Brian Kurtz focuses his practice on labor relations matters.
He successfully guides clients through collective bargaining negotiations, unfair labor practice cases before the National Labor Relations Board, union organizing campaigns, strikes and picketing, and arbitration hearings. In addition, Brian litigates restrictive covenant and trade secret cases, and he drafts agreements containing noncompete, nonsolicitation, and confidentiality protections. Brian also defends employers in employment litigation before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, and in state and federal court.
Brian provides regular advice and counsel to clients on the day-to-day issues that arise in the workplace. He also advises employers going through major business changes, including mergers, acquisitions, RIFs and closings. He steers his clients through the transaction and ensures that the accompanying documents consummate the transaction while minimizing liability under the various labor and employment laws. Brian has done extensive work in a number of industries, including health care, manufacturing, construction, airline, trucking, and higher education.
Brian serves on the Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education's Labor and Employment Planning Committee, and he is a frequent speaker at IICLE seminars, client events, and industry gatherings.
Recent Experience
- Successfully negotiated initial collective bargaining agreements for multiple hospitals within economic targets and without labor disruptions.
- Achieved a favorable settlement in a contentious restrictive covenant and trade secrets case after four days of trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
- Upheld termination of employee for inappropriate and unprotected Facebook postings after hearing before NLRB Administrative Law Judge.
Recent Presentations
- "Key NLRB Initiative and How the 2012 Presidential Election Will Impact Labor Relations," American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA) Webinar - November 2012
- "15th Annual Labor & Employment Law Update - NLRB and Employer Defense: Employer Perspective," Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE), April 2012
- "HR's Age Bias Prevention Workshop: Smart Policy Practices Under New EEOC Rules and Realities," Business & Legal Resources (BLR), April 2012
- "Conducting Employee Disciplinary Investigations," Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE), November 2011
- "14th Annual Labor and Employment Law Update - Retaliation Issues," Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE), April 2011
Recent Publications