Michael J. Wietrzychowski

Michael Wietrzychowski is a partner in the Firm’s Labor and Employment Practices Group and serves as its Co-Chair. He has extensive national experience with all types of labor and employment matters - focusing his practice on representing corporations and select professionals before various federal, state, and local courts, as well as administrative tribunals such as the National Labor Relations Board, Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, Department of Labor, and various state agencies. Mr. Wietrzychowski represents clients in many industries, including healthcare, automotive, housing, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

Mr. Wietrzychowski represents employers with significant labor matters, such as union-management arbitrations, collective bargaining agreement negotiations, National Labor Relations Board proceedings, including unfair labor practice charges and union representation elections, appeals of arbitration and NLRB decisions, employer relocations, downsizings, restructurings, mergers and acquisitions in a unionized environment, and union arbitration and litigation under ERISA. Mr. Wietrzychowski also represents employers with significant employment litigation matters, such as state and federal litigation under federal and state discrimination, harassment, OSHA, wage and hour laws, family and medical leave laws, disability laws (ADA), retaliation and CEPA (“whistleblower”) claims, and business competition litigation, including injunctions to protect confidential employer information, enforcement of non-compete agreements, and matters involving employer “raiding.”

Mr. Wietrzychowski counsels employers on a daily basis with various labor and employment issues geared towards early and cost-effective resolution and litigation avoidance. He frequently advises clients with crafting and implementing litigation avoidance strategies, drafting, implementing and updating human resources policies, management and employee training, and drafting and implementing employment, non-competition, and arbitration agreements. He also represents employers and select executive employees with developing exit strategies and reviewing severance agreements.

Mr. Wietrzychowski has served as City Solicitor for the City of Burlington, New Jersey, Solicitor for the Delran New Jersey Township Zoning Board, Co-Solicitor for the Mount Laurel Board of Education, and has served as a commercial Arbitrator for New Jersey courts. Mr. Wietrzychowski also has been quoted in national publications such as Businessweek. Mr. Wietrzychowski has been named a “New Jersey Super Lawyer” for labor and employment law.

Other Distinctions

•Selected by Lawdragon as one of the nation’s top employment attorneys *
•Recognized as one of South Jersey Magazine’s “Awesome Attorneys” for labor and employment law *
•Named a ‘New Jersey Super Lawyer’ for labor and employment law by Super Lawyers, a Thomas Reuters publication *
•The Temple Law Review, staff member and associate editor

*No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. Further information on methodologies is available via these links .

