preeminent treatise Employment Discrimination (BNA 2007), and a contributor and Chapter Editor to the annual supplements of the American Bar Association's treatise The Fair Labor Standards Act (BNA 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010), and is also on the Editorial Advisory Board of each of Thompson Publishing Group's four legal services on wage and hour law. Among his presentations are: recent seminars regarding overtime pay compliance - including presenting two seminars at the recent conventions of the Society for Human Resource Management in Las Vegas (2007), Chicago (2008), New Orleans (2009), San Diego (2010), and Las Vegas (2011); a regularly featured speaker at the Institute of Continuing Legal Education's Annual Employment Law Institutes. Among his other professional writings are: "The Constitutional Constraints in Dealing with Drug Abuse in the Schools," Michigan Bar Journal (Nov. 1989); "Wage and Hour Law for Michigan Public Employers, Michigan Public Employers, Michigan Public Employment and Labor Relations Law" (MPELRA 1994); "Damage Recoverable in the Employment Case, Michigan Wrongful Discharge and Employment Law" (ICLE 1994); MPELRA Manual Chapter on FLSA for Public Employers; numerous articles on the new overtime regulations; "Damages in Employment Litigation" (ICLE). Experience · Represented a private equity investor in a complicated effort to purchase a major OEM's glass manufacturing operations in North America · Obtained summary disposition against a major school district · Involved on labor and employment matters in two plant divestitures · Convinced an arbitrator to uphold a 30 day suspension of an employee · Successfully represented employer in a wage and hour collective action. · Lead counsel in labor, employment discrimination · NLRB and EEOC charges News Media Releases 10.19.11, Best Lawyers Names Two Butzel Long Shareholders as 2012 Best Lawyers of the Year in their respective practice 07.12.11, Butzel Long attorneys named to Chambers USA 2011 06.10.11, Butzel Long labor and employment attorney Robert A. Boonin will be a featured speaker during Michigan HR Day on June 14 in Lansing 05.17.11, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin will be a featured speaker during the Society for Human Resource Management's Annual Conference June 26-29 in Las Vegas 03.31.11, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin interviewed on Teacher Unions and School Management by OurBlook online 03.23.11, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin will be a featured speaker during ICLE's 36th Annual Labor and Employment Law Symposium on April 14 01.19.11, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin is a featured speaker in demand 10.25.10, Forty-two Butzel Long attorneys named to the 2010 Michigan Super Lawyers list 10.12.10, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin elected Treasurer of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the State Bar of Michigan 07.06.10, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin featured recently at events in California and Michigan 06.23.10, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin to serve on the newly merged Ann Arbor/ Ypsilanti Regional Chamber Board of Directors 03.15.10, Wage & Hour Defense Institute Gives Employers New Forum for Staying on Top of Hottest Corner of Workplace Disputes 01.28.10, Butzel Long attorneys featured during Michigan Press Association convention in Grand Rapids 01.07.10, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin publishes guest article in Thompson's national monthly newsletters 11.09.09, Forty-Nine Butzel Long attorneys named to Super Lawyers 2009 listing 09.24.09, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin is Chair-Elect of the Wage & Hour Defense Institute 06.09.09, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin to moderate ABA Labor and Employment Law Section webinar on June 17 11.13.08, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin elected to Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors 07.28.08, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin elected a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers 01.03.08, Butzel Long attorney Robert A. Boonin named President of the Litigation Counsel of America 07.09.07, Robert A. Boonin featured at Litigation Counsel of America Spring Conference in New York 04.19.07, Robert A. Boonin featured at SHRM national conference in June 02.21.07, Robert A. Boonin named Charter Fellow of the American Academy of Trial Counsel News in brief 10.04.11, Butzel Long attorneys named to The Best Lawyers in America® 2012 09.14.11, Butzel Long attorney Robert Boonin discusses power of public-sector unions Publications Articles, Presentations & Briefs 03.29.10, Article: Wage-and-hour cases can alter how industries operate 11.10.08, 2008 Election and the Future of Labor and Employment Law 02.28.08, Robert Boonin - Executive Profile Client Alerts 01.01.12, Automation Alley Newsletter - New Michigan Law Changes Certain Eligibility Criteria for Unemployment Benefits 12.27.11, Client Alert - Labor & Employment - New Michigan Law Changes Certain Eligibility Criteria for Unemployment Benefits 10.06.11, Client Alert - Labor and Employment - NLRB Postpones Effective Date of Notice-Posting Requirement 09.20.11, Client Alert - Labor and Employment - NLRB Employee Rights Poster Now Available 09.01.11, Automation Alley Newsletter - NLRB Continues to Scrutinize Employers for "Facebook Firings" 09.01.11, Client Alert - Labor and Employment - State-by-State Wage and Hour Law Summary 08.26.11, Client Alert - Labor and Employment - New Rule Requires Employers to Notify Employees of Their Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act 08.15.11, Client Alert - Labor and Employment - NLRB Continues to Scrutinize Employers for "Facebook Firings" 07.21.11, Client Alert - Labor & Employment - NLRB Expands Rights to Handbill on Private Property 06.01.11, Automation Alley Newsletter - DOL Rolls-Out Free Smartphone App for Employees to Keep Shadow Time Records: Is this a Concern or an Opportunity for Employers? 05.20.11, Client Alert - Labor & Employment - DOL Rolls-Out Free Smartphone App for Employees to Keep Shadow Time Records: Is this a Concern or an Opportunity for Employers? 03.25.11, Client Alert - Labor & Employment - U.S. Supreme Court Holds that Retaliation Claims Under the FLSA can be Based on the "Filing" of Oral Complaints 06.01.10, Automation Alley Newsletter - June 2010 05.12.10, E-news: Wage and Hour E-news - 05/12/2010 04.08.10, E-news: Wage and Hour E-news - 04/08/10 07.13.09, E-news: Labor and Employment - 07/13/09 02.19.09, E-news: Labor and Employment - February 19, 2009 01.09.08, E-news: Labor and Employment - January 9, 2008 Resources 06.01.11, State-by-State Wage & Hour Law Summary Memberships American Bar Association - Labor and Employment Law Section, Fair Labor Standards Legislation Committee American Employment Law Council Litigation Counsel of America - Chair-Elect of the Wage and Hour Defense Institute Ann Arbor/ Ypsilanti Regional Chamber - Board of Directors State Bar of Michigan - Member and Treasurer of the LEL Section's governing board Recognitions The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers - Fellow Litigation Counsel of America - Fellow and Past-President The Best Lawyers in America, Employment Law - Management; Litigation - Labor & Employment, 2012 The Best Lawyers' 2012 Ann Arbor Litigation - Labor & Employment Lawyer of the Year Michigan Super Lawyers, Labor and Employment Law, 2006-2011 Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Labor and Employment, 2011 (Resident, Ann Arbor, Michigan Office) |