J.D., DePaul University College of Law, magna cum laude (2006)

B.A., The University of Chicago (1997)

Admissions: 

• Illinois
• Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar)
• Central District of Illinois
• Southern District of Illinois
• Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

Representative Cases: 

City of Rockford and IAFF, No. S-MA-12-108. Favorable interest arbitration award issued by Arbitrator Elliott Goldstein. With respect to one of the key issues, the Arbitrator awarded the City’s proposal to alter the status quo and reduce minimum staffing levels. The City also prevailed on a critical health insurance issue.

Russell Ertl v. The City of DeKalb, et al, 2013 IL App (2d) 110199. Illinois Appellate Court decision reversing the circuit court’s order of reinstatement and backpay. Resulted in the reversal of more than $200,000 in backpay damages.

Jedlicka v. Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, et al., No. 2013 IL App 2d 13-0073. Successfully represented City in Illinois Appellate Court proceedings; the court reversed the circuit court’s ruling and reinstated the BFPC’s decision to uphold a suspension.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and PPACE (Arb. Jay Fogelberg). Assisted in obtaining a total package interest arbitration decision in favor of the employer. Award resulted in no steps, no cost-of-living-adjustment, and employee payroll deductions for past pay increases that were reversed by the arbitrator’s award.

SEIU and Village of Carol Stream, FMCS No. 12-57593. City’s decision to freeze merit pay increases upheld by Arbitrator Aaron Wolff.

City of Elgin and IAFF, No. S-MA-13-010. Favorable interest arbitration award issued by Arbitrator Jay Grenig. The City prevailed on all key issues, including wages, health insurance, longevity, and duration. Also included favorable results on numerous secondary issues.

Spayer v. Simpson Strong Tie, No. 12-CV-3997 (N.D. Ill.). Convinced the Plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss his ADA complaint with no settlement money paid.

Bhardwaj vs. Simpson Strong Tie, No. 12-CH-1226 (DuPage County). Summary judgment in favor of the defendant on Plaintiff’s state law claims arising under the Illinois Human Rights Act.

Tri-Com and MAP, FMCS No. 13-55424-A. Arbitrator Grenig denied the grievance in this contract interpretation case. The Arbitrator held that the employer lawfully implemented its final offer to change holiday pay benefits mid-term after reaching a bargaining impasse.

City of North Chicago and ICOPS. Negotiated a favorable collective bargaining agreement that included the deletion of the top two steps of the wage scale, and wage increases of 0% in 2013; 0.75%/0.75% in 2014; and 1.00%/1.00% in 2015.

SEIU and Village of Carol Stream, Case No. S-CA-12-251 (ILRB). Represented the City in an unfair labor practice charge regarding the City’s decision to freeze merit pay, which was dismissed by the Board because it was untimely.

Adams, et al. v. ABN AMRO, Inc., et al., No. 05-cv-01685 (S.D. Fla.). Represented defendant ABN AMRO in an FLSA collective action involving allegations of off-the-clock work.

Ortiz, et al. v. Fields Imports, et al., No. 06-cv-5457 (N.D. Ill.). Represented defendants in a collective action brought under the FLSA and the Illinois Minimum Wage law involving allegations of unpaid overtime premiums.

Timberline Knolls, No. 10-A01448 (Illinois Dept. of Labor). Obtained dismissal of a complaint filed under the Illinois One Day Rest In Seven Act.

Arce and Westfield Co. Shopping Towns, No. 09-001088 (Illinois Dept. of Labor). Obtained dismissal of a complaint for unpaid vacation pay filed under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act.

Lewicki and OnPoint Partners, Inc., No. 08-001500 (Illinois Dept. of Labor). Represented the respondent employer with respect to claims brought under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act for allegedly unpaid commissions and bonuses.