News & Publications

•EEOC’s Updated COVID-19 Guidance Addresses COVID-19 Testing in the Workplace and More
•New Jersey Extends State’s Family Leave Act to COVID-19 Leaves
•OSHA Issues COVID-19 Interim Enforcement Response Plan - Modified Procedures For OSHA Investigations
•Is Your Business Essential? Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Provides Guidance
•The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) - What Employers and Workers Need to Know
•Union-Management Bargaining Obligations During the COVID-19 Pandemic
•COVID-19 and COBRA: Health Benefits Issues for Employers Considering Layoffs or Reduction of Employee Hours
•New Jersey Executive Order for Residents to Stay at Home and Closing Non-Essential Retail Businesses
•COVID-19 and Employee Furloughs: Overall Guidance from U.S. Department of Labor
•The EEOC’s Coronavirus Guidance Amid Uncertain Times
•Telecommuting in the Time of COVID-19
•“WARN”ing for Garden State Employers: New Rules for Reduction in Force
•Michael Wietrzychowski interviewed for SHRM HR News article
•Michael Wietrzychowski quoted in HR Dive article
•It’s a New Day at the NLRB: Four Recent Decisions Leap Back to More Employer-Friendly Times
•Requiring Public Employees to Pay Union Agency Fees Found Unconstitutional - Potentially Striking A Major Blow To Union Purses And Influence
•Addressing Romantic Relationships in the Workplace Through a Conflict of Interest Policy
•Supreme Court Rules Auto Service Advisors Are Overtime-Exempt
•PA Supreme Court to Decide Overtime Formula for Nonexempt Salaried Employees with Flexible Workweeks
•A Review Of Key Sexual Harassment Legal Issues For Businesses
•5 Steps to Prepare Your Company for Workplace Harassment Complaints
•3rd Circuit Rules Employers Must Pay for Short Breaks
•New Jersey Appellate Court Tosses Employee Arbitration Agreement
•Wietrzychowski Quoted in “Timing is Everything in the Waltz of a Septa Strike”
•Michael Wietrzychowski Quoted in Philadelphia Business Journal
•NJ Adopts Final Regulations on Criminal Background Inquiries
•New NLRB Test for Joint-Employer Status in Labor Contracts May Leave You On the Hook
•NJ Appellate Courts Permit Employers to Shorten Statute of Limitations Period Through Employment Applications
•Four South Jersey Partners Recognized as “Best Attorneys in Business”
•NLRB General Counsel Memo Highlights Possible Pro-Union Changes in the Law
•New Jersey Voters Approve Minimum Wage Increase
•New Jersey’s New Leave Law - SAFE Act - Takes Effect October 1. Is Your Company Ready?
•NJ’s “SAFE Act” Leave Law Takes Effect October 1. Is Your Company Ready?
•FAQ: Making Wage Deductions to Recover Inadvertent Overpayment of Wages and Repayment of Advances to Employees
•EEOC Begins Enforcing 2012 Criminal Background Check Guidance
•NYC Council Overwhelmingly Passes Mandatory Paid Sick Leave Law
•Third Circuit Rules that NLRB had no Authority to Act Due to Invalid Recess Appointment
•Whistleblower Guidance from NJ Appellate Court May Help Employers Keep More CEPA Claims from Reaching a Jury
•New York City Council Passes Law Prohibiting Discrimination Against Unemployed, Overriding Mayor’s Veto
•Wage and Hour Division Unveils Plans to Survey Workers’ Knowledge of Their Classification as Employees or Independent Contractors; May Signal Plan to Reactivate “Right to Know” Rulemaking
•Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP Presents Your 13 Labor & Employment Resolutions for 2013
•Who Is A “Supervisor” Under Title VII and Why You Should Care
•Top 10 most common mistakes employers make in connection with employee termination
•SchnaderWorks.com - A Labor and Employment Law Blog
•Labor and Employment Post-Election
•NJ Emergency Responder Leave in the Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy
•Welcome!
•Cleaning Up from Hurricane Sandy: Important Employment Issues
•Update on New Jersey Gender Inequity Notice
•New York Eases Rules on Deductions from Employee Wages
•Another Mandatory Notice for New Jersey Employers Effective November 21, 2012
•Pennsylvania Public Works Contractors and Subcontractors Must Use E-Verify
•Fair Credit Reporting Act Is Applied to Data Broker Selling Personal Information Gleaned from Social Media for Employment Screening
•New York Appellate Division, First Department: Not Every Plaintiff Asserting a Discrimination Claim Under the New York City Human Rights Law Will Be Entitled to Reach a Jury
•Michael Wietrzychowski Selected by Lawdragon as One of the Nation’s Top Employment Attorneys for 2012
•U.S. Supreme Court Upholds the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
•Update: U.S. Department of Labor Increases Pressure to Reclassify Independent Contractor Workers
•Appellate Court Opens the Door to Harassment Claims by Employees Incorrectly Perceived as Belonging to a Protected Class
•EEOC Creates Additional Hurdles to Use of Criminal Background Checks by Employers
•South Carolina District Court Strikes Down NLRB Posting Rule, Leading DC Circuit to Enjoin Its Enforcement Pending Appeals
•NLRB Notice Must Be Posted by Virtually All Employers by April 30
•Asking Specific Reason for Absence Risks ADA Violation
•OSHA Moves Closer to Proposing Rule Requiring All Covered Employers to Create, Implement and Enforce Injury & Illness Prevention Programs
•Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP Presents Your 12 Labor & Employment Resolutions for 2012
•Make Your First New Year’s Resolution: Take a Look at Your Independent Contractor Relationships
•Affordable Care Act “Summary of Benefits” Mandate Delayed by Federal Agencies
•NJ Accidentally Eliminates “Inside Sales” Exemption - NJDOL is Now Working to Restore this Exemption
•California Governor Signs S.B. 459, Dramatically Increasing Penalties for Misclassifying Employees as Independent Contractors
•Three New Programs to Encourage Worker Reclassification Unveiled
•Assault on Independent Contractor Misclassification Continues: California Legislature Passes and Sends Aggressive New Legislation to Governor Brown for Signature
•Senate Bill Proposes to End Misclassification of Independent Contractors
•New York Employers’ Quarterly Wage and New Hire Reporting Requirements Expanded by Child Support Legislation
•Connecticut Mandates Paid Sick Leave and Bars Pre-Employment Credit Checks
•Labor Board Walks Where Congress Fears to Tread
•Super Lawyers Recognizes Many Schnader Attorneys in 2011
•How to Avoid “Cat’s Paw” Discrimination Claims - How Subordinate Bias Can Taint an Otherwise Non-Discriminatory Employment Decision
•It’s Now or Never: What Employers Need to Do Now to Comply with the New Healthcare Laws
•Michael Wietrzychowski Selected by the Supreme Court of New Jersey to Serve on the District Ethics Committee
•Labor & Employment Alert: New York City Human Rights Law Does Not Permit Faragher-Ellerth Defense
•Labor & Employment Alert: New Tax Incentives for Hiring Unemployed Workers
•Super Lawyers Recognizes Many Schnader Attorneys in 2010
•“A Look at Temporary Family Disability Benefits”
•Two Schnader Attorneys Honored as New Jersey Super Lawyers
•Unionizing Your Company Could Become Much Easier Under the Employee Free Choice Act
•“What is the Employee Free Choice Act?”
•Wietrzychowski Quoted in the Philadelphia Business Journal
•Supreme Court Expands Employee’s Right to Sue for Race Retaliation
•New Jersey Enacts the Paid Family Leave Law
•Recent U.S. Supreme Court Decision in ERISA Case Opens Door for Increased Lawsuits
•Several at Schnader are 2008 D.C., New Jersey ‘Super Lawyers’
•Hospital Worker Fired for Divulging Patient Information Can Sue for Wrongful Termination
•New Jersey Passes the Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act
•National Labor Relations Board Issues Decision Regarding Employer’s Right to Enforce E-mail Policy
•Unemployment Benefits No Longer Automatically Available for Employees Who Accept Early Retirement Packages
•Issues and Trends in New Jersey Law
•Wietrzychowski Quoted on Employers’ Dress-Code Requirements
•Your Independent Contractor Could Be an Employee Under New Jersey Law
•Department of Homeland Security Issues New Rules on ‘No-Match’ Letters
•Supreme Court Upholds Strict Time Limits for Pay Discrimination Claims
•Wietrzychowski Re-elected to County Chamber of Commerce
•Are Your Policies in Compliance With New Jersey’s Civil Union Law?
•New York Employers Have Absolute Immunity From Defamation for Statements in Forms U-5
•Schnader Attorneys Named New Jersey Super Lawyers
•Employment Discrimination Case Requires Justification for Job Qualifications
•Just What the Doctor Ordered? San Francisco’s New Mandatory Paid Sick Leave
•Court Invalidates Waivers of FMLA Claim in Severance Agreement
•New NLRB Guidance on Determining Who is a Supervisor
•“Assessing Your HR Policies and Practices: Compliance With State and Federal Employment Laws”
•Beware - Informal Severance Policies Could Be Binding ERISA Plans
•Supreme Court Broadens Definition of Retaliation
•New DOL Guidance on Salaried, Overtime-Exempt Employees in Light of Pay Deductions and Make-Up Time
•“Employment Law From A To Z”
•Four Schnader Attorneys Honored as New Jersey Super Lawyers, Rising Stars
•Wietrzychowski Named a Director of Burlington County NJ Chamber of Commerce
•Wietrzychowski Speaks on Job Interview Protocols
•Wietrzychowski Reappointed Chair of COC Labor and Employment Committee
•Labor and Employment Team Helps Defeat Unfair Labor Practice Charge
•Schnader Partner Re-Appointed to Chair Committee for Burlington County Chamber of Commerce
•Michael J. Wietrzychowski Notes Legal Concerns Associated With Drug Screening Programs
•“Strategic Human Resources Practices: Using Metrics to Make a Difference”
•Issues and Trends in New Jersey Law
•Michael J. Wietrzychowski Provides Advice on Interview Questions for Employers

