Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), one of the largest labor and employment law firms representing management, welcomes former National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Brian Hayes as a shareholder. Hayes, who frequently dissented to the NLRB’s game-changing rulings until his term ended last month, will provide his unique experience and perspective on labor law issues and developments for the firm’s clients. Hayes will serve as co-chair of the firm’s Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group and be based in the Washington, D.C. office.
“Brian Hayes is an outstanding addition to our firm, and our clients stand to benefit tremendously from his knowledge and experience,” said Kim Ebert, Ogletree Deakins’ managing shareholder. “It is a unique and special opportunity for us to welcome Brian Hayes to our firm, and we are delighted that he felt our model and platform were the right fit for him.”
“I am very excited to join Ogletree Deakins,” said Brian Hayes. “This is a very dynamic time in the traditional labor law arena. The NLRB’s rulings have created many challenges for employers in recent years. While I will miss my days as a policymaker, I look forward to returning to the practice of law and helping employers manage these risks – and those that are likely to come from the NLRB in the future.”
Hayes participated in an active Board that reversed longstanding precedents and broke new ground in many areas of labor law. During his tenure on the Board, employers lauded Hayes for his dissents in several landmark cases. He articulated pro-management positions on key high-profile issues, including social media in the workplace, notice posting, narrow bargaining units and “micro-unions”, and post-contract deduction of union dues. Many employers hope that Hayes’s legal analyses will serve as a roadmap for the courts in evaluating NLRB rulings.
In June 2010, Hayes was appointed to the NLRB by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate shortly thereafter. His term concluded in December of 2012, at which time he was the only Republican member of the NLRB. Before taking his post on the Board, Hayes served as the Republican Labor Policy Director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Prior to joining the Senate staff, Hayes was a management-side labor and employment lawyer with more than two decades of experience in private practice in New England. He began his legal career as a clerk for the NLRB’s Chief Administrative Law Judge and later served as counsel to the Board Chairman. Hayes earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and his undergraduate degree from Boston College.
