Douglas Darch is the CEL Practice Group chair for the Chicago office. He represents and counsels management in the areas of Labor and Employment. Mr. Darch has handled highly publicized cases under Title VII, and the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), including the largest corporate restructuring of a publicly held employer at the time. He has extensive union election campaign and collective bargaining experience, and has participated in over 100 hearings before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), labor arbitrators, federal and state courts, and administrative agencies. Mr. Darch served in the US Navy, as a Surface Warfare Officer.

Practice Focus

Mr. Darch’s practice has a particular emphasis on union relations, corporate transactions, labor management restructuring, Taft-Hartley benefit plan modification, corporate campaigns, as well as labor and employment litigation. He is an experienced appellate court advocate, and provides clients — some of them manufacturers, health care and service employers — with strategic and pragmatic solutions that help meet corporate objectives while avoiding litigation where possible. Mr. Darch also provides counsel in absenteeism and leave management, sexual harassment, arbitration agreements, workforce reductions, severance plans, developing personnel policies, workplace investigations, maintaining a union free environment, preparing for and conducting collective bargaining, as well as workforce interruption contingency planning.

Representative Legal Matters

• Terracon, Inc., 339 NLRB No. 35, aff’d, 361 F.3d 395 (7th Cir.). (Review of authorization cards not tantamount to union recognition.)
• Kinney v. Federal Security, 272 F.3d 924 (7th Cir.). (Fees awarded against NLRB in Section 10(j) case under Equal Access to Justice Act.)
• Dubuque Packing Co., 303 NLRB 386. (Established the duty to bargain over work relocations under the NLRA.)
• Kyles v. Guardian Security, 222 F.3d 289 (7th Cir.). (Employment testers case, jury verdict for defendants following remand), 84 F.E.P. Cases (BNA) 928 (N.D. Ill.)
• Safety Kleen, 279 NLRB 1117. (Administrative Law Judge can dismiss case if General Counsel fails to establish a prima facie case.)
• Thompson, et al. v. WMI Medical Waste, affirmed w/o pub. dec. Wisc. Ct App. (Summary Judgment in multi-plaintiff, multi-claim matter.)
• Pease, et al. v. Local 707, 386 F.3d 819 (7th Cir.). (Multi-plaintiff, multi-count jury verdict for defense, affirmed.)
• Ridings v. Riverside Hospital, 537 F.3d 755 (Summary Judgment in FMLA interference/retaliation claim.)
• ValleyCrest Landscaping v. Cement Mason’s Pension Plan (C.D. Cal). (Suit to void labor agreement ab initio, settled on favorable terms.)
• Represented clients in connection with Title VII, Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), handicap/disability discrimination, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employment-at-will, retaliatory discharge, family leave (FMLA), wage and hour (both state and federal administrative investigations and court claims, veterans status), COBRA, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), state common law claims, executive employment agreements, Boys Market injunctions, labor arbitrations (contract, discharge, interest), NLRB unfair labor practice and representation hearings.

Professional Associations and Memberships

• Illinois State Bar Association - Member, ERISA Section Council (Former Chair, Individual Rights Section)
• Chicago Bar Association - Member, Labor & Employment Committee (Former Chair)
• American Bar Association - Member, Developing Labor Law

Admission

U.S. Supreme Court~United States (1991)
Illinois Supreme Court~United States (1980)
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Indiana~United States
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin~United States
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin~United States
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee~United States
U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit~United States
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Iowa~United States
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar)~United States
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit~United States
U.S. Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit~United States
U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit~United States
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit~United States
U.S. District Court, Central District of Illinois~United States
U.S. District Court, Western District of Michigan~United States
U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit~United States
U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit~United States

Education

University of North Carolina School of Law  (J.D.) (1980)
Georgia Institute of Technology  (B.Sc.) (1973)