David J. Pryzbylski

Traditional Labor

David has assisted companies across the nation in a wide range of complex labor relations matters.  His representative experience includes:

• Served as lead negotiator and/or lead counsel in labor agreement negotiations around the country for companies in various industries and sectors (steel, telecommunications, construction, automotive manufacturing, hospital systems, etc.).
• Implemented and/or managed multiple work stoppages (lockouts and strikes) for companies around the country from Pennsylvania to Mississippi to Indiana. For example, David assisted a global manufacturing company successfully implement and manage a six-month lockout of more than 200 employees during collective bargaining negotiations in Pennsylvania that resulted in the union accepting company proposals that significantly addressed business needs, including the elimination of retiree health benefits.
• Served as lead counsel in various federal court actions filed by unions and/or their members alleging violations of labor laws, including the National Labor Relations Act and Labor Management Relations Act. For instance, David was counsel for a national grocery chain in an injunction action filed in federal court by a union seeking to force the company to rescind changes to its healthcare plan. The matter resolved on terms desired by the client.  In another case, David successfully obtained a victory on an early motion to dismiss a Labor Management Relations Act complaint filed against a national utility company.
• Led many restructuring efforts for companies facing reorganizations and/or business challenges, including navigating complex negotiations related to the same.  For example, David negotiated several plant shutdown agreements with unions that included vacating long-standing collective bargaining agreements at several steel mills on behalf of a private investment group based in Miami.  David has also successfully defended numerous unfair labor practices against companies related to the shutdown or restructuring of sites.
• Served as lead counsel in numerous unfair labor practice charges filed against companies around the country.  David has defended charges touching on virtually every subject under the National Labor Relations Act, including allegations related to employee Facebook and other social media posts, bad faith bargaining, work stoppages (strikes and lockouts), information requests, employee terminations, picketing and similar union publicity issues, etc.
• Served as lead counsel for companies bringing charges against various unions before the National Labor Relations Board.  For example, David has brought bad faith bargaining charges against unions in cases where the union engaged in acts believed to frustrate and/or delay the negotiation process.
• Secured favorable outcomes for companies around the country in complex labor arbitrations ranging in issues from single employee terminations to class action challenges to labor agreement clause interpretations.  For example, in one instance, the Teamsters union filed a class of grievances challenging a company’s interpretation of job bidding language in a collective bargaining agreement. The union desired for seniority to be the sole factor considered in promotions, while the company’s preference was to award jobs to the most qualified candidate based on experience and job performance. At the arbitration hearing, David, as lead counsel, presented witnesses and extensive evidence supporting the company’s interpretation. In the arbitrator’s ultimate award, he sided with the company. The ruling preserved the company’s preferred model for basing promotions on merit and also mooted numerous other cases within the same class of grievances that were set to go to arbitration but were stayed pending the ruling in this case.
• Assisted numerous companies, as lead counsel, around the U.S., ranging in size from dozens to thousands of employees, remain union-free in the face of union organizing efforts. His successes on the union avoidance front have occurred in New York, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, Michigan, West Virginia and Indiana.  In several of these instances, David went to hearings before the National Labor Relations Board related to union election matters and obtained victories that resulted in the union petition being dismissed or the ballots of voters being counted that resulted in wins for his clients.

Litigation

David also has defended companies around the country in various complex litigation matters.  His representative experience on this front includes:

• Served as lead defense counsel in a qui tam action brought under the False Claims Act in New Hampshire seeking more than $3.5 million in damages that resolved on terms favorable to the client.
• Served as lead counsel in a nationwide class action brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against a company under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The class dwindled from what was anticipated to include more than 160 members to just 23 individuals based on aggressive discovery tactics initiated by David. The case resolved on terms desired by the client.
• Served as lead counsel in class and collective actions brought against various companies under the Fair Labor Standards Act as well as related state laws and secured favorable outcomes for the clients in each case.
• Secured favorable summary judgment rulings for many clients in various industries around the country.  For example, David secured summary judgment for Roche Diagnostics Corporation in the Eastern District of New York on an age discrimination claim and then successfully argued for thousands of dollars in costs being awarded to the company, including e-discovery costs.  In another case, David obtained summary judgment for a national warranty company in a wage-payment suit where an employee alleged he was entitled to over $100,000 more than what he was actually paid under the terms of a revised bonus plan. The court’s ruling precluded the formation of a class action by other employees affected by the revised bonus plan terms that could have posed seven-figure liability to the company.
• Successfully obtained early dismissal of lawsuits for clients, which has helped stave off significant costs.  For example, David filed a successful motion to dismiss in a race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed against Rolls-Royce Corporation in federal court based on a plaintiff’s failure to disclose the lawsuit in his contemporaneous bankruptcy proceedings. The case was dismissed before discovery, saving the company the expense of having to go through that costly process.
• Defended various companies against claims that they have misclassified workers as independent contractors under various laws.  For instance, David successfully appealed a California Employment Development Department determination that a national manufacturer had misclassified nearly 100 workers as independent contractors, which resulted in a nearly $1 million tax assessment being vacated.

"How Weingarten Rights May Operate In A Nonunion Workplace," Law360, Article, Co-Author, Sept. 20, 2022

“What Starbucks Union Efforts May Mean For Service Industry.” Law360, Article, Co-Author, Jan. 26, 2022

"Indiana: The Blacklisting Statute and what employers need to consider," OneTrust DataGuidance, Article, Co-Author, March 12, 2021

"Union Recognition Lessons From CNN's Record NLRB Deal," Law360, Article, Co-Author, Feb. 21, 2021

Indiana Guide to Hiring and Firing (7th Edition), Book, Co-Author (2020)

Indiana Guide to Labor Relations: How to Deal Effectively with Unions in the Workplace (4th Edition), Book (2020)

"How Will the Booming Economy, Corporate Tax Cuts, and Healthcare Uncertainty Affect Labor Negotiations in 2018?," Indiana Manufacturers Association, Article, Feb. 2, 2018

TerraLex Connections - "Getting The Deal Done: The Art of The Ratification Bonus," TerraLex Connections, Article, October 2017

"A New Frontier: The Changing Landscape of Joint-Employers," Barnes & Thornburg LLP's Logistically Speaking e-newsletter, Article, July 2016

"Barnes & Thornburg LLP Logistics and Transportation Update - July 2016," Barnes & Thornburg LLP's Logistically Speaking e-newsletter, Article, July 2016