Vinarov v. Motorola, Inc., No. 05-cv-2063 (N.D. Ill. ). Co-counsel on case in which we obtained a jury verdict in favor of the defendant with respect to claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Summary judgment in favor of the defendant with respect to a promissory estoppel claim upheld on appeal. No. 08-2753 (7th Cir.).

• Wage & Hour Litigation and Audits
• Counseling & Litigation
• Arbitration (Interest & Grievance)
• Collective Bargaining
• Pension Litigation (ERISA and State Pension Acts)

Publications

Ronald J. Kramer & James J. Powers, Municipal Personnel Practices, in IICLE Municipal Law: Organization, Operation, and Governance (2020)

Thomas J. Piskorski, Robert C. Long & James J. Powers, Employment Discrimination Law in the Public Sector, in IICLE Employment Discrimination (2018)

James J. Powers, Police Body Cameras: Do Illinois Public Employers have a Duty of Bargain over Their Use?, Ill. Pub. Emp. Rel. Rep. (Summer 2016)

James J. Powers, A New Look at “Supervisors:” Is Illinois Following the National Trend?, Ill. Pub. Emp. Rel. Rep. (Fall 2011)

Mark A. Lies II & James J. Powers, Employer Liability for Workplace Violence, in Preventing & Managing Workplace Violence 138 (2008)

R. Theodore Clark, Jr. & James J. Powers, Constitutional & Practical Pitfalls of a Federally-Mandated Public Sector Collective Bargaining System, 24 J. of Lab. Res. 621 (2003)

James P. Hanlon & James J. Powers, States as Defendants in Employment Litigation: Beyond Alden v. Maine, 88 Ill. B.J. 280 (2000)

James J. Powers, Note, “Partnership Buster” in the Federal Government: The Relationship Between 5 U.S.C. § 7106 (a) and (b)(1), 72 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 837 (1997)

Presentations/Engagements

County of Winnebago, 37 PERI ¶ 111 (ILRB ALJ 2021) (dismissing representation petition that sought to represent 10 sergeants based on supervisory and confidential employee status)      

Bd. of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill., Springfield, 34 PERI ¶ 171 (IELRB 2018) (dismissing bad faith bargaining unfair labor practice charge relating to alleged changes to the way faculty tenure grievances are processed)

Bd. of Trustees of Univ. of Ill. v. Ill. Educ. Labor Relations Bd., 2018 IL App (4th) 170059 (reversing decision by Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board and finding that over 30 department chairs were managerial employees who lacked collective bargaining rights under the Educational Labor Relations Act)

IAFF Local 439 v. City of Elgin, Case No. 17 CH 1119 (Kane Cty. Cir. Ct. 2018) (dismissing union’s complaint for injunctive relief in aid of arbitration with respect to employer’s decision to reduce daily shift manning) 

Potnick v. Vill. of Glenview, 2018 WL 1064589 (N.D. Ill. 2018) (court entered summary judgment in favor of employer in response to ADEA discrimination and FMLA retaliation claims)

Carlson v. City of DeKalb, Case No. 2015 L 65 (DeKalb Cnty. Cir. Ct. 2017) (court dismissed complaint for declaratory judgment seeking to invalidate previously executed settlement and resignation agreements as violative of public policy)

Bd. of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill., 33 PERI ¶ 93 (IELRB 2017) (dismissing bad faith bargaining unfair labor practice charge relating to transfer of work from bargaining unit personnel to non-bargaining unit employees)

Mitchell v. Vill. of Barrington, Case No. 12 CH 34218 (Cook Cty. Chancery 2015) (granting employer’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s PSEBA and constitutional equal protection claims), aff’d, 2016 IL App (1st) 153094 (affirming dismissal of PSEBA claim because plaintiff was not a sworn firefighter)

Board of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill., 32 PERI ¶ 34 (IELRB 2015) (dismissing unfair labor practice charge that alleged the University inappropriately withheld salary increase from approximately 473 newly certified non-tenured faculty members)

