Michael Arnold is Chair of the firm's Employment, Labor & Benefits Practice. He is an employment lawyer who deftly handles a wide array of matters. His capabilities include counseling on everyday HR life cycle issues, defending management and senior executives in connection with employment-related proceedings, and assisting companies navigate the complex employment issues that arise in transactions. Michael’s clients appreciate his strong emphasis on providing not just legal advice, but also practical advice, that aligns with organizational and HR strategies while reducing exposure. He also prides himself on being user-friendly, responsive, and strategic.
When Michael is not with a client, he’s out there leading the Firm’s Employment, Labor and Benefits Section. He is still quite active blogging for Mintz’s award-winning Employment Matters Blog, where he currently serves as an Editor and where he’s twice been named a top author by JD Supra (2016 and 2017). His peers seem to like him too as they have recognized him consistently; first he was included on the New York Super Lawyers Rising Star List in 2012 and then included among the New York Super Lawyers List from 2013 through the present.
More specifically, here is what Michael is practicing on a day to day basis:
- Counseling on issues related to the HR life cycle (recruiting, staffing, performance, including evaluations and PIPs; engagement, retention, separation, including reduction in force; post-separation, including employee mobility issues), and compliance with discrimination, wage and hour, family and medical leave, workers’ compensation and disability, and other employment laws and regulations.
- Investigating and reporting on employee complaints, including sexual harassment and discrimination complaints, and assisting management resolve other employee relations issues.
- Conducting anti-discrimination/harassment and other HR and legal issue-based training seminars regarding legal requirements, best practices, and risk mitigation.
- Auditing and assisting in the development and implementation of employment policies, procedures, and practices.
- Representing management and senior executives in connection with a variety of complex employment litigation matters, including pre-trial, trial and appellate work; administrative discrimination charges and other agency proceedings (including EEOC, NYSDHR, NYCCHR, DOL, WCB); and arbitrations and mediations relating to wage and hour, discrimination, restrictive covenants, contract, and other employment-related disputes, including collective and class actions.
- Drafting and negotiating employment-related agreements and policies, including offer letters, employment and consulting agreements, restrictive covenant agreements, separation agreements, and employee-related regulatory disclosures.
- Representing clients in connection with corporate transactions and bankruptcy proceedings, including conducting employment-related due diligence and negotiating employment-related warrants and representations and related employment transaction documents.
More Legal and Business Bylines From Michael S. Arnold
- Title VII Severance Agreement Issue Remains in Legal Limbo: Judge Tosses EEOC’s Suit Against CVS Solely on Procedural Grounds - (Posted On Wednesday, October 22, 2014)
- New York City Council Continues Push to Ban Credit Checks in Connection with Employment Decisions - (Posted On Thursday, October 09, 2014)
- Federal Court Stops the EEOC’s Assault on CVS’s Severance Agreement - (Posted On Tuesday, September 30, 2014)
- Employment Law Summer Recap 2014: Part 11 of 11 – GOAL: the World Cup and Onionhead Capture America’s Attention…Briefly - (Posted On Tuesday, September 30, 2014)
- Employment Law Summer Recap 2014: Part 10 of 11 – Derek Jeter and Big Macs: What Will Happen to Their Franchises Now? - (Posted On Monday, September 29, 2014)
- Employment Law Summer Recap 2014: Part 9 of 11 – Mo’ne Davis, Becky Hammon and Obama’s Equal Pay Disclosure Rule: Three More Cracks in the Glass Ceiling - (Posted On Thursday, September 25, 2014)
- Employment Law Summer Recap 2014: Part 8 of 11 – New York’s Coldest Summer, Especially for Employers Who Utilized Unpaid Interns - (Posted On Wednesday, September 24, 2014)
- Employment Law Summer Recap 2014: Part 7 of 11 – Joey Chestnut Gets Engaged, Wins Yet Another Hotdog Eating Contest and … then Politely Declines to Participate in a Wellness Program? - (Posted On Tuesday, September 23, 2014)
- Employment Law Summer Recap 2014: Part 5 of 11 – Old School’s Frank Ricard and Contractual Statute of Limitations Provisions: I Don’t Know If We’ll Have Enough Time - (Posted On Friday, September 19, 2014)
- Employment Law Summer Recap 2014: Part 4 of 11 – Chris Pratt and Unexpected Surprises in Hollywood and the World of California Employment Law - (Posted On Thursday, September 18, 2014)