Michael Palmer is a partner in the South Bend, Indiana and Grand Rapids, Michigan offices of Barnes & Thornburg LLP. He primarily represents private and public sector employers in all aspects of labor and employment law. Mr. Palmer also devotes a portion of his practice to fair housing issues.
In his labor and employment practice, Mr. Palmer handles union-related issues, employment litigation, general employment counseling, and immigration compliance. In union-related matters, he represents management in union organizing campaigns and elections, unfair labor practice charges or other NLRB proceedings, collective bargaining, strike preparation and arbitration proceedings.
Mr. Palmer's employment-related litigation practice includes representing employers before state and federal courts, and administrative agencies in cases alleging employment discrimination, sexual harassment, breach of employment contract, wage and hour violations, workplace torts, wrongful discharge, and enforcement of non-compete agreements. He actively litigates cases in Indiana, Michigan and Illinois.
Mr. Palmer not only litigates cases, he devotes a substantial portion of his practice to helping employers avoid litigation. To that end, he regularly counsels employers on matters such as disciplining and discharging employees, drafting and enforcing employment contracts and restrictive covenants, developing employee handbooks and policy manuals, and numerous other issues involving Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and other state and federal labor and employment laws. Along these same lines, Mr. Palmer also regularly conducts compliance audits for clients (including wage and hour audits, immigration compliance audits, and leave of absence audits ), and reviews, edits and drafts employer policies and handbooks.
