Jonathan D. Lotsoff litigates, counsels clients, and handles transactional matters involving a wide range of employment and labor issues. He litigates class/collective action, multiple plaintiff, and individual plaintiff employment discrimination and wage and hour cases, including under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Equal Pay Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Jonathan also has prosecuted and defended against restrictive covenant and business tort claims, including for breach of noncompetition and customer/employee nonsolicitation covenants, trade secret misappropriation, unfair competition, breach of fiduciary duty, and tortious interference.
Additionally, Jonathan litigates wrongful termination claims, executive compensation disputes, contract claims, and other employment-related claims. He handles cases in federal and state courts, before administrative agencies such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the US Department of Labor, and in arbitrations. Jonathan also litigates union-management disputes, including labor arbitrations under collective-bargaining agreements, unfair labor practice charges under the National Labor Relations Act, and lawsuits involving challenges to arbitrability.
Jonathan advises professional services firms, manufacturers, technology companies, and other employers, large and small, on issues arising at all stages of the employment relationship, including employment and wage and hour class and collective action avoidance; the use of employee background checks and medical exams; hiring employees subject to restrictive covenants; social media and electronic communications policies; disciplinary matters; family and medical leaves; requests for reasonable accommodation of disabilities and religious practices; reductions in force; individual employment terminations; and post-employment contractual fiduciary and other obligations. He also drafts and counsels clients on employee handbooks and policies, mediation/arbitration agreements and programs, and employee training.
He is experienced in assisting clients in protecting their confidential business information and key business relationships using noncompetition covenants, customer/client nonsolicitation covenants, employee "anti-raiding" covenants, confidentiality agreements and other restrictive covenants. He also negotiates, drafts and counsels clients on a variety of employment-related agreements, including executive and other employment contracts, consulting agreements, employee leasing agreements, retention agreements, and severance and termination agreements.
Jonathan regularly handles and advises on employment and labor issues that arise in corporate acquisitions, divestitures and other transactions, including analysis of employment and labor-related legal risks; negotiation of representations, warranties, covenants and indemnities in transactional documents; preparation of employment and other agreements for key employees; and counseling with respect to downsizing and integration issues.
Jonathan is committed to giving back to the community. He has represented a wide range of civic, cultural, educational and other nonprofit organizations on a pro bono basis in a variety of employment matters. Examples include his longstanding representation of a Chicago museum and a Chicago-area charter school in various employment litigation and counseling matters.
Before joining Morgan Lewis, Jonathan was a partner at another global law firm for over 25 years.
Litigation
Counseling
Transactional
Recommended, Labor and employment: Labor and employment disputes (including collective actions): defense, The Legal 500 US (2020, 2021)
Member, Board of Directors, Soaring Eagle Academy, Lombard, Illinois (2004–present)
Member (former), Board of Directors, Illinois Hunger Coalition, including service as president
Member (former), Board of Directors, Coordinated Advice and Referral Program for Legal Services (CARPLS)
Fellow, Leadership Greater Chicago (2007)