Int’l Ass’n of Firefighters Local 49 v. City of Bloomington, Case No. 14-MR-111 (McLean Cty. 2015) (granting employers’ motion for summary judgment and dismissing union challenge to interest arbitration award), aff’d, 2016 IL App (4th) 150573 (affirming dismissal of union challenge to favorable interest arbitration award)

Vill. of Lombard, 31 PERI ¶ 123 (ILRB 2015) (dismissing union unit clarification petition, finding that customer service supervisor and management analyst qualified as supervisory and/or confidential employees within the meaning of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Northeastern Ill. Univ., 30 PERI ¶ 34 (IELRB ALJ 2013) (finding that four police sergeants are supervisory employees under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)   

City of Rockford, 13-2 Lab. Arb. Awards ¶ 5994 (2013) (Kossoff, Arb.) (denying minimum manning grievance)

City of Elgin, 30 PERI ¶ 8 (ILRB 2013) (dismissing and/or deferring to arbitration 5 of 6 ULP allegations)

Northeastern Ill. Univ., 30 PERI ¶ 4 (IELRB 2013) (dismissing charge filed by four faculty members without a fact-finding hearing, alleging that various adverse actions were motivated by protected concerted activities)

Northeastern Ill. Univ., Case No. 2013-CA-0043-C (IELRB 2013) (dismissing charge filed by individual faculty member without a fact-finding hearing, alleging that denial of tenure was motivated by protected concerted activities)

AFSCME Council 31 v. Ill. Educ. Labor Relations Bd. & Bd. of Trustees of Ill. State Univ., 2013 IL App (1st) 120487-U (affirming dismissal of representation petition for 10 building service foremen based on their supervisory status)

Northwest Central Dispatch System (2013) (Yaeger, Arb.) (employer substantively prevailed on six of seven issues voluntarily submitted to interest arbitration)

Village of Plainfield, 29 PERI ¶ 123 (ILRB 2013) (finding that nine police sergeants are supervisory employees under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Board of Trustees of Ill. Eastern Community Colleges, 29 PERI ¶ 136 (IELRB 2013) (Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board unanimously dismissed unfair labor practice allegations that five faculty members were laid off in retaliation for their union and protected concerted activities)

City of Elgin, 31 PERI ¶ 164 (ILRB General Counsel 2013) (finding all three IAFF bargaining proposals to be non-mandatory subjects of bargaining)

Chicago Mathematics & Science Academy Charter Sch. Inc., 359 N.L.R.B. No. 41 (2012) (holding that charter school employer was not a “political subdivision,” such that a secret ballot election should be offered to the charter school’s employees under the National Labor Relations Act as opposed to the card check process under the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act)

Vill. of Woodridge, Case No. S-MA-11-388 (2012) (M. Camden, Arb.) (employer prevailed on 4 of 6 issues submitted to interest arbitration, including wages)

Weiss v. Vill. of Schaumburg, Case No. 11 CH 27629 (Cook Cty Cir. Ct. 2012) (denying former firefighter lieutenant’s claim for PSEBA benefits)

City of Rockford, 133 Lab. Arb. Rep. (BNA) 572 (2012) (E. Simon, Arb.) (procedural aspect of grievance denied, which alleged a contract provision that provided for competing employer and employee fitness-for-duty examinations without a third physician “tiebreaker” precluded the employer from terminating an officer for “just cause”)

Board of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill. v. Ill. Educ. Labor Relations Bd., 2012 IL App (4th) 110836 (reversing the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board’s determination that a mixed unit of tenured and non-tenured faculty at the University of Illinois’ Chicago campus was appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining)

Board of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill., 31 PERI ¶ 115 (IELRB 2012) (finding that over 30 building service foremen are supervisory employees within the meaning of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act), aff’d, AFSCME Council 31 v. Ill. Educ. Labor Relations Bd., 2013 IL App (1st) 120487-U

