David Michael, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, has been involved in Human Resources Management for more than 16 years. David is the Chair of Gould & Ratner's Human Resources and Employment Law Group.  He is also the editor and primary author of Gould & Ratner's Employment E-lert, an emailed newsletter on current topics in Human Resources and Employment Law.

In 2003, David was honored as one of "40 Attorneys Under 40 to Watch" by The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. 

David concentrates his practice on management-side human resources and employment law.  As a human resources consultant and employment lawyer, he has three main responsibilities: training, counseling, and litigating.

David has represented employers of all sizes in many employment related lawsuits in both state and federal court, and before various governmental agencies.  He has handled cases involving all aspects of employment law including race, national origin, age and disability discrimination, sexual harassment, restrictive covenants, workers' compensation retaliation, and breach of fiduciary duty.

David, a member of the American Society of Training & Development, assists many employers with preventative measures such as training and consulting.  He has been a featured presenter in conventions for a variety of local and national trade associations.  He has also conducted many training seminars for individual employers and their employees on a variety of employment-related topics including overtime, sexual harassment, performance management, the basics of employment discrimination law, computer use policies, hiring and firing, accommodating disabled employees, leadership, workplace violence, best employment practices, and supervisory skills.  David can tailor a program for any company's particular needs.

As a counselor, David tries to assist employers in avoiding litigation by giving advice on a variety of employment-related topics.  He often operates as the de facto human resources department for many small and medium-sized employers that cannot afford a full-time professional in this area.  In his counseling role, David has given advice on topics such as accommodating disabled employees, navigating the provisions of the family and medical leave act, effecting plant closings without liability, avoiding legal pitfalls when hiring employees, investigating sexual harassment complaints, and avoiding liability for pregnancy and other types of unlawful discrimination.  He has also assisted employers in developing strategies to insure exemptions from overtime, handling employee morale issues, and developing better systems to document disciplinary actions. David has drafted and/or revised numerous employee handbooks.  He has also drafted articles for magazines and newsletters on topics such as confidentiality of medical records, employment-related class action lawsuits, accommodating disabled persons, dress codes, family and medical leave, attendance policies, and lawsuits by current employees. David also has extensive experience in drafting employment agreements, including protection of trade secrets through non-compete and non-disclosure covenants. 

Representative Matters

• Represented an airline in a race discrimination, workers' compensation and retaliatory discharge case involving an employee who was terminated for excessive absenteeism.  In this case, the court granted summary judgment in favor of the airline.
• Represented a tool manufacturer in an age discrimination/discharge case.  The court granted summary judgment in favor of the company, finding that the plaintiff was unable to produce evidence that the discharge was based upon his age.

Professional and Civic Affiliations

• American Society of Training & Development
• Human Resources Management Association of Chicago

Articles

• The New and Improved (?) FMLA, Employment E-lert, March 2008
• New I-9 Form Adopted, Employment E-lert, January 2008
• No Relief Behind the Counter: Does Federal Law Protect a Pharmacist Who Refuses to Fill Birth Control Prescriptions?, Employment E-Lert, August 2007
• New Ruling Requires Harassment To Be "Targeted", Employment E-lert, May 2007
• Plan to Force Employee to Resign Backfires, GR Review, Fall 2006
• Conditional Job Offers and Medical Examinations: An ADA Landmine?