Michael Lebowich

Partner

Michael J. Lebowich is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and co-head of the Labor-Management Relations Group. He represents and counsels employers on a wide range of labor and employment matters, with a particular interest in the field of traditional labor law.

Michael acts as the primary spokesperson in collective bargaining negotiations, regularly handles grievance arbitrations, assists clients in the labor implications of corporate transactions, and counsels clients on union organizing issues, strike preparation and day-to-day contract administration issues. He also has significant experience in representation and unfair labor practice matters before the National Labor Relations Board.

His broad employment law experience includes handling of race, national origin, gender and other discrimination matters in state and federal court. A significant amount of his practice is devoted to counseling clients regarding the application and practical impact of the full range of employment laws that affect our clients, including all local, state and federal employment discrimination statutes, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and state labor laws.

Michael has substantial experience in a wide variety of industries, including entertainment, broadcasting, newspaper publishing and delivery, utilities and lodging. He represents such clients as The New York Times, BuzzFeed, ABC, the New York City Ballet, PPL, Pacific Gas & Electric, Host Hotels and Resorts, and The Broadway League (and many of its theater owner and producing members). Michael also has significant public sector experience representing, among others, the City of New York and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Michael is a frequent guest lecturer at Columbia Business School, the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, the New York University Tisch School for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, and is an advisory board member of the Cornell Institute for Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations.

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[Podcast]: Recent Developments Associated With The Coronavirus Pandemic

In this episode of The Proskauer Brief, partners Harris Mufson, Seth Safra, Mike Lebowich and Guy Brenner discuss recent developments associated with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Tune in as we address the latest legislative developments and issues employers should be thinking about when confronting the ramifications of this virus in the workplace. Listen to the podcast. … Continue Reading

Too Close for Comfort? NLRB Departs from Long Standing Joint Employer Standard

By Michael Lebowich and Nayirie K. Mehdikhani on August 28, 2015 Posted in National Labor Relations Board

Citing “changing economic circumstances, particularly the recent dramatic growth in contingent employment relationships,” in Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc., 362 NLRB No. 186 (August 27, 2015), a 3-2 National Labor Relations Board majority (Pearce, Hirozawa, McFerran) significantly revised and broadened the standard for assessing joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act. The primary justification … Continue Reading

Release of 2012 Advice Memo Pulls Together Principles Applied by the NLRB in Evaluating Employer Social Media Policies

By Allan Weitzman, Scott Faust, Ronald Meisburg, Mark Theodore, Marc A. Mandelman, Michael Lebowich, Katharine Parker, Fredric Leffler and Bernard M. Plum on July 24, 2013 Posted in Performance Management, Discipline & Termination, Workplace Policies and Procedures

A 2012 Advice Memo from the National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel, which was publicly released two weeks ago in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, addresses a number of hot social media topics affecting the workplace. This alert takes a closer look at the Advice Memo, which concludes that portions of Giant … Continue Reading