City of Decatur, Case No. S-DR-12-002 (ILRB General Counsel 2011) (declaring union’s second proposal for layoff arbitration process a non-mandatory subject of bargaining)

City of Decatur, Case No. S-DR-11-010 (ILRB General Counsel 2011) (declaring union’s proposal for layoff arbitration process a non-mandatory subject of bargaining)

Village of Lake Zurich, 27 PERI ¶ 26 (ILRB 2011) (finding that police sergeants are supervisory employees within the meaning of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Gallivan v. Village of Skokie, Case No. 10 CH 23587 (Cook Cty Chancery 2010) (dismissing PSEBA claim based on statute of limitations defense)

University of Ill. at Springfield, 27 PERI ¶ 1 (IELRB 2010) (dismissing bad faith bargaining charge, where university’s unilateral increase in housing fees for graduate teaching assistants was found to be a non-mandatory subject of bargaining)

University of Ill. at Urbana-Champaign, 25 PERI ¶ 108 (IELRB 2009) (dismissing representation petition for building service foremen, where union failed to establish changed circumstances since the Board’s prior supervisory finding), aff’d, AFSCME Council 31 v. University of Ill. at Urbana Champaign, Case No. 1-09-1863 (1st Dist. 2010) (dismissing union appeal for lack of jurisdiction)

Akatobi v. Aldi, Inc., 2010 WL 1257614 (S.D. Ohio 2010) (granting 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss two public policy counts for failure to state a valid claim upon which relief could be granted)

Vill. of South Holland v. Ill. Labor Relations Bd., Case No. 1-08-0594 (1st Dist. 2009) (unpublished) (reversing decision of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, which had found that the Village’s police sergeants were not statutory supervisors within the meaning of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Vill. of Morton Grove v. Ill. Labor Relations Bd., Case No. 1-07-1498 (1st Dist. 2008) (unpublished) (reversing decision of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, which had found that the Village’s police sergeants were not statutory supervisors within the meaning of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Vill. of South Elgin v. Ill. Labor Relations Bd., Case No. 2-07-0423 (2d Dist. 2008) (unpublished) (reversing decision of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, which had found that the Village’s police sergeants were not statutory supervisors within the meaning of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Wood v. City of Elgin, 2008 WL 4545334 (N.D. Ill. 2008) (summary judgment awarded in a 100+ plaintiff lawsuit claiming that the City had failed to correctly pay overtime to police officers; successfully argued that City had adopted and complied with 29 U.S.C. § 207(k))

Board of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill. v. Ill. Educ. Labor Relations Bd., Case No. 4-05-0722 (4th Dist. 2006) (unpublished) (reversing decision of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, which had found that disciplinary suspension was motivated by illegal animus)

Board of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill., 22 PERI ¶ 110 (IELRB ALJ 2006) (achieved dismissal of multi-count unfair labor practice complaint alleging discrimination and retaliation)

County of Du Page v. Ill. Labor Relations Bd., 358 Ill. App. 3d 174 (2nd Dist. 2005) (successfully argued that Labor Board’s emergency “card check” rules were invalidly promulgated)

County of Du Page v. Ill. Labor Relations Bd., 359 Ill. App. 3d 577 (2nd Dist. 2005) (successfully secured attorneys’ fee award of over $62,000 for invalidating Labor Board’s emergency “card check” rules)

City of Aurora, 20 PERI ¶ 77 (ILRB 2004) (dismissing Weingarten unfair labor practice charge)

AFSCME Council 31 v. Ill. State Labor Relations Bd., 333 Ill. App. 3d 177 (5th Dist. 2002) (affirming ILRB decision that assistant state appellate defenders were managerial employees within the meaning of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Villarreal v. Vill. of Schaumburg, 325 Ill. App. 3d 1157 (1st Dist. 2001) (successfully defended one of the first health insurance claims filed in Illinois under the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act (“PSEBA”))