Community & Pro Bono

•Mr. Wietrzychowski served as Chair and Vice Chair of Supreme Court of New Jersey District Ethics Committee in Burlington County, where he oversaw hearings and investigations addressing attorney misconduct and discipline. Mr. Wietrzychowski also provides counsel to various nonprofits, and has assisted and led fundraising activities for various charities, such as the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society.

Related Events

•Advanced Employment Law: What You Need to Know
•Michael Wietrzychowski Discussed “Making the Case-How Hiring Our Country’s Heroes Helps Your Business”
•Michael Wietrzychowski Presented “Evaluating and Disciplining Employees - Do it the Right Way”
•Mike Wietrzychowski Presented “Interns, Consultants, and Employees: The Costs of Misclassification”
•Mike Wietrzychowski Presented “Employee Discipline and Termination” at Human Resources Law CLE Program
•Mike Wietrzychowski Presented a Seminar on the Fair Labor Standards Act
•Mike Wietrzychowski Presented and Moderated “Employment Law Update” Seminar
•Schnader Presented “The Legal Impact of Social Media in the Workplace” Webinar
•Schnader’s Pittsburgh Office Presented: What’s on the Horizon for Employers - The 2011-2012 Regulatory Storm and How to Prepare for It
•Schnader Presented: What’s on the Horizon for Employers - The 2011-2012 Regulatory Storm and How to Prepare for It
•Michael Wietrzychowski Presents CLE Session: “Employment Law from A to Z in New Jersey”
•Continuing Education Seminar: Employment Law From A to Z in New Jersey
•Employment Law From A to Z in New Jersey
•Assessing Your HR Policies and Practices in New Jersey
•How to Manage Your Employees Without Wrecking Your Bottom Line
•Employment Law and Practices
•School Law in New Jersey
•Sexual Harassment Claims in the Workplace
•Avoiding Discrimination Claims in the Workplace
•Strategies for Preparing and Mediating Employment Cases
•Tools and Tips for Hiring Managers
•Strategic Human Resources Practices - Using Metrics to Make a Difference