William J. Anthony

William J. Anthony is Firm Co-Chair of Jackson Lewis P.C. and responsible for providing strategic direction to what has been consistently recognized as one of the country’s preeminent workplace law firms. Working in tandem with Co-Chair Kevin G. Lauri, he is responsible for guiding the overall growth and direction of Jackson Lewis and maintaining the firm’s collaborative culture.

Mr. Anthony, who recently celebrated his 30-year anniversary with Jackson Lewis, served in several significant leadership roles before being elected Firm Co-Chair. He was a member of the Board of Directors and Finance Committee alongside Mr. Lauri, and served as Hartford Office Managing Principal from 2000-2008. In 2007, Mr. Anthony launched and led the firm’s Class Actions and Complex Litigation Practice Group, and was instrumental in growing it into one of the largest class action practices in the country.

Mr. Anthony has played a powerful role in advancing Jackson Lewis’ diversity and inclusion efforts. A long-time advocate of diversity within the legal industry, he developed and led the firm’s first Diversity Committee and remains heavily involved in Jackson Lewis’ diversity and inclusion efforts.

Before assuming responsibility for Jackson Lewis’ day to day administration and management, Mr. Anthony focused his practice on class and collective actions, including wage and hour claims alleging improper payment of bonuses; failure to pay minimum wage to tipped employees; and misclassification of customer service employees, dispatchers, assistant retail managers, time share resort salespeople, pharmaceutical sales representatives and installation technicians. Results in those cases include:

•Obtained dismissal of a putative class action arguing that fitness instructors were properly paid all wages due under N.Y. law;
•Obtained dismissal of a putative class action arguing that satellite television installers were properly paid all non-overtime wages due under N.Y. law;
•Defeated Rule 23 class certification motion for class of mortgage underwriters in U.S.D.C. for District of Connecticut;
•Obtained dismissal of a state law class action seeking a relief under a variety of state law causes of action as a result of an alleged misclassification as an exempt employee on the grounds that the claims were preempted by federal and state wage statutes;
•Obtained dismissal of a nationwide collective action on the grounds that the named plaintiff failed to comply with 216(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Act and amending would be futile as plaintiff’s claims were time barred as a result of the dismissal;
•Defeated conditional certification of a nationwide class of pharmaceutical sales representatives in U.S.D.C. for the District of Miami;
•Defeated conditional certification of a nationwide class of pharmaceutical sales representatives and obtained summary judgment against the plaintiff for breach of contract which included a class action waiver in U.S.D.C. for the Northern District of Illinois;
•Defeated class certification in two cases related to tipped employees on the basis that the Rule 23 standards were not met and individual interests predominated;
•Obtained voluntary withdrawal of nationwide collective action to include individuals residing only in the state where the case was venued after early and aggressive communications with plaintiffs’ counsel.

Mr. Anthony has trial experience in several states, including Connecticut, New Jersey, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Montana, and has tried cases involving claims of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, breach of contract, failure to pay wages and a variety of other statutory and common law issues. He also has extensive experience advising clients on the full range of employment law issues and provides training on management skills, discrimination, harassment, wage/hour and disabilities management issues.

Honors and Recognitions

•The Best Lawyers in America (2013-present)
•Super Lawyers (2006-present)
•Hartford Business Journal, Leadership in Diversity Award (2010)

Published Works

•“Be Careful When Reining in Social Media Use,” Connecticut Law Tribune, (October 25, 2010)
•“The Danger of Bringing Stereotypes to Work,” Connecticut Bar Association Labor & Employment Law Quarterly, (Spring 2007)
•“Potential Disaster: The Employee Blogger,” Connecticut Law Tribune, (January, 2007) [Co-Author]
•“Defending claims of Retaliatory Discipline,” Connecticut Law Tribune, (April 19, 2004) [Co-Author]
• What to do When Workers Can't Work, New Jersey Law Journal, (April 11, 1994) [Co-Author]

William J. Anthony In the News

Our Responsibility: A Statement from Jackson Lewis Co-Chairs William Anthony and Kevin Lauri

June 2, 2020 • Jackson Lewis

Jackson Lewis Spotlighted for Statement Emphasizing Inclusion Amidst National Protests Against Police Brutality

June 1, 2020 • Law360

William Anthony Discusses How Jackson Lewis is Responding to Client Inquires Related to COVID-19

March 13, 2020 • Daily Report

William J. Anthony Publications

newsletter

Class Action Trends Report Summer 2018

August 13, 2018

newsletter

Class Action Trends Report Spring 2018

May 1, 2018

newsletter

Class Action Trends Report Winter 2018

January 22, 2018

Webinars

webinar

Reimagining the Workplace: Daily Briefing - Special Edition

4 - 4:30 PM EST
Archived

William J. Anthony Blog Posts

Employment Class and Collective Actions

Jackson Lewis Class Action Trends Report Fall 2017 Now Available

November 2, 2017
Employment Class and Collective Actions

Jackson Lewis Class Action Trends Report Summer 2017 Now Available

July 12, 2017
Employment Class and Collective Actions

Supreme Court: Plaintiffs May Not Voluntarily Dismiss Case to Appeal Class Certification Decision

June 12